I’ve always been an advocate of travel insurance. Actually its mandatory for any one participating in my expeditions.
As I’ve said in the past, travel insurance can be the difference between having an unfortunate event on an expedition and having an unfortunate event with a big bill!
For me, this is the first time I’ve had to claim on travel insurance and to be honest I’ve been left a bit out of pocket. Travelling to Iceland for 2 weeks of camping in the Highlands and then onto the fjords of Greenland and Svalbard meant I had packed a lot of cold climate and wet weather gear. To cut a long story short, I arrived in Keflavik, Iceland but my luggage didn’t.
Delayed luggage happens. And it happens more than you think. Normally it arrives a few days after you. Sadly for me, my luggage went AWOL. The airlines could only tell me it was lost somewhere between Qatar and Oslo.
Given that I had a schedule for my trip, I couldn’t sit around waiting for luggage so I had to buy the gear I needed and borrow from a friend that which he had available. I didn’t go out and buy expedition class gear as I expected my luggage could arrive anytime soon. Upon calling my insurance company I soon realised I was only covered for $500 of delayed luggage allowance. $500 doesn’t go far. Actually a good outer shell jacket is $500. And then theres pants, an insulated jacket, undergarments, thermals, gloves etc etc.
After waiting 2 days only to be told the airline had no idea where my luggage was, I got out the credit card and started shopping. My bill for even for mediocre wet weather garments, thermals, wind stopper, tops etc well and truly exceeded by insurance allowance by 200%. If I couldn’t have borrowed a sleeping bag I’d be up for another $500.
Be sure you check what your travel insurance does and doesn’t cover especially with regards to delayed luggage allowances.
If you’re travelling to South Georgia and Antarctica or Jewels of the Arctic, the ship will not wait for your delayed luggage (or mine). You’ll need to buy new gear for your expedition at local prices as it is impossible to travel without the right gear unless you intend to sit on the bridge for 2-3 weeks.
Iceland is far from reasonable with regards to pricing whilst Svalbard is bordering on obscene whilst insurance allowances depending on your insurance, may leave you significantly out of pocket.
When purchasing travel insurance make sure:
- the delayed luggage coverage meets your needs if you need to buy gear
-
fly in early and give yourself a few days leeway and absorb some local culture for a few days before commencing an expedition
By doing the above two steps you could avoid being significantly out of pocket and without the gear you need for your expedition.
I’ve been informed by the airline baggage service than my luggage has been found 9 days later. It has an incorrect airline tag, it had been taken by someone who had mistaken my bag for theres and has been returned to the airport. Minus a padlock and minus my luggage tag with my contact details but luckily the airline found one of my business cards inside and called me.
As to what remains of the contents of my bag its yet to be seen….