As you travel East Africa from Kenya, you might think you are still at home or close to home. That is very true. Uganda, Tanzania, or Rwanda are our close neighbours.
However, East Africa countries do not cooperate directly in healthcare. This means your comprehensive private medical insurance or SHA/SHIF may not cover you outside Kenya.
It is for that reason that a travel insurance cover comes handy as your plan to East Africa or the rest of Africa.
You need to stay prepared for emergency medical costs, evacuation, or repatriation in case of a medical incidence.
By the way, travel insurance for East Africa is very affordable as opposed to transatlantic covers. You can use this travel insurance premium calculator to see how prices are affordable.
In this guide, I will take you through what regional East African policies actually cover, what is the COMESA Yellow Card and its importance, border clearance and underwriting rules.
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Regional East African Policies Core Coverage
Regional travel insurance covers 3 key things:
- Cross border emergency medical expenses. This is coverage for sudden illnesses, food poisoning, or accident stabilization in hospitals across Kampala, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, or Kigali.
- Medical evacuation and repatriation. If an accident occurs on a trip in Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, the policy covers emergency road or air ambulance evacuation back to a major hospital hub or back to Nairobi.
- Travel inconvenience baggage/delays. The policy covers loss of baggage, or severe delays on regional shuttle buses or flights.
Travel Insurance Versus COMESA Yellow Card
Have you ever had a COMESA Yellow Card? COMESA Yellow Card is a third party motor insurance cover.
It was established by COMESA member states to facilitate inter-state traffic movement.
COMESA Yellow Card offers protection against third party injury, death, and property loss while transiting within COMESA states.
Yellow card does not cover personal body injury in case of an accident.
For a bulletproof road trip, a traveller needs both the COMESA Yellow Card for the car and regional travel insurance for the people inside it.
Border Clearance and Underwriting Rules
There are certain things you need to learn on border clearance and underwriting rules.
- Territorial limits (Zone 1 – Africa). Regional trips fall under the most affordable travel insurance premium tier. This tier is often classified as ‘Africa and Middle East’ or ‘EAC Specific’.
- Duration flexibility. An East African travel policy can be structured for micro-trips. For example a 3-day weekend road trip to Kampala from Nairobi or a 5-day safari in Serengeti, making the cost negligible.
- Pre-existing conditions and age frameworks. It is important to note that pre-existing and chronic conditions are excluded from your cover, unless specific premium riders are included that allows coverage of these conditions. Again, seniors above a certain age, usually 80 years, are subjected to medical underwriting or payment of extra premium due to the increased risk of getting sick.
To enjoy your vacation or trip across East Africa it takes less than 5 minutes to secure a regional travel insurance.
The cost is way less than you may think. Travel insurance policies cost just a fraction of your trip budget.
Do not cross the border to Uganda or Tanzania unprotected. Head over to our main Travel Insurance Quote Hub, input your regional travel dates, select our highly affordable standard or single-trip coverages, and get a tailored quote sent straight to your WhatsApp.
Frequently Asked Questions About East Africa Regional Travel Insurance
- If I already have a COMESA Yellow Card for my car, do I still need regional travel insurance?
Yes. COMESA Yellow Card covers third party body injury and third party property loss. Regional travel insurance features emergency medical cover, evacuation, and repatriation for those inside the vehicle.
- Does my standard Kenyan NHIF / SHIF or corporate medical card cover me when I cross the border?
Most of the times, No. Standard Kenyan medical schemes and corporate health cards are strictly restricted to local healthcare provider networks within Kenya. This means in case of a medical emergency, you will foot the bill out of your pockets.
However, travel insurance will help you navigate through the medical challenges you can encounter in your trip across East Africa.
- Can I get a policy just for a weekend road trip, and is it expensive?
Yes. You can. Even a 3-day trip cover is available and the cover is very affordable at just a fraction of your trip budget way less as compared to transatlantic and Europe trips.
- Does the policy cover travel hitches on regional airlines or shuttle buses?
Yes. Besude medical emergencies coverage, regional travel insurance includes cover for travel inconveniences.
This protects you against severe transit delays, missed connections, or lost and misplaced baggage when traveling with regional shuttle bus networks or regional airlines such as Kenya Airways, RwandAir, or Precision Air.
