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Insurances

Trip Cancellation Insurance

There are many types of trip cancellation insurances that cover acts of god or travel industry issues, delays, and cancellations, but few if any will reimburse you if you have to cancel due to illness, particularly an illness that can be shown as a pre-existing condition. Volunteer Positive staff will walk you through these decisions as you prepare to volunteer abroad. This insurance can be bought through your travel agent, or through a variety of sources.

Flight Advice 

Never buy a plane ticket that has a high cost for being re-booked or refunded. This is important for a few reasons, one being that you may love your trip so much that you want to stay longer, or that if something happens at home and you need to return earlier than expected you can change your flights without huge penalty. Sometimes, cheap tickets have huge change fees and can backfire on a traveler.

Temporary International Medical Insurance for the UK and US Citizens

Most US and UK based insurances will cover accidents, but have limits on pre-existing conditions abroad. After significant research, Volunteer Positive has identified temporary medical and evacuation insurance that does not penalize for pre-existing conditions. 

All Volunteer Positive participants are required to show proof of international health insurance and emergency evacuation insurance in order to be considered viable for service abroad.

Volunteer Positive works with the following providers to meet this need:

  • HTH Worldwide Insurance to cover you during your trip for emergency medical and evacuation insurance for US citizens.
 

Outside the US or UK?

Volunteer Positive staff will work with you to identify the proper coverage. For UK residents, there is specific travel insurance based in the UK that is specifically for people with HIV.

Additional Information on International Health Insurances

 Additionally, many volunteer sending organizations provide local health support for emergencies. Coverage and support is relative to your geographic area of service and local health infrastructures. This reality will be fully explored in each volunteer location so that participants can have as much information possible to make prudent judgments before traveling. Since we work in communities with high HIV rates, this information is known to us at each of our locations.