TRAVEL INSURANCE
Antarctica21, our operator partner for the main portion of the trip, requires participants have travel insurance that at least covers emergency medical evacuation (which is a good idea either way).
While you are welcome to get any plan that you feel suits you best, we recommend the options available via our partner Travel Insured International, a leading travel insurance provider with over 20 years of experience in the industry.
In addition to meeting the required emergency medical evacuation benefit for Antarctica, their protection plans include pre-departure benefits such as Trip Cancellation and post-departure benefits such as Accident & Sickness Medical, Baggage/Baggage Delay, Missed Connection, Trip Delay and Trip Interruption. Additionally, their plans include 24/7 Emergency Assistance Services provided via an independent organization.
Our experience with TII thus has also thus far been excellent, with timely, thorough responses to all our questions, and a 100% record so far in honoring any claims since we began working with them in 2017.
FYI:
Reassuringly, their plans treat Covid-19 the same as any other illness (which is not the case with all providers, some of which have related exemptions). You can read about this & more in their detailed Covid-related FAQ document or in this Coronavirus Resources page.
Plan cost varies with age & home state, and will most directly be influenced by the amount of trip cost you insure for cancellation or trip interruption. Note: While we generally recommend insuring your full trip cost for peace of mind, know that you can still get all of the comprehensive emergency, medical & travel interruption benefits even by only insuring a small amount for cancellation/interruption.
Click below to access our portal on Travel Insured International's website:
Filling in details to browse available plans should be very straightforward.
If obtained via the above link, we will automatically receive your plan details, which we'll also pass on to our staff on the trip.
Note: If you are interested in supplemental Cancel-for-Any-Reason coverage:
This is available for 21 days after initial trip deposit (a week longer than many plans)
You'll need to insure the full non-refundable cost of your trip (as all CFAR plans require)
If extra reassurance may be welcome, we recently partnered with a company called MedJet in case anyone may want to supplement their travel insurance with a service that, if injury or illness were to occur during a trip, would provide and pay for hospital-to-hospital medical transfer from the country you find yourself in to the hospital of your choice at home in the United States.
You can find a brief introduction to their services in this PDF. As you’ll note:
A MedJetAssist membership for 15 days is $145 for individuals (or $250 for a family).
Yearly memberships are also available for $295 for individuals (or $399 for a family).
Note: There is nothing particular about this trip or the destinations that prompt us to share this. If you had an emergency in Antarctica that required medical attention at a hospital, personnel onboard ship would know exactly how to handle an evacuation, and your travel insurance would cover the cost of that evacuation to a hospital in Chile. Chile has one of the best health care systems in Latin America, so we personally would not be concerned with quality of treatment there. Some people may simply prefer to receive treatment at home, and, also welcome this in other parts of the world which the yearly plans would include. As you can read on their website, they also have other security-related services which may be of interest.
(www.Medjet.com/OpenSkyExpeditions)*
* Above link valid for travelers up to the age of 75.
Older travelers can submit can submit a separate application, which we can provide.