Insurance Matters

Extreme Bike Tours ‘Terms & Conditions‘ state that it is mandatory to have an insurance to join a motorcycle tour (point “3.4 Insurance”).

Here’s is the extract:

“It is mandatory to have a comprehensive insurance policy cover for your tour. The following should be covered by your insurance policy travel, trip cancellation, medical expenses, personal accident and repatriation cover, general liability and damage or loss of luggage, money and public liability before registering for the tour.”

You should therefore purchase a travel insurance policy as soon as you confirm your booking.

We usually recommend worldnomads.com – which is the one we personally use – but you don’t necessarily need to use the same company and their policy may not apply to you.

Regardless of the company you decide to use, you need to know that there are plans with different types of coverage.

Here are the most important and that we strongly suggest to have:

• Emergency Medical Evacuation – covers evacuation to the nearest hospital in case of emergency.
• Travel Medical Insurance – covers costs for medical needs.
• Cancel for Any Reason (CFAR) – covers any cost incurred in case a trip has been cancelled for any reason, whether by you or the operator.

An important note: recently we wrote about deposits and refunds on an article and although we are very reasonable, the Terms & Conditions state that deposits are non-refundable and therefore being covered with the CFAR option is the best way to ensure you don’t lose your money in case of cancellation.

If you are a frequent traveler it might be a good option to sign up for an Annual Travel Insurance which covers multiple trips in the same year.

MAKE SURE that the insurance covers motorcycle trips.

In a particular situation, you might not be able to travel due to a negative travel advisory. For example, Australia – like many other countries – has currently warned against traveling to China.

Our tour in Tibet is in part of China and if by the time of the tour the travel advisory has not been lifted and you decide to cancel your trip, your insurance should cover the cancellation. So when you sign up, make sure you have this option included.

World Nomads for example offers this coverage. Here’s an extract:

“Am I covered if the published warning is ‘Do Not Travel’

Here’s a guide to give you an idea:

1. A warning is in place before you buy a policy (whether you have travel expenses or not):No cover

2. A warning is published after you buy a policy and before you have booked travel or incurred expenses: No cover

3. A warning is published after you buy a policy and after you have booked travel or incurred expenses (before you leave home): There is cover for cancellation or rearrangement costs for affected travel services which were purchased before the warning was issued, under the terms of your policy.

4. A warning is published after you buy a policy, and if you are already travelling in an affected area and have incurred expenses: There is cover for cancellation or rearrangement costs for affected travel services which were purchased before the warning was issued, under the terms of your policy.

5. If you choose to travel to a region despite published warnings:No cover”

If you would like to read the whole article click here: “Am I covered by travel insurance if there’s a travel warning in place?“

Questions? Leave a comment below.