Why Certain Destinations May Not Have Travel Insurance Options

When making travel insurance plans, it is important to understand that certain travel destinations may not have travel insurance options. There are a variety of reasons why travel insurance plans may be changed with the discovery that no travel insurance is available for certain planned destinations. With the state of unrest or uncertainty in certain travel locations, it is important not to wait until the last minute to decide on travel insurance plans, only to discover that no travel insurance is available for that destination.

One reason why certain destinations may not have travel insurance options is due to political unrest. With political unrest often come terrorism, kidnappings, and outbreaks of violence against travelers. Traveling to these countries with no travel insurance is risky, but since most travel insurance plans will not cover travel to a country that is known to be politically unstable and carries a greatly increased risk of harm coming to the traveler, it is unlikely that the traveler will be able to travel any other way than without travel insurance. Travel insurance policies are underwritten just like any other insurance policy and risk is always assessed before a travel policy is granted. Since the risk to return ratio is so high for countries experiencing political unrest, the insurance carrier is unlikely to be willing to bear the risk of a high payout for insuring a traveler who intends to visit a destination known to be particularly dangerous for travelers.

The Bureau of Consular Affairs via the U.S. Department of State’s website offers a useful page that lists current travel warnings.

Another reason why certain destinations may not have travel insurance options is due to crime. Certain regions of the world have extraordinarily high crime rates due to drug trafficking, weaponry, precious materials, trade routes, and other high visibility activities, and the rate of crime makes it dangerous for travelers to visit these locations. With attacks on convoys, caravans, trains, and other methods of entering and leaving the country, just getting there and back can carry an unacceptably high risk to the travel insurance carrier.

Finally, certain destinations may not have travel insurance options due to recent war activity. There are many regions of the world which have recently been engaged in skirmishes or outright armed battle, and travel insurance carriers will not cover travelers who wish to visit these locations. The rule of thumb when selecting a travel destination is always to consider personal risk and decide whether traveling to a place that a travel insurance carrier considers too risky to insure is worth the personal risk involved to go without travel insurance. If it is not essential to visit the region, it is often wiser to wait until the local conditions stabilize before planning a trip to an uninsurable destination.