4 Ways Travel Insurance Can Help Protect Your Voluntourism Trip

Are you taking a trip and plan to do some volunteer work to help the community while you’re there? Whether you’re doing some voluntourism or a full-on humanitarian or missionary trip, you’ve come to the right place to learn why travel insurance is an important part of such a trip and you can easily buy a plan if you decide it’s right for you.

Voluntourism took quite a hit due to the pandemic, but with travel coming back full-steam, there are plenty of opportunities ¬– more every day, as climate change and political unrest lead to displaced persons and pockets of genuine need.

For veteran voluntourists and those making their first foray into this exciting travel type, travel insurance should be high on the checklist, for all of these reasons and more:

• Medical evacuation and medical emergencies
• Trip interruption/cancellation
• Baggage issues

Most voluntourism venues are not right downtown, around the corner from the best hospital in the country. In fact, it’s usually the opposite: the average voluntourism site is in a rural area, perhaps even a couple days’ journey, across a mountain range and through a jungle.

Now, imagine yourself in a position where you have to be evacuated from there – stat. 

Medical evacuations from voluntourism sites can be logistically challenging, technically daunting, and expensive. 

By purchasing travel insurance from Generali with Emergency Assistance and Transportation coverage, not only can the costs be covered, but you are securing the services of a team of experts who can mobilize resources on the ground to get you out of wherever you happen to be and to a facility equipped to treat you.

Voluntourism vacations are often active, in addition to being off the beaten path. That combination demands serious medical-evacuation protection.

What about the condition that caused the evacuation in the first place? That’s why the emergency medical coverage included in our Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain, and Seaside Travel Insurance goes hand-in-hand with emergency evacuation coverage.

You never know what sorts of mishaps might befall you when you’re building a school, improving a road, digging a well, or doing scores of other jobs on a voluntourism mission. 

Most U.S. medical insurance has limited value in foreign countries; out in the countryside, it’s practically worthless. What isn’t worthless is travel medical insurance, along with a team that can send payment immediately to local providers to expedite care.

Voluntourism’s high activity level calls for a correspondingly high level of emergency medical protection, such as the Medical and Dental coverage included in our Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain, and Seaside Coastal Travel Insurance. 

The pandemic has already made travel something of an iffy proposition. Add in political unrest and logistical issues and trip cancellation seems to be an ever-present threat with voluntourism.

In addition, floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters can cause trips to be interrupted. Travel insurance that covers cancelled and interrupted trips is made for situations like these.

What should you look for? Coverage that goes over and above 100% reimbursement for Trip Interruption (like 150% with our Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain, and Seaside Coastal Travel Insurance plans) – because arranging to get people out of a situation where flights may be scarce and immediate travel is expensive is not easy or cheap.

You may be able to get to your voluntourism site – but what if your luggage can’t?

Ample Baggage coverage needs to be a part of any travel-insurance plan meant to help protect voluntourism. Thankfully, Generali’s Guest Protect, Ski & Mountain, and Seaside Coastal plans cover luggage loss or damage up to $1,000.

And remember this pro tip to get the most out of your Baggage coverage benefit: Take pictures of your luggage and its contents before you leave, so you can establish what was lost and get reimbursed for it.

Voluntourism may have changed for many people, but for many more mission trips and philanthropic endeavors will be a big part of their travel future. For those people and their plans, travel insurance will remain one of the most important things they can take with them.

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