Getting travel insurance is not just a box-ticking exercise to keep the ship operators happy, it also gives you peace of mind.
Whether you’re travelling in your home waters or further afield, Travel Insurance is designed to cover loss of baggage, travel disruptions, injury, or cancellation should you be unable to sail for personal medical reasons.
⚓ Make sure you understand where the trip will be sailing, and how far offshore you’ll go. Insurance providers often have different policies depending on whether you’re staying coastal (within 12 miles of land) or going further out to sea. Some providers may offer offshore cover, but limit this to certain geographical areas (e.g. they might cover Biscay, the North Sea and the Caribbean but not the whole Atlantic).
⚓ Make sure your insurance provider is aware of the nature of your voyage, and that you may be undertaking ‘sail training activities’ such as climbing the rigging.
⚓ Make sure your provider is aware of all pre-existing medical conditions. It might push your premium up, but it will ensure you don’t invalidate your policy. Better to pay more for a policy that will pay out if you need it, rather than paying less for a useless piece of paper.
⚓ Each ship has its own set of Terms and Conditions. Read these carefully before making your final decision on Travel Insurance, to ensure your insurance covers anything that the ship does not.
⚓Travel Insurance is required even if you’re sailing in your home country!
Classic Sailing is not an insurance broker or agent. We do not sell or arrange insurance policies.
Below we give some examples of insurance providers that previous sailors have found helpful. These details are given for information only and should not be taken as a recommendation or endorsement of any particular company or policy.
It is your responsibility to make sure that any policy you choose is suitable for your own circumstances, voyage and level of cover. We strongly advise you to do your own research, compare options, and read the full terms and conditions of any policy before purchasing.
A broker for many very reputable insurance firms, Brunel can be helpful for finding cover, especially if you are over 70 or have pre-existing medical conditions. They can also help wade through the insurance lingo and give you confidence that your policy is covering what you need it to cover.
Topsail offer some policies designed specifically with tall ships, sail training and traditional sailing in mind. They offer various sailing area options, including ‘Worldwide’ which covers most oceans, and you can bolt on additional areas such as Antarctica.
Can provide cover for some voyages at a competitive price, but note that they have quite tight geographical limits. Their offshore option only covers the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, English Channel, Bay of Biscay, Straits of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, between the Caribbean Islands (except in hurricane season), from the west coast of Morocco or south coast of Portugal to the Canary Isles, the Baltic Sea and between the islands off the coast of Norway (excluding the Svalbard Islands).
If you already have health insurance, it’s worth checking what’s covered, as you might not need such an extensive Travel policy.
We would highly recommend contacting some insurance providers in your country of residence, as they will often be best placed to help you (and we can’t list all the possible options here!), but below are a couple of companies who specialise in providing Travel Insurance for non UK residents:
Provide insurance to travellers of any nationality.
Provide insurance to residents of the EEA.