People often confuse “travel insurance” with “excursion insurance”. If you are planning for an upcoming cruise or extended travel on a tour that combines air travel, ground transportation and hotel accommodations, you may want to purchase travel insurance for your trip. Travel insurance will provide you some benefit if you have to cancel or reschedule your trip, and there is generally a benefit for certain travel related accidents, these policy protect a specific traveler. 

The term “excursion insurance” applies to insurance coverage for excursion tour operators. If you are a tour operator, you need this coverage in order to have your tour recommended and booked for travelers and passengers by hotels and cruise ships. If you are a tour operator without excursion insurance, you will not be recommended or put on any list of approved tour operators because of the risks associated with recommending uninsured operators.

Excursion insurance: Insurance for tour operators

All tour operators in any country who offer tours to passengers of cruise ships during the time the ship is docked need excursion insurance if they want to be included on the list of “recommended tours” offered by the cruise staff. This type of insurance not only covers the risks travelers might experience while on your tour, it will protect your excursion business in the event of any unforeseen incident. There are several types of insurance coverage that are generally required by cruise lines, here are a few of them and a brief overview of the specific types of coverage that they provide.

Types of Excursion Insurance

• CONTINGENT GENERAL LIABILITY 
  Also referred to as Third Party or Public Liability, covers bodily injury and property damage to tourists in your care, custody and control while participating in an excursion tour. This coverage excludes auto, aircraft and motorboats. Non-motorized watercraft such as kayaks; canoes; sunfish; etc. are included. This does not replace any business property or liability coverage placed locally.
  
  
• CONTINGENT AUTO LIABILITY 
  This coverage is excess auto liability over and above your local compulsory automobile insurance and includes coverage for owned, hired and non owned vehicles.
  
  
• CONTINGENT WATERCRAFT LIABILITY (MOTORIZED)
  Similar to the Contingent Auto Liability, this covers owned, hired and non-owed watercraft having a motor that carries passengers for hire.

Other types of excursion coverage may be appropriate for your particular business depending on the type of tours you conduct, check your policy carefully to be sure that you have adequate protection for your business and the guests in your care. When choosing coverage, you also want to be certain that whichever policy you purchase provides World Wide Jurisdiction to protect your guest no matter which part of the world they may return to after your tour.

If you have questions about which type of insurance is required for your tour or excursion, feel free to contact us.