Travel Insurance is compulsory

Travel insurance that provides cover for emergency repatriation in case of a medical emergency is compulsory for all holidays, tours, expeditions and experience days. Nature Expeditions cannot legally provide insurance advice nor confirm whether a given policy is adequate. What we can do is point you in the direction of some insurers from whom teammates have purchased insurance in the past. Further information about insurance requirements is outlined in each expedition’s joining instructions dossier. If in doubt about your purchased or potential policy, contact your supplier directly.

Travel insurance checklist

Ensure that your insurance covers you for the following:

Emergency medical repatriation (to home country): including any associated expenses abroad of at least $500,000.
Activities: ensure that any activities carried out on the expedition are included (trekking at altitude, vehicle safari, canyoning, scuba diving, rafting etc).
Geographical region: check the place you’re going is insured on your policy (often the USA and Canada or areas such as Afghanistan are not insured on general policies).
FCO/Foreign Ministry advice: check your insurance is not sensitive to any travel warnings issued by your foreign ministry. In the UK, many insurers will not provide insurance if the FCO advises against travel. FCO advice does not necessarily mean that Nature Expeditions will cancel an expedition or avoid a certain area.
Dates: make sure the period of cover begins at the departure and ends at the return to your home country. Many flights take a day or two and time zones vary. Insurance companies may prejudice claims due to this.
Pre-existing medical conditions: disclose to your insurance company.

Suggested insurance providers

World Nomads can insure you if you live in one of 140 countries in the world for a whole range of adventure sports and activities.

Campbell Irvine Direct can adequately insure you, and at low cost, if you reside in the UK or any EEC country.

Recognised routes

Some insurance companies have a clause regarding ‘recognised routes’, something that is hard to define. If your insurance policy has this clause, speak to your insurers about the trip to ensure the policy you are considering does indeed cover your Nature Expeditions expedition. We would suggest that our routes are recognised for the following reasons, although your insurer or their underwriter will have the ultimate say. Perhaps forward the below on to them when discussing or attempting to ascertain if the policy you are considering indeed covers you.

The expedition is run by a UK-based company which has researched, planned and developed the route.
The appropriate local support, permissions and permits are in place so it is ‘recognised’ locally.
It is mapped and there is a fixed start and finish point.
The expedition is led by a professional Nature Expeditions expedition leader.
There are detailed contingency, medical and communication plans in place.

Also bare in mind that both Campbell Irvine and World Nomads knows Nature Expeditions and our exceptionally high standards. You might want to mention our name when you contact them.

Safeguarding your payments to Nature Expeditions

Nature Expeditions is a company committed to customer satisfaction and consumer financial protection. We are therefore pleased to announce that, at no extra cost to you, and in accordance with "The Package Travel, Package Tours Regulations", when you book an expedition or tour with Nature Expeditions, the money you pay directly to us is stored in an independent trust account. This account is governed by strict rules, and we are not allowed to access those monies until you have returned from the expedition or tour. This means that unlike the majority of our competitors, we do not spend that money running our business, so if something does go wrong with your booking and we need to refund your money we can do so a lot quicker and with more flexibility, in case we need to. We do not sell flights, for that you need to book your own flights through an ATOL protected agent where your flights are then protected through the ATOL scheme. This means that in the very unlikely event that something happens, you have the comfort that you will be able to get home safely and won’t be stranded abroad. All of this means that when you book an expedition or tour with us, you can book with confidence, knowing that your money is secured.