Expedition Insure

What Expedition Insure is

Expedition Insure is a travel retailer that offers other companies' travel insurance plans for polar, Arctic, Galápagos and safari trips. It is not an insurer and not a broker. Its licensing page is unusually direct: "We are not an insurance company, and we are not a licensed insurance producer." It says the brand belongs to Unsold Antarctica LLC, which is registered as a seller of travel in California, Washington, Florida and Hawaii, and that it offers insurance "on behalf of, and under the direction of, the licensed insurance producer for each plan we show you." The same page states: "The insurer carries the risk and pays the claims."

For the Arch RoamRight plans it sells, the licensing page names the licensed producer as Arch Insurance Solutions Inc., CA License #0I18111 and TX License #1787195, and the insurer as Arch Insurance Company, NAIC #11150, "under policy series LTP 2013 and amendments thereto." For other carriers, the page says the insurer and licensed producer are named in the plan documents and confirmation sent to the buyer. The licensing page also sets out limits on what the retailer may do: it can describe a plan and its price, send the documents, help with the application and collect the premium, but it is not authorized to answer technical questions about benefits, exclusions or conditions, or say whether a plan duplicates cover the buyer already holds. Those questions are passed to the insurer or producer.

Which carriers it shows

The carriers page says Expedition Insure has assessed 48 carriers and keeps 5 active, choosing "only those who consistently pay claims under expedition conditions." The five it lists are Arch Insurance (RoamRight plans, "Backed by A.M. Best A+ rated Arch," with "high-limit emergency evacuation up to $1M"), Trawick International (described as an "A+ rated carrier with high-limit medical evacuation up to $1M, adventure sports coverage"), Travel Insured International and Faye (both listed with "A.M. Best: A" and "Underwritten by US Fire"), and Rise & Shield, described as a UK-based insurer whose Adventure Plus add-on "covers polar cruising, trekking to 4,600m, and scuba to 30m." The carriers page says 43 other carriers it evaluated are not sold.

The coverage it describes

The coverage page lays out the benefit categories an expedition plan on the site carries, with ceilings: emergency medical evacuation "Up to $500,000," trip cancellation "Up to 100% of trip cost," trip interruption "Up to 150% of trip cost," medical expense "Up to $100,000," travel delay "Up to $2,000," and baggage "Up to $2,500." The evacuation benefit lists helicopter extraction, a medical escort, repatriation home and local emergency coordination. Trip cancellation reasons include illness or injury "including COVID-19," death of an immediate family member, jury duty, and natural disasters or operator bankruptcy.

The same page lists covered activities: zodiac excursions, sea kayaking, polar plunge, camping on ice, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking and trekking, snorkeling where applicable, stand-up paddleboarding, "Mountain climbing (up to specified elevation)" and safari game drives. Its exclusions list names pre-existing conditions "(unless waiver purchased)," "Extreme mountaineering above 6,000m," "Solo unguided expeditions," war zones or areas under travel advisory, illegal activities, self-inflicted injuries, and alcohol or drug-related incidents. The page adds that "Coverage limits, deductibles, and specific terms vary by plan and carrier."

The site's figures are not uniform across pages. The coverage page and the about page put the evacuation ceiling at $500,000, while the carriers page attaches "up to $1M" to Arch and Trawick, and the medical evacuation guide describes limits selectable in tiers of $100k, $250k, $500k and $1M+. The licensing page says the policy, not these summaries, is the contract.

Pricing, timing and the operator check

The FAQ gives a price range rather than a quote: "Expedition travel insurance typically costs 2–10% of your trip cost for trip protection, or $2–$7 per day for travel medical coverage," depending on age, trip cost and coverage level. Quotes are "Free and non-binding," and "You are not insured until you choose and buy a policy."

Timing affects what can be bought. The FAQ says many plans "waive pre-existing-condition exclusions only if you buy within 14 days of your initial deposit, your first payment toward the trip, not the final payment," and that cancel for any reason "has its own window of 21 days from that payment." For the RoamRight Global Plan it says the plan "insures up to $25,000 per person," and that on a costlier trip the balance can be insured elsewhere without losing the waiver, as long as the full trip cost is insured and the plan is bought within 21 days of the initial deposit. After those windows close, the FAQ says, evacuation, medical, baggage and delay cover may still be available.

The feature the site builds around is an operator check. It keeps requirement pages for operators, 99 on its homepage count, and says "We check every quoted plan against your operator's published evacuation and medical minimums." The Andean Travel Company page, for example, marks insurance as "Required" and records "No published minimum found" for evacuation, with the requirement verified on September 22, 2026. The FAQ separates the operator's two minimums, evacuation and medical expense, and says the booking documents control.

Claims and support

The FAQ says claims "are handled by the insurance carrier that underwrote your policy, not by us. They decide the claim and they pay it." Expedition Insure offers to walk the buyer through that carrier's process and follow it up. The FAQ asks for itemized receipts rather than card slips, which it says carriers "will not settle a claim on." The medical evacuation guide says a medevac claim "almost always requires pre-authorization" through the carrier's evacuation partner, and that self-arranged transport may leave the traveler paying up front with reimbursement not guaranteed. The site says its expedition specialists are available 24/7.

Who it suits, and who it fits less well

Expedition Insure fits a traveler who has already booked an Antarctic voyage, Arctic cruise, Galápagos trip or African safari, and who needs a plan matched to that operator's evacuation minimum and wants the carrier, producer and NAIC number named up front. Its explainers on evacuation sizing and deposit-date windows are specific to that kind of trip.

It fits less well for someone who wants coverage advice from a licensed agent, since the licensing page says the retailer is not authorized to answer technical benefit questions, or for a traveler whose trip has nothing to do with remote expeditions.