Questions about Comesa insurance.
 

Good afternoon everyone.

So as part of my on going paperwork preparations I have come to the issue of third party insurance for my travels. I will be going from Europe through Tunisia, Libya, The Sudan, Ethiopia and on down to Cape town. The whole trip will take a year. What is the best way to deal with the insurance? I have been reading about the Comesa system but do not fully understand it. Is it wise to ask at each border or try to bag the whole lot in one go?

I realize this is a little vague. I have done a search on this but fresh experiences would be most welcome. The paperwork seems to be one of the biggest headaches for the trip!

Best to search and read the sub saharan Africa forum on here. Cut and paste the following into your browser:

site:http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/ comesa

In short, you need to buy Comesa as it is quite cheap and recognised by every cop and border etc etc. It's not worth much as insurance goes, only 3rd party, but will keep you out of jail if something happens and save a lot of hassle when people want to check your documents.

Sudan will be the first country where you can buy it I think? Else Ethiopia, in Addis, opposite the bus terminal next to Wim's Holland House. Some recent threads on it in the Africa action.

You state how long you want it for, what countries to cover and on what vehicle. I bought it for one year for a Land Rover for all countries and it was about $150 in Zambia in 2011. It will work in Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Not Mozambique even though the certificate might say it will. Botswana and Namibia you buy a permit/insurance at the border (25? Euros for 3 months in Namibia). South Africa has 3rd party insurance included as a tax on fuel.

Worth buying it for the whole year regardless of what you think your plans will be. Then photocopy it 10 times and get the original lamented.

Have fun.