Travel Insurance for Africa
From the savannah to the sea, learn how travel insurance can help Canadians travelling to Africa.
- As featured in:
As featured in:
- Do I need travel insurance for Africa?
- Travel insurance for activities in Africa
- Travel insurance for medical emergencies in Africa
- Travel insurance for lost and stolen luggage in Africa
- Travel insurance for crime and political unrest in Africa
- Travel insurance for cancelled, interrupted, or delayed trips in Africa
- Tips for travelling to Africa from Canada
Home to mesmerizing wildlife, extraordinary natural grandeur, tribes rich with tradition, and contemporary urban centres, a trip to Africa is often considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime vacation by many Canadian travellers.
Whether you adventure to ancient ruins in Egypt, search for the Big 5 on safari, trek through leafy jungle abundant with primates, get soaked by the spray at Victoria Falls, or learn to roast coffee in a mountain village in Ethiopia, every traveller will find their own kind of fun on this abundantly diverse continent.
As you prepare for your adventure, we encourage you to consider travel insurance for Africa, as you may experience the unexpected.
Do I need travel insurance for Africa?
International travel can bring all kinds of unexpected surprises - like watching a lion sunbathe while on safari in South Africa’s Kruger National Park or spotting mountain gorillas while climbing a volcano in Rwanda.
Some surprises aren’t so great, though. Nobody wants to think about things like cancelled trips and medical emergencies, but these things can happen. You might come down with malaria symptoms and need to see a doctor. Or perhaps you fell and broke your ankle while climbing through the forest terrain of Odzala National Park in Congo Brazzaville and need to be transported to a hospital. You may wish then you had travel insurance for Africa.
World Nomads has two plans to choose from, and when you get a quote you can compare the options to determine the best international travel insurance for your needs.
Travel insurance for activities in Africa
From white water rafting down the Nile River in Uganda to going for a bush walk with San Bushmen in Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans, the African continent is filled to the brim with thrilling adventures. World Nomads covers more than 250 activities for Canadians travelling to Africa and includes things like scuba diving in the Quirimbas Archipelago off the coast of Mozambique, undertaking a volunteer project in a local school or wildlife rescue center, and hiking Mount Kenya.
It’s important to have a fairly concrete idea of your trip plans before you get a quote. You must list all your activities out when purchasing the plan— if something happens during an activity you didn’t list on your plan, then you won’t be covered. For example, if you go surfing while on your trip and you didn’t list that activity out when making your plan purchase, you won’t be covered if something were to happen while catching a wave. You may want to consider overshooting and listing out all possible activities you may do, just in case.
Keep in mind that you will be covered under the base plan to participate in various adventure sports, activities, volunteer, and work experiences, shown as Level 1, under both our Standard and Explorer Plans. For coverage for adventures sports, work and activities listed as Level 2 or Level 3, you will need upgrade your adventure sports coverage to pay an extra premium. Note: Special conditions and exclusions may apply to while taking part in certain sports and activities. For the full policy terms and conditions please review the policy wording.
Travel insurance for medical emergencies in Africa
Before you take off on your African adventure, we recommend that you visit a travel medical clinic or your local doctor’s office to make sure you are up to date on all vaccines you may need. You may also want to ask your doctor about malaria medication.
We also recommend packing a few basic supplies for your trip, as some basic things aren’t always available, especially in rural areas on the continent. Strong mosquito repellant to help prevent malaria, sunscreen (it can be hard to find outside of South Africa), and bandages, are a good place to start.
Water and food sanitation vary widely across the continent. Water is safe to drink in Cape Town and the Western Cape, but it generally isn’t safe to drink throughout the rest of the continent. Make sure to drink bottled or filtered water outside of those regions. Malaria is prevalent in many areas, so if you suspect that you have malaria symptoms, contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance for assistance in finding a local clinic. Malaria is something that most clinics in Africa can test and treat, whereas Canadian clinics may not have that same level of expertise.
Health care varies widely across the African continent and typically will be quite different than what you’re used to in Canada. Emergency medical care and medical facilities with the right equipment are often hard to find. If you have a medical emergency when travelling in Africa, you can call the 24/7 emergency assistance team and they can refer you to a place that offers the level of care that you need. They can also help communicate with your local medical team if there is a language barrier.
Maybe you fall and hurt yourself while hiking in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and your doctor determines that it’s best for you to go home to Canada to get medical care. The emergency evacuation and repatriation coverage that is included in your travel insurance for Africa may cover the costs to get you there.
However, there is an important thing to note: you must have GHIP coverage in your home province for your entire trip to be eligible for the maximum emergency medical expenses benefits. Without GHIP coverage, your total limit for all emergency medical expenses is limited to CAD$40,000.
Travel insurance for lost and stolen luggage in Africa
Nobody plans for lost bags, but it happens. If you’re heading to South Africa for a surfing vacation, you may have packed your favorite surfboard. When you land in Durban and realize that the airline lost your bag, your travel insurance for Africa may reimburse you for the cost to replace your belongings.
If you’re lucky, your bags just took a detour and will eventually make their way to you. Even a delayed bag can be stressful though. If this happens, you could still be reimbursed for a change of clothes and toiletries until you and your bag are reunited. If you incur expenses because you need rent a surfboard until your favorite one arrives, you may be eligible for reimbursement under the sporting equipment delay coverage included in your insurance plan.
Travel insurance for crime and political unrest in Africa
Safety varies widely across Africa. The best thing you can do is have a sense of awareness around yourself, your surroundings, and your belongings. Leave the flashy jewelry at home to avoid unwanted attention and store your credit cards and valuables in a safe in your accommodations.
Take particular care in crowded areas like markets and bus stations. Keep your bags in front of you and avoid flashing valuables like smart phones if possible. In most major cities, like Nairobi and Kampala, it is also best to avoid walking at night— we encourage you to take motorized transportation instead.
If anything does happen, make sure you make a police report. You’ll need that if you have to make a claim and get reimbursed for stolen goods with your travel insurance for Africa.
Travel insurance for cancelled, interrupted, or delayed trips in Africa
When you’re searching for the best travel insurance for Africa, make sure it has coverage for trip cancellation, trip delay, and trip interruption. If it does, you could be reimbursed for unused, prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses if something unexpected happens.
If you get sick before leaving Canada and your doctor tells you not to travel at that time, you could be forced to cancel your trip. Or, if an immediate family member back home has an unexpected medical emergency while you’re on your adventure, you may need to go back to Canada early. Travel insurance for Africa may provide reimbursement for your prepaid, nonrefundable insured trip costs and may provide additional benefits to help you cover expenses you incur to get back home.
Sometimes situations happen that disrupt your plans once you’re already in Africa. Certain countries in Africa experience frequent political unrest. If possible, avoid travelling during elections, when tensions may be high, and protests and unrest can break out.
Tips for travelling to Africa from Canada
Before you leave Canada, we encourage you to check out the Canadian government’s travel advisories for each country you plan to visit. Weather, safety, and political situations can change at any time, and this is where they list any current advisories.
If you purchase travel insurance for Africa, it’s a good idea to save the 24/7 Emergency Assistance phone number and your plan number in your cell phone so you don’t have to search for that if an emergency happens.
With 54 nations and over 2,000 languages, cultural customs, transport, and everything in between in Africa are pretty different country-to-country. We recommend that you read up on each place you intend to visit ahead of time Also, keep in mind that most African countries are more culturally conservative than Canada. Modest dress is recommended in rural areas—a great rule of thumb is to cover your knees and shoulders out of respect for local culture.
Whether you’re heading to Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa, or Tanzania, do some pre-trip reading for destination inspiration—you’ll be wowed by how much there is to do beyond a safari vacation. And speaking of safaris, we encourage you to look for ethical wildlife and cultural experiences so your experience doesn’t harm the environment or people involved.
Check out our tips for photographing wildlife and keep those camera batteries charged to make sure you’re ready for those gorilla, lion, and other wildlife shots!
This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms and conditions of the plan. It is important you read and understand your plan as it contains benefits, conditions, exclusions and pre-existing condition exclusions. If you do not understand your coverage, or if you have questions, just ask us.
Travel Insurance Benefits: how we can take care of you
Trip Cancellation
Protect your hard earned vacation from unexpected cancellation.
- Explorer Plan: $5,000
- Standard Plan: $2,500
Trip Protection
- Are you or your family sick or injured?
- Natural disaster or terrorist attack where your'e going?
- Called to active service?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Medical Insurance
Take the pain out of medical or dental costs.
- Explorer Plan: $10 million
- Standard Plan: $5 million
Emergency Medical Insurance
- Need medication?
- Accidentally injured?
- Suddenly sick?
We’ve got your back.
Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation
We’ll get you to hospital or home quickly.
- Explorer Plan: $500,000
- Standard Plan: $500,000
Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation
- Hurt abroad?
- Need to get to a hospital urgently?
- Medevac home?
Help starts here.
Protect your gear
Covers the theft, damage or delay of your bags, tech and sports gear.
- Explorer Plan: $3,000
- Standard Plan: $1,000
Protect your gear
- Video camera gone?
- Laptop lost?
- Sports gear stolen?
Help starts here.
- Emergency Medical Expenses
- Emergency Dental for Injury or Sickness
- Bedside Companion Travel and Subsistence
- Emergency Professional Services
- Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
- Return of Travel Companion/Dependent Children
- Return to Your Trip Destination
- Return of Remains
- Travel Accident
- Flight Accident
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Interruption
- Trip Delay
- Baggage and Personal Effects Theft or Damage
- Baggage and Sporting Equipment Delay
- Travel Documents Theft or Damage
- Sporting Equipment Theft or Loss by a Common Carrier
- Covered Adventure Sports listed in Policy
Assistance Services Included
- LiveTravelTM Emergency Assistance
- Worldwide Travel Assistance
- Adventure Travel Hotline
- 24/7 Security
- Travel Medical Assistance
- Bag Trak
24/7 emergency assistance
Whether you need medical or dental assistance or advice, emergency evacuation or travel assistance, our team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.
Are you in need of emergency assistance right now?
Telephone +1 866 878 0192 (toll-free from Canada and the Continental U.S.) or +1 416 646 3723 (collect from anywhere else in the world)
Contact the team
Before your trip, check the latest government advice for any travel alerts for your destination.