Annual Travel Insurance Covering Long/Short and Multi-Country Trips

jnthn

Hi Moneysavers. Hoping you can help. Due to the nature of my work (Humanitarian Aid) I am often abroad for short trips (a few days to a few weeks) as well as longer assignments (potentially up to a year). My work does not always provide me with travel/legal/medical cover for all of these trips and I often need to make them at very short notice. As such I was wondering if you can provide any help. I'm looking for insurance that covers:

- All countries (including countries and regions currently at war)
- Legal/Medical/Contents (the smaller the excess the better)
- Short trips (less than 30 days) as well as
- Long trips (up to a year)
- Multiple country trips without return to Europe/UK
- Preferably no requirement to return to the UK/Europe at any point

As I am at the beginning of my career it is currently necessary for me to take volunteer posts (only travel/board/vaccinations paid) in order to accrue the experience that will hopefully get me a more secure post and income later. As such price is most certainly a factor so the cheaper the better ) Thanks so much for any help or advice you can offer!

/Jonathan

travelgran

I don't think you'll get cover from the regular holiday insurers. I suggest you go back to the company you're going with and ask their advice. Also a friend who does this type of development work says try a company called SEGA. Not sure of the spelling.
Hope this helps

michele-p

Hello, I get various specialist insurance from a company called Drayton Insurance, who can tailor make a cover for you. Give them a call and explain it, see if they can help 01603 262 610, and actual real person will answer!

travelgran

Just checked-CEGA.

Moto2

Any organisation that is allowing you to volunteer should be picking up the insurance, have you checked they're not?
I really can't imagine they won't

jonesMUFCforever

I would also suggest that ordinary travel insurance that you buy in the UK whether a single or annual policy will not cover you if you are going to work abroad whether you volunteer or not.
As others have said if you volunteer abroad they should be paying and arranging your insurance.

Voyager2002

Short answer: your employer ought to be sorting out insurance. If you are going as a volunteer rather than an employee then things are a bit different, but war zones are no place for volunteers. (VSO is slightly different: as a VSO volunteer I worked in a war zone, but in fact VSO provides excellent insurance cover for all their volunteers.) In any case, any reputable aid agency will have a block policy for their permamant staff and should be able to add you to it if you pay the appropriate premium. I would advise you not to touch with a barge-pole any 'employer' who does not help with this.

Failing all else, I suggest you contact the National Union of Journalists. There are a number of free-lance journalists who are in a similar position to you (need to travel to war zones without the support of an employer) and I am confident that the NUJ has made arrangements with insurers to provide products that meet these needs.