Kilimajaro Climbing insurance
Kilimanjaro travel insurance – When buying insurance for climbing Kilimanjaro you must make clear to the insurer that you will be trekking on a very big mountain. If you are going to be mountaineering and using ropes then you need to tell them that too. This will probably increase your premium (it usually doubles it) and may even exclude you from being covered altogether. But if you don’t make this clear from the start and pay the lower premium you may find, should you have to make a claim, that you weren’t actually covered at all.
Do note, however, that it pays to bear in mind that you are not actually doing any climbing, you are just walking. In other words, you won’t be using any ropes, crampons or other climbing gear . The insurance company should know this – but many of the staff they employ don’t! So do make this clear or they’ll be charging you a higher premium unnecessarily. Kilimanjaro travel insurance
Remember to read the small print of any insurance policy before buying one to protect you, and shop around too, for each insurance policy varies slightly from company to company. Details to consider include:
- How much is the deductible if you have to make a claim on your Kilimanjaro insurance?
- Can the insurers pay for your hospital bills etc immediately, while you are still in Tanzania, or do you have to wait until you get home?
- How long do you have before making a claim and what evidence do you require (hospital bills, police reports etc)?
Karibu Adventures has an agreement with Intensive Care Air Ambulance (ICAA) AMREF Flying Doctor who can evacuate you in case of any severe problems arise up to an altitude of 4000m. If you are above that height, you will be taken down to where the helicopter is by our chief guide and evacuated from there to the hospital in Nairobi.
You are not going to contract malaria, for example, while you’re on the mountain (the anopheles mosquito that spreads it doesn’t go above 1200m, and you usually start your trek at least 1500m up the slopes). Theft becomes a much bigger issue away from the mountain too.
The following is a list of companies that offer insurance for Kilimanjaro. Note that these often change – one week a company offers insurance for Kilimanjaro, the next week it doesn’t – so apologies if some of these links are out of date. Despite our best efforts!