From the Is My Holiday Destination Safe? - 1Stop Travel and Holiday Insurance website:

"Please note that our Policy does not cover customers who travel to a country against Foreign Office Advice."

So you currently aren't covered in the following as of today, 18 August 2009:

Countries the FCO advises against all travel to

* Somalia

Countries the FCO advises against all travel to parts of

* Afghanistan
* Albania
* Azerbaijan
* Burundi
* Cambodia
* Cameroon
* Chad
* Colombia
* Congo (Democratic Republic)
* Djibouti
* Ecuador
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Georgia
* Haiti
* India
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
* Italy
* Lebanon
* Mali
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Russian Federation
* Sri Lanka
* Sudan
* Thailand
* Uganda
* Venezuela
* Yemen

Countries the FCO advises against all but essential travel to

* Burundi
* Central African Republic
* Congo
* East Timor
* Guinea
* Mauritania
* Yemen

Countries the FCO advises against all but essential travel to parts of

* Afghanistan
* Algeria
* Angola
* Armenia
* Bangladesh
* Chad
* Comoros
* Congo (Democratic Republic)
* Ecuador
* Ethiopia
* India
* Iraq
* Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories
* Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire)
* Kenya
* Kosovo
* Lebanon
* Liberia
* Libya
* Mauritania
* Nicaragua
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Russian Federation
* Rwanda
* Sri Lanka
* Sudan
* Thailand
* Turkey
* Uganda
* Uzbekistan

So, no insurance in Italy! India! Turkey! Russia! Ecuador! Thailand! Venezuela! Mali!

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Kiwi, 7 years around Africa. Overlanding channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/roamingyak

could you do a list of places that are ok to travel to, then there's a little positivity and it won't make me cry to think that i'm now basically going nowhere unless i wanna sail between three countries and call it a rtw tour??

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***Sorry, can you repeat that......Err what was that again***

add: East Timor! Cambodia! - to the noticeable and significant ones (for me)!

I'm dissapointed ..

Good info though. Thanks for posting.



.

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Right Way Round ...

Luckily Navigator take a sensible approach:

"Hi, Your site mentions that you cannot provide cover if a country is mentioned on the FCO list. At the moment India, Mali and Thailand are on the list. So your policy wouldn't cover me in any of those countries? Or is it just the part of the country that is warned about by the FCO, or just the activity/danger?"

"Hi Darrin, It's just the specific parts that the FCO are warning about. They just want to ensure that you follow FO advice. Regards - R*****

So happy days (just stay up to date with the FCO list etc)

Link to Navigator Travel
travel insurance uk, backpacking, student travel, gap year holiday insurance

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Kiwi, 7 years around Africa. Overlanding channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/roamingyak

Thanks for sharing the fruits of your labours roamingyak

I saw a link to Downunder Insurance - www.duinsurance.com - over on the Thorn Tree. No reports about whether people rate them or not, but after a couple of emails re: FCO advice they've confirmed:

"If it relates to areas part of then it is just in those parts of that country, and not the whole country"

Not the clearest explanation, but seems like they're willing to play ball.

They have a couple of different policies, prices around about the same range as Navigator.

Another possibility, also mentioned on the Thorn Tree, is ACE - http://www.aceinsure.com/backpacker/default.asp - I emailed them about the FCO advice and got this response:

"I can confirm that ACE excludes cover for any costs resulting from an insured person travelling to countries or regions to which the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against travelling. The current FCO advice for Africa can be seen at The FCO website Please select he link below to view this:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/sub-saharan-africa/

Obviously this advise does not apply to the whole of Africa, but to clearly listed regions and areas, where the advisory is against all travel or all but essential travel. In either case, ACE would not cover any costs incurred for travel to any area listed under it's website online.

I hope this clarifies the situation for you but should you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me."

So looks like another option to consider. I should mention for the bikers that I'm in a 4x4 so haven't asked the question that seems to come up regularly about bike size to either of the two companies I've contacted.

Apparently, Carole Nash now covers bikes with NO LIMIT on engine size.

I was on the phone to them last week about travel insurance for a 4x4 trip and I was told it made no difference what vehicle I was traveling with. Out of curiosity, I asked about bikes, specifically 'big' bikes, and was assured they would provide cover.

Could be another option....?

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Beware the dark, mechanical bird.