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• This is how we've advised clients

• Some advice on travel insurance

• Some perspectives ... get the facts and don't be put off travelling to Kenya this season!

Last updated 22 February, 2008

Our advice to clients...

Travel Warnings and insurance: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) plus State Department amongst others issued specific travel warnings about “non-essential travel” to “specific areas” in early January. Later in the month the official level of the advice had been lowered.  (By 21 February 2008 the USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Austria, Finland, France, Switzerland and Spain had lowered their travel advisories with advice limited to parts of the west.) The travel warnings don't apply to the whole of Kenya - only specific spots.

These warnings could affect travel insurance. In essence, if you travel to an area specified in the warning and there’s an incident then you’re unlikely to be covered. If you travel to areas not included in the warning then your travel insurance remains valid, and this applies to all of our safari areas. 

The Media: The regular media responds to instant deadlines and competes for top-selling stories so the average consumer only sees stark and graphic images often right out of context.  We've seen it in Zimbabwe and Kenya before: immediate problems are highlighted, the less newsworthy reparations occur over time without lots of coverage but the original images linger erroneously.  

It's happening in Kenya again. There’ve been very serious problems in the west and some of the slum areas in Nairobi.  The safari areas have been and remain calm.

A comment from Mike and Judy Rainy of Ol Kanjau in Amboseli: Please be aware, as the international media responds to instant deadlines, that millions of Kenyans are aware of what is happening and are determined to end the violence and get on with their lives and livelihoods to continue to work for better and more peaceful days. We are all talking and the words for stopping the killing are being listened to. We are dismayed, we are hurt, but we are determined that that day will soon come. Please pray that it will be sooner than later. Please also help get the word out that their is substance and determination of good will that goes will beyond the time slots for sound bites. Be prepared that as peace returns it will not be as newsworthy as atavistic mayhem.  [see the full perspective by Mike and Judy Rainy]

To travel or not?  Entirely your call. If you do travel you’re going to find every person you meet in the industry trying their best to go about their business as usual and perhaps showing you just a bit more appreciation for your troubles! It’s unlikely that you’ll be facing any crowds wherever you go. 

If you're uncomfortable then leave it be and consider alternatives...

...but if you're seasoned in Africa and especially if you're a friend of Kenya then we recommend a visit! 

Travel Insurance Advice

If you travel to an area against official advice then you will be putting your travel insurance cover at risk by not taking reasonable care, and recklessly putting yourself at risk. (Note that the warnings apply to specific spots - not the entire country and not to any of the safari areas.) 

If you need to claim in respect of a cause which was the reason why you were advised against travel (e.g. needing medical treatment following civil disturbance) then the travel insurer could decline the claim. If your claim is unrelated (e.g. you lose your camera) then the insurer should deal with the claim because your policy remains valid.

Many policies include a war and associated risks exclusion clause (including civil disturbance, riot) which would apply to all sections of the travel policy and would apply regardless of whether a travel warning was in place or not.

If you heed advice and do not travel, then whether or not you can claim for cancellation under travel insurance will depend on the definition of cancellation in the policy.   

Most policies cover cancellation due to specified reasons, for example illness (or illness of a travelling member, close relative), redundancy, jury service, burglary. In these cases, cancellation due to advice "not to travel" would not normally, but could be covered. 

The bottom line is that your travel insurance policy is not automatically invalidated if you travel to Kenya - check the detail.

Some perspective ...

Sadly we’ve seen travel warnings and bad media cause havoc before. Here's some perspective.

Now, in early 2008, Zimbabwe has no travel warnings in place yet the country is generally regarded by would-be travellers as an “unsafe” destination. 

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

In 2000, Mugabe held a referendum, realised that he’d lost popular support, set his “war veterans” on the opposition, farm invasions took place and any opponents were cruelly dealt with. Since then the country has melted down economically and Mugabe remains in power – but the country is safe. 

In fact, as Africans with first-hand African experience, we recognise that Zimbabwe is actually “safer” than South Africa, now as it was then. [...for what it's worth this is what we had to say about Zimbabwe in 2000] 

Our experience with seasoned travellers over the last few years is that the question of visiting Zimbabwe or not is more a moral dilemma than anything else.

There’s a real danger that public perceptions about travel to Kenya could be tarnished by inaccurate reports for some time to come. We’d be happy to share the latest facts and views or put you in touch with different people in different parts of the country.  

Don't be put off travelling to Kenya especially if you're a friend of the Kenyans - find out more....

Official updates on Kenya

• The Foreign and Commonwealth Office
• US State Department - Services - Consular Affairs