Travel Insurance

Whether it`s your trip, your luggage, or your health you choose to protect, travel insurance, and most importantly, the right kind of travel insurance, is essential.

TIC`s comprehensive travel insurance products are trusted by holiday and business travellers alike.

How soon before my trip should I buy travel insurance?
Travel insurance must be obtained before you embark on your journey. You can purchase travel insurance up to 12 months before you travel, however the journey cancellation benefit is only effective six months prior to your departure.

Do I have to start and finish my trip in my country of residence?
Yes. Unless you are buying our Immigration product, but then you must be travelling from South Africa.

I am currently overseas and have no insurance. Can I still take out a TIC policy?
No. Travel insurance must be obtained before you embark on your journey.

I am going overseas for over a year. Will TIC cover me?
Yes if you are 28 years of age, or younger, and you are travelling you can obtain cover for up to two years on our Youth travel insurance policy.
If you are older than 28, then the maximum cover you can purchase from us is for 365 days.

What about travel into high-risk areas, like Africa?
Available medical facilities and expertise in Africa can be inadequate and there’s a high chance that travellers may need to be evacuated by air ambulance from an African country should they require emergency medical assistance, which is prohibitively expensive. Due to the prevalence of HIV/Aids and Hepatitis B and C in many African countries, it is reassuring for travellers to know that should they require a blood transfusion, TIC is a member of the Blood Care Programme, operated by the Blood Care Foundation, which provides screened blood to its members in any part of the world.

You never know how valuable travel insurance is until you need it.
The following story illustrates how TIC helped a client in his hour of need.

Traveller: Norman
Location: Osaka, Japan, Total claim amount:R430 000
"Norman, a 41-year-old South African businessman, travelled to Osaka, Japan for business where he had an allergic reaction to shell fish after a meal at a local restaurant, and subsequently suffering cardiac and respiratory arrest. Claimant:Norman
Norman ordered a vegetable stir-fry in Japan and the chef was told to avoid any shell fish, but it was somehow contaminated," says Sue, his wife. "He recognised that it was a shellfish reaction and told the restaurant staff to call the ambulance. The paramedics put a needle into his throat for air. When he got to the hospital they cut the tracheotomy. And then he was able to get air. But his heart stopped for 15 minutes, resulting in a lack of oxygen.

When I got the news, I contacted TIC from South Africa," Sue continues, "and the assistance company contacted the hospital in Japan and arranged everything. The language barrier was a problem - so the assistance company organised an interpreter to talk to the doctor.

Norman was in Japan for seven weeks. Then the assistance company organised a doctor and a sister from South Africa to go over to Japan to escort him back.

Travel insurance is essential," Sue says. "You have to take it out. Like any insurance, you don't realise how important it is until you need it. If it hadn't been for the assistance company, we wouldn't have been able to get Norman back. If I'd had to do it on my own it would have been a nightmare.

Norman and I would like to say thank you to TIC and the assistance company because we wouldn't have coped without them. It wasn't just about finance - the help was in the small things which we needed. My airfare and accommodation in Osaka were organised by TIC, and there were so many little things we wouldn't have managed on our own."

Norman underwent treatment in a rehabilitation centre, and everyone at TIC and the assistance company wishes him a speedy recovery.