If you are planning a safari in Africa, you must know that any safari activity is possibly hazardous. While it is considered optional when travelling, a full travel insurance is a must when embarking on a safari, and is your sole responsibility.

 

Considering the risks, be prepared with a good comprehensive insurance cover, having comprehesive insurance will ease any concerns or worries that you may have. Please be aware of your responsibility, understand specific safari risks, find a reputable insurance provider and ensure you have proper insurance coverage. Finally, be prepared!

 

Your responsibility:

 

It is assumed in our Terms & Conditions of Travel that you have adequately insured your personal possessions and yourself before your departure. Touch Nature and its agents and associates cannot be held responsible or liable for loss, damage, or theft of personal luggage and belongings, nor can they be held liable for personal injury, accident or illness.

 

Your fully comprehensive insurance cover must include medical & emergency assistance:

• Full medical coverage,

• Emergency medical air evacuation,

• Repatriation cover.

We also advise you to take classic travel insurance cover:

• Baggage & money insurance

• Travel cancellation.

 

Understanding specific risks of a safari in Africa:

 

• Most places booked for travel are in wild and remote parts of Africa with dangerous wildlife and often harsh-terrain; hence you will be exposed to potentially hazardous activities.

• Roads in the bush are rough and bumpy, we occasionally travel “off road” and injuries can occur.

• You are likely to carry large amounts of cash and expensive and valuable camera equipment - we recommend that you should always carry such equipment as “carry-on” luggage and keep your personal belongings with you all the times. However, you are advised to take out baggage and money insurance.

• Should you leave behind, lose or have personal items and belongings stolen in one location, the logistics of inter-camp communication and the scheduling and costs of charter flights may not be favourable for the return of articles, unless you are prepared to pay for the cost of a full charter, to get your items to you, where ever you are. This issue is possibly the single biggest form of stress for guests, who have left their goods behind at a camp, and who are not prepared to pay for the charter costs. Again, your baggage insurance may save a lot of stress.

• Medical facilities in Africa are extremely variable and, unfortunately, often very poor. In case of illness or injury, you will most likely need to be evacuated swiftly to a good South African medical facility. Costs can easily run into thousands of dollars.

• Many medical service providers in Africa do not accept payment from an insurance company, so you will need to pay yourself, and claim back the amount from your insurance company. Thus you must be sure you have access to cash by credit card or wire transfer.

• In the event of you having to cancel or curtail your safari due to unforeseen circumstances we regret that we cannot make any refunds. Consult your insurance before you travel and review our cancellation policy.

 

Finding the right travel insurance provider:

 

The cost of travel insurance varies widely, and the insurance offers also vary depending on your nationality. You may ask your current insurer or, best take the advice of your travel agent.

 

We know of a few insurers that offer coverage for citizens of all nationalities, and will share these details with you. However, we do not have any interest in these companies; we are not in position to recommend one or another, nor to guarantee the coverage and quality of their insurance products.

 

• World Nomads travel insurance is available to people from over 150 countries and is designed for adventurous travellers with cover for overseas medical, evacuation, baggage and specific activities. It claims to be simple and flexible as you can get a quote, buy, extend and claim online.

• World Travel Center does offer formulas that cover safaris, and has a swift online quotation system for citizens of different nationalities, as well as online chat.

• TravelGuard is also accessible to several nationalities, and offers special coverage for adventure travel. You can get an instant quote online. The Adventure Protection Plan is also proposed by World Travel Center (listed above).

• Global Travel Insurance offers to citizens around the world a large range of specific insurance plans, including one High Risk Travel Medical Insurance specifically designed for hazardous activities.

• CSA Travel Protection has a quite comprehensive deluxe package and also provides online quotation.

• We may also suggest for US Residents: Access America, Travel Guard International, TravelSafe, World Medical Plan, and Universal Travel Protection. You may also check Insure My Trip, which compares 63 different travel insurance plans from 14 different companies.

• For UK Residents: Essential Travel’s safari insurance, JS Insurance Safari Travel Insurance, …

Finally, you can research providers and access reviews of different insurance products with Travel Insurance Review.

 

Ensuring proper insurance coverage for your safari in Africa:

 

Most insurance companies will cover safari tours, but it's always good to read the small print. We advise you to look at the following specific issues:

 

• Activities Cover – check that your Insurance policy covers all the activities you are planning to do: canoeing, bush walking, game viewing, white water rafting etc.

• Firearms cover – certain policies will not cover you if your guides use, or have the use of firearms.

• Contact with wild animals – make sure that this is covered under your policy.

• Authorization for emergency medical evacuation: should you need a medical evacuation, most travel insurance companies require that you obtain authorization from them prior to any medical evacuation. When you are on a safari though, you may find yourself in a situation where it is not possible to access the telephone to get the authorization beforehand. Check with your chosen company if they have this clause and what can be done to get around it if the eventuality does arise.

Be prepared:

 

• Before departure, make sure you know what to do in the event of a problem or emergency.

• During your safari, always keep your policy and the 24 hour emergency phone number with you – and also share it with a third person.

• If anything happens, and you anticipate having to make an insurance claim upon your return home, be sure to document as accurately as possible any accident, injury or loss. Doctor’s notes and police reports will aid any claim.