Travel Nation
 

we are currently in the process of challenging Travel Nation on their policy. Because Rose and Dave had such a good experience we have decided to go with them, especially as they let you extend on the road. So I spoke to them about the FCO list, same as Dave, and they said the same thing to us. So I have asked for this in writing, and the agent, Karl, asked me for a list of countries we are going to, and is going to get that OK'd by the underwriters. I have yet to hear back, but I will update here if we do get this.

Thanks to all contributing, this is one handy thread!

Hi Ollie / all

FWIW, we used Campbell Irvine (contact: Mike Berry) due to a number of conversations I had had with insurance companies on the FCO-blacklisted issue.

The best I was able to get was an assurance from Mike that we would be covered in such places subject to the following:-

a) Underwriters were informed of our intention to visit such places by way of a declaration to that effect on the proposal form, or
b) In the event that plans changed once on the road and we wanted to go to a place we hadn't put on the proposal form, Underwriters consent was obtained prior to us going there.
c) In any event, cover would NOT be applicable for claims that arose out of the reason a place was blacklisted. Eg - if we got shot/kidnapped/caught in a bomb blast in Kashmir we would not be covered, but if we were involved in a road accident, or any other incident that could have happened anywhere, we would be OK.

This is an improvement on most standard companies, which simply exclude all cover in such places no matter what.

Yes - if we can get that sort of assurance we will take it, although Travel Nation comes in cheaper than Campbell Irvine ...

Ollie, I looked into this seriously a few years ago and am now starting to again now. CI offered a very high standard of insurance from what I remember, very comprehensive and they are a good solid 'name' from what I can gather.

So perhaps don't base you decision 100% on costs (if you are, I don't know ;-) as you may need to use the insurance in a real emergency etc

Just a thought!

hi good point but we have used travel nation for 3 years now and guess who was the under writer yes campbell and irvine, so you get good cover for a good price instead of a high price, just because you havent heard of the insurance company doesnt mean that they are sub standard.
travel nation now use axa for under writing now but we have had no problem with their service for three years of constant overlanding.

so to sum up you could get your insurance from BIN LADEN EXSPLOSIVE INSURANCE just because the name is a bit iffy dosent mean the under writers are:oops2:
dave

No worries, I was trying to make a generic point that not all policies are the same, rather than a specific point about one company. Trying to get across the point that comparing the costs should be part of the assessment.

The Bin Laden's probably do offer insurance by the way. They own quite a few companies!

Travel Nation
 

Right - looks like we will be going with Travel Nation, for 4 reasons:

1. Rose and Dave have already had a positive experience with them
2. Their price is pretty competitive
3. We can renew on the road
4. They have given assurance that the insurance will cover us for all our countries (within reason) in writing.

Below is the response I had regarding the complete list of our countires. included in this list were

Pakistan, Iran, China, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, East timor etc etc

Many thanks for your email enquiry below, I am delighted to confirm your client’s planned trip itinerary scheduled to visit all of the countries listed below during the course of their planned 12 month drive from the UK to New Zealand would be covered subject to the standard policy terms and conditions of both the Standard and Superior policies.

In relation to General Exclusion 10 of the policy, I am able to confirm that provided your clients are aware of the current FCO advice and wherever possible avoid any specific areas where the FCO advised not to travel, then the policy will remain valid throughout the entire duration of the trip. Please however note that insurers would reserve the right to decline any claims which may arise from the reasons why the FCO advise against all but essential travel to certain regions. Therefore if an individual were to suffer an unforeseen insured event which gave rise to a claim whilst travelling to a region against FCO advice, the insurers would honour any such claim provided the event which gave rise to the claim was not as a direct result of the reasons why the FCO advised against travel in the first place.

I trust that you find this to be in order, however should you have any questions or require any further assistance please feel free to contact me.

keepin' it safe...key word for mexico is: slow
 

hey all,

just thought ide throw in that Navigator can be bought over the phone, and you can extend on the road...

in southern mexico now, Puerto Angel, lovin it! Done 3500 miles from Fort Myers, Florida and glad i went for the KLR650, still runnin' sweet; and no need for the insurance and touch wood we never will...

anyways hope you all get it sorted and we'll see down here in mexico - south america if you're down here in the next 8 months.

stay safe all

dylan

sorry everyone somehow missed this if your after a good company check out the post in trip paperwork

Hard, but we got there...
 

My girlfriend and I are in India and were looking to buy new insurance that covered us for riding motorbikes. We also wanted to be able to extend it from abroad. Below are the three companies that we could find (having tried pretty much everyone on this great thread). Hope it helps. We ended up going with the Navigator policy.

Navigator Travel (T: 0161 973 6435 - contact Yvonne) - they've got a new scheme coming out within the next 24-48 hours which might well suit. The main proviso is that you have to have a full UK bike licence to cover a 350cc? She reckons it'll cost around £240 per year exc USA. 'Personal accident' isn't covered; this means loss of eyesight/limb/compensation etc but medical expenses are covered.

World Wide Insure (Cheap worldwide Travel Insurance. Holiday Travel Insurance) (T: 01892 833338 - contact Alison) who do a 'long stay overseas' policy of a maximum of 18 months which would cost £450. Minimum is 2 months for £50. Check their long stay section: Worldwide Travel Insurance - Longstay Travel Insurance, instant quote
'Personal accident' isn't covered; this means loss of eyesight/limb/compensation etc but medical expenses are covered.

Cambell Irvine (T: 020 7937 6981) can do it for £556. They point out that you won't be covered for any areas in India that the FCO have deemed unsafe to travel, or 'essential travel only' This will be the case with all insurance companies.

Hi Solomon

Read your post with interest. When did Campbell Irvine say they would no longer entertain ANY cover for FCO-blacklisted places? And who did you speak to? This sounds like a change from what I and other people have been told by them.

Mark

Crazy
 

I was in the process of making a note of all my details before we set off on our trip, and what did I notice ... that our insurance policy is actually underwritten by campbell invine. So two things to note:

a) It's a lot cheaper to get their insurance through a broker
b) They have explicitely written to me to explain they will cover the FCO areas, as long as the problem is not caused by what the FCO are warning against. See my post above.

Saw this on TV in the gym recently....
 

DON'T leave home without travel insurance - you may have to copy and paste this into a browser
http://collections.europarchive.org/..._030_mpeg1.mpg

1 Stop Travel Insurance
 

Hi all,
Am quite new to all this but got the heads up from Maria. I know I am replying to her posting back in 2006 but I am sure you'll all agree that travel insurance is as relevant now as it was then. We are actually overlanding with a 4x4 and will be starting off from Montreal all the way down to South America, so I hope this is ok, seeing as though this is a motorcycle forum:innocent:

After several days of calling and web surfing, I finally decided on 1 Stop Travel Insurance. Why? Price. I paid £283 for both of us for 12 months (excluding personal belongings and excess). I did this on line after reading the small print and was all done in 15 minutes. I am now covered (whatever that really means).

World Wide Insurance came in second at around £370 for the both of us. Similar cover so price was the decider.

I have to say that I really wanted to go with Navigator. I really like their business and the fact that they were down to earth and honest. I enjoyed their website and found it easy to understand. They even have a fools guide to the small print which is a good read: Things you should know about travel insurance, but probably don’t

It's an honest assessment of the rip off that is insurance. I also spoke to a really compitent and very nice guy (didn't get his name). You do speak to experts, not just call centre folk, which makes a difference. If price is not such an issue (their 12 month cover came in at £264 each) then I would really consider them.

I hope I made the right choice. Just like someone in the thread, 1 Stop just seems to good to be true, I am waiting for the catch. I hope I don't regret not taking Navigator, or else, I hope I will never actually need to use it anyway. Isn't that what we all want?

IMPORIMPORTENT! Travel Nation and roundtheworldinsurance.co.uk
 

I emailed Travel Nation/roundtheworldinsurance.co.uk to get the same agreement as Ollie did above for my trip down the West Coast of Africa in a 4x4.

Travel Nation replied that they would +not+ cover me.

I pressed them on why not and the owner of the company phoned me and we had a constructive conversation which I will paraphrase below and Haydn the owner said he will add his comments from his side in another posting.

Briefly:

- Current policy owners will be covered.
- Travel nation were apparently unaware that overland travelers like us were using their polices for these kinds of trips (even though people like Ollie had emailed them and received the replies posted above - I was just doing the same and wanting the same reply in writing like Ollie).
- This decision is on my trip - they felt it was too much of a risk compared to somebody back packing around Australia for example ( a drunk 19 year old is less of a risk than a teatotaler like me! I'm insulted ;-).
- They may cover your intended trip, but suggest you email them first to recieve a yes or no.
- They will put a note on their website shortly to make this clearer.
- Their policies are really aimed at 'normal' travel use rather than 'niche' travel like us overlanders.
- I suggested overland travel is not so niche anymore and they look into creating a policy for us. They are only a small company and this probably wouldn't be possible for them.
- They suggested getting insurance through Campbell Irvine. I noted that this was much more expensive!

I'll add anything else I have forgotten if I remember it!

So, the search goes on for me at least - shouldn't have sent a bloody email......!!!!