If you want to go to Tanzania and you want to take out travel insurance to cover you for any unforeseen event, illness, loss of luggage, you will need a good travel insurance that will cover you for all those unforeseen events. In this post we analyze and compare two of the most famous insurance companies in the travel world: IATI and Chapka.
Tanzania is the country of safaris but hides many other things, such as the Maasai culture, the beaches of Zanzibar, or some of the most famous communities of chimpanzees in freedom in the world. Tanzania is also for many travelers the honeymoon destination. If you are one or the other, and you simply want to get to know a wonderful country in a safe and quiet way, read on.
In this post we will compare the two most famous insurance companies for travelers: IATI and Chapka.
Travel experiences with travel insurance
I am writing these lines after attending the Great Journeys Conference organized in Barcelona. This event consists of a whole day of talks by great travelers explaining their adventures around the world. They all agreed on several aspects and one of them was the importance of having travel insurance, since all of them had had, at some point, some unforeseen event that had forced them to use travel insurance. Without travel insurance, it would have meant ending the adventure and returning home, due to high health care costs. Luckily they all carried it.
There was a traveler who had the bad luck of contracting Dengue fever… and had to be hospitalized for more than 10 days… the insurance covered everything and since he was traveling for several months, he was able to continue his trip without any problems.
We in Tanzania were lucky not to use it, but on other trips like in Peru we had to go to the hospital for a simple lasting diarrhea for several weeks that in the end made us worry. Luckily it was nothing, but I had several tests and as I had insurance I did not pay anything.
So, is it necessary to take out travel insurance to travel to Tanzania? Absolutely yes.
Travel insurance for Tanzania
Having travel insurance in Tanzania is essential for several reasons, the most common and necessary:
- A simple diarrhea or cold.
- Any virus you catch, you or your children if you travel with little ones.
- A traffic accident
- A more serious disease, such as dengue fever or malaria.
- Theft, loss or damage to baggage.
- Early return of the insured in case of serious hospitalization or death of a family member.
- A simple bump while kite-surfing in Zanzibar or a sprained ankle while walking down the street.
Looking at the list I may seem catastrophic, and the truth is that in the vast majority of cases nothing happens. But sometimes it does, and when it does, it can be your financial ruin. So, why not dedicate 1-5% of your travel budget to take out insurance and have peace of mind?
Benefits of travel insurance
Here are the advantages of having a good travel insurance policy. Each policy has its own conditions and it is important that you check what you are contracting, but in general both Chapka and IATI know better than us what the policy should include to avoid problems for the traveler. Travel insurance for Tanzania or for any other country is recommended to be done by a specialist in the field.
- 24-hour medical assistance and repatriation
- Medical and hospitalization expenses
- Covid Coverage
- Baggage insurance
- Cancellation insurance
- 24-hour customer service in your language
- Motorcycle or car accident
- Injuries practiced during adventure sports
- No cash advance
Price of travel insurance to Tanzania
We will now analyze the main differences between taking out insurance with IATI or with Capka, which is more recommendable?
We take dates in July 2024 to be as realistic as possible. Considering that we start the trip on July 8. In the case of Chapka, we take that the value of the trip is only the flight, about 900 euros per person.
These prices are the insurance prices per adult person. Prices subject to variations made by the companies without previous notice.
Price of travel insurance to Tanzania with IATI
We start with IATI, the travel insurance that best suits Tanzania is the Backpacker, we will also compare it with IATI Basic and IATI Star, other two of the most contracted insurances.
| 1 week | 2 Weeks | 3 weeks | |
| IATI Basic | 32,90€ | 50,18€ | 68,39€ |
| IATI Backpacker | 53,99€ | 87,76€ | 109,93€ |
| IATI Star | 67,53€ | 105,27€ | 130,32€ |
As we are partners of IATI, we can offer a 5% discount to our readers. If you book through our link, the prices you will see are these:
| 1 week | 2 Weeks | 3 weeks | |
| IATI Basic | 31,26€ | 47,67€ | 64,97€ |
| IATI Backpacker | 51,29€ | 83,37€ | 104,43€ |
| IATI Star | 64,15€ | 100,01€ | 124,18€ |
Price of travel insurance to Tanzania with Chapka
Now let’s take a look at the prices we get with Chapka without and with discount.
| 1 week | 2 Weeks | 3 weeks | |
| Chapka Cap Trip Basic | 25,73€ | 42,54€ | 64,13€ |
| Chapka Cap Trip Plus | 32,94€ | 55,30€ | 82,37€ |
| Chapka Cap Trip Plus + Cancellation Insurance | 36,25€ | 60,83€ | 90,61€ |
| 1 week | 2 Weeks | 3 weeks | |
| Chapka Cap Trip Basic | 23,93€ | 39,36€ | 59,64€ |
| Chapka Cap Trip Plus | 30,63€ | 51,43€ | 76,6€ |
| Chapka Cap Trip Plus + Cancellation Insurance | 33,71€ | 56,57€ | 84,27€ |
Analysis of travel insurance price differentials
Analyzing the prices of travel insurance in Tanzania between Chapka and IATI we realize that Chapka is generally cheaper than IATI. Also analyzing the trend of recent years, we see a general increase in insurance prices for travel with IATI to Tanzania. On the other hand, with Chapka, we see that the prices of the different travel coverages have increased relatively little.
For example, if we go 15 days to Tanzania, in IATI we would normally take the Backpacker insurance, which costs 87.76 euros (with the discount) while with Chapka we would pay 39.36 euros or 51.43 euros depending on whether we take Chapka Cap Trip Basic or Chapka Cap Trip Plus. In absolute terms this is a difference of 48.40 euros difference between IATI Backpacker and Chapka Cap Trip Basic, i.e. more than half the price.
In the case of taking out a 3-week insurance policy, the differences between Chapka and IATI are as follows.
Chapka remains the most economical option to travel to Tanzania for 21 days. Compared to IATI, the savings if you contract with Chapka is almost 10 euros in the cheapest option or 45 euros per person in the option with more coverage (IATI Star VS Chapka Cap Trip Plus + Cancellation).
Now that we know that Chapka is the cheapest travel insurance for travel to Tanzania, the question we have to ask ourselves is: What about the coverages, are they the same, does IATI offer a better policy at a more expensive price?
Which travel insurance for Tanzania has better coverage? Chapka or IATI
Summarizing the coverages between Chapka and IATI for a 3 weeks trip in Tanzania and with the Trip to Help discounts included, would be these:
IATI Basic
Coverage of the policy:
- 50,000 Medical assistance.
- Dental expenses: 100€.
- Repatriation of sick or deceased: 100%*.
- Up to 500€ in luggage.
- Advance of funds due to theft: €0
- 30.000€ Private Liability
IATI Backpacker
Coverage of the policy:
- 500,000 Medical assistance.
- Dental expenses: 350€.
- Repatriation of sick or deceased: 100%*.
- Up to 1.500€ in luggage.
- Includes adventure sports
- 15,000 € 15,000 search and rescue
- Advance of funds for theft: 3.000€.
- 60.000€ Private Liability.
Chapka Cap Trip Basic
Coverage of the policy:
- 150,000 Medical assistance.
- Repatriations Unlimited*.
- Up to 800€ in luggage.
- Loss of contracted services due to delay of international flight: 0€.
- 3,000 advance of funds.
- 3.000€ Search and Rescue
- 40.000€ Private Liability (excess: 150€)
Chapka Cap Trip Plus
Coverage of the policy:
- 500,000 Medical assistance.
- Repatriations Unlimited*.
- Up to 2.500€ in luggage.
- 300€ dental expenses
- Loss of contracted services due to delay of international flight: 1.500€.
- 3,000 advance of funds.
- 5.000€ search and rescue
- 60.000€ Liability (Excess 150€)
Looking at the different travel insurances for Tanzania, we see that Chapka is in the middle ground between IATI Basic and IATI Backpacker, so both Chapka Cap Basic and Cap Plus would be the two policies we would choose.
Both companies offer Private Liability, without being insurance experts, it is not very clear to me why we want a coverage of this type, as I understand that it applies if you mess up a lot and someone demands something from you? Maybe in countries like the United States, a coverage of this type makes sense, in the case of Tanzania we do not see it clear.
Looking in detail at all the coverages, which you can and should review when you take out the insurance, it seems that Chapka offers more coverages in case of illness, travel, quarantine stays…
50,000 euros of Medical Assistance in IATI Basic may be more than enough, but insufficient if there is hospitalization and/or rescue. On the other hand, 500,000 euros may seem too much but it never hurts to have a good coverage. I would like to comment that the “Search and Rescue” insurance was not included in the policy with Chapka, but thanks to our analysis they added it and now all Chapka insurances include this option.
Repatriations due to illness and/or accident
Lately there have been stories in the Spanish media of travelers hospitalized in the destination countries who are fighting for their lives and where the insurance companies contracted by the travelers have not repatriated the sick person even when it says that repatriation is included.
I discussed this issue 2 years ago with an insurance manager and she confirmed that travel insurance does not include repatriations with medicalized airplanes outside the Mediterranean or Europe. That is to say, they can repatriate you, yes, but in a conventional plane and never in medicalized planes as it is sometimes necessary. Their argument is that an aircraft of this type is very expensive. So, if they do not include it, they should be much more careful with the clauses and the advertising they do when you take out insurance because if it says “unlimited” or “100%” you understand that they will do whatever it takes to get you back to your country.
The reality is that no, if you have a serious accident, in Thailand, Tanzania or wherever, outside the EU, this type of insurance does not cover repatriation with a medicalized plane. So you will have to stay at the destination, in a hospital that may not be the most suitable, or “pray” that the Ministry of Defense of the country will repatriate you with a medicalized plane, as happened with Alex Garcia in 2024.
If anyone knows of a travel insurance that includes repatriation with medicalized aircraft wherever the patient is, please leave me a comment on the blog so that I can add this option to the article on the best travel insurance to Tanzania.
Conclusion: What is the best travel insurance for Tanzania?
Analyzing the prices and coverages of each policy, we believe that the best travel insurance for Tanzania is the Chapka Cap Trip.
It is the best value for money and the one that best meets the needs of traveling to a country like Tanzania.
We hope this post has helped you to choose the best travel insurance for Tanzania. If you decide to purchase insurance for your trip, and you do it through our links, in addition to having a 5 and 7% discount, you will be helping our project and this blog. Thanks for your support :).
Cheap flights to Tanzania
Other blog entries:
- TRIP TO HELP, WINNER OF THE AFRICA WTM RESPONSIBLE TOURISM AWARDS
- Our visit to Lake Natron in Tanzania
- Original Maasai Lodge: An example of sustainable lodging
- Sustainable Safari in Tanzania
- Money in Tanzania: practical tips for traveling to Tanzania
- Going on a Safari with Kids: Is It Recommended?
- Kenya or Tanzania Where is the best safari?
- The best travel insurance for Tanzania: Chapka or IATI? – 2024
- 10 days in Zanzibar: For independent and first time travelers