Travel insurance is a must-have no matter how sedate your holiday may be. At the very least look for cover for cancellation, theft, ill-health and these days even terrorism.
Sure, the world is an intriguing place and the modern traveller is intrepid. Yet our modern world can be dangerous.
In 2015 we saw the Sousse attack in Tunisia, in which 30 Britons were among 38 victims killed when a gunman opened fire at a beach resort. In 2017 Ukraine entered the list of destinations at risk of terrorism thanks to the Russo-Ukraine conflict even though most of the 780,000 visiting Brits had a trouble-free experience.
Recently we saw an Italian aid worker kidnapped in Kenya and there are always stories popping into the press from Mexico, Egypt, India and Colombia about their troublesome moments for holidaymakers.
War and terrorism exclusion clause
The thing is that travel insurance companies are unlikely to offer cover for travel to places that have even a low risk warning issued by the Foreign and Commonwealth office against visiting. If something goes wrong because of kidnap, terrorism or hostility the small print on non-specialist policies will have a war and terrorism exclusion clause and they would have every right to exclude the claim and not cover it.
And what about extreme adventure holidays? For example, kite skiing in the Antarctica – this is the type of holiday where the activity itself can be dangerous for life and limb and that is compounded by its remote location. And what if you become ill or have a debilitating accident somewhere where you may not have access to medical assistance? In times like this you will need medical evacuation.
kite skiing
So, is it possible to get an insurance policy that can offer protection in getting you out of a tricky situation when things go wrong – whatever the reason?
Travel insurance for conflict zones and emerging markets
Sasha Gainullin from battleface Travel Insurance says his policies do just that. Their initial policies were designed for conflict zones and emerging markets that companies, groups or NGOs would spend time in. Now they are formulating policies for adventure travel sport for surfers, divers and mountain climbers who cannot benefit from a normal travel insurance.
CLICK HERE to visit battleface website
Listen to the podcast with Sasha to find out more about how to cover a trip to challenging places.
Disclaimer: this article was written in partnership with battleface