Sending staff on humanitarian missions means operating in high-risk environments: armed conflicts, health crises, and natural disasters. As a leader or manager, your duty of care goes far beyond logistics. Humanitarian travel insurance becomes a strategic lever to secure field operations, reduce unforeseen costs, and safeguard your organization’s reputation.
The figures speak for themselves: 2024 was the deadliest year on record for humanitarian work, with 402 major attacks against aid workers (up from 281 in 2023), resulting in 378 deaths worldwide. The occupied Palestinian territories recorded 84 major incidents, followed by Sudan (39) and Nigeria (30). In 2025, violence continued: nine Relief International employees were killed during an attack in Zamzam, Darfur, with repeated assaults also reported in the DRC, Sudan, and Yemen.
Facing such threats without tailored coverage puts your staff, your missions, and your finances at risk.
Health and Repatriation: Planning for the Unpredictable
Many humanitarian missions take place in regions with poor or non-existent healthcare infrastructure, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, or Afghanistan. Infectious diseases (malaria, Ebola, yellow fever) pose serious threats, while available medical facilities are often rudimentary.
A comprehensive humanitarian travel insurance plan must include:
- Complete medical coverage (hospitalization, consultations, treatments);
- 24/7 reliable assistance
- Medical repatriation ;
- Security evacuation in case of political unrest or natural disaster — even without a medical condition
This last feature is often missing from standard contracts but is vital in situations such as riots, natural disasters, or sudden conflicts, ensuring the immediate evacuation of threatened staff.
Protecting Equipment and Strategic Data
Humanitarian workers often carry equipment that is costly and difficult to replace laptops, medical devices, satellite phones along with sensitive information (beneficiary records, financial or medical data). Without adequate coverage, theft or destruction can halt a mission and cause severe indirect costs.
A good policy should guarantee :
- Quick reimbursement or replacement of equipment
- Protection of sensitive documents and data
- Operational continuity despite disruptions.
Anticipating Exclusions
Standard insurance policies often exclude high-risk countries or activities, such as:
- War zones or embargoed territories (Ukraine, Yemen, unstable Sahel regions).
- Undeclared missions in areas with major health risks.
- Specific operations like night convoys or fieldwork in hostile zones.
However, specialized insurers offer tailored guarantees for extreme-risk contexts. As expert brokers, we help organizations identify these specific solutions to ensure that staff benefit from optimal protection, no matter the mission field.
The real cost of inaction
Failing to insure a humanitarian mission can have devastating financial consequences :
- Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has reported medical evacuations exceeding USD 1 million per case in certain crises ;
- Indirect costs from delays, absenteeism, internal restructuring, and crisis management often equal or exceed direct compensation
Why invest in prevention?
Well-designed humanitarian travel insurance is not just a cost it’s a responsibility and trust-building measure:
- It prepares and informs staff before entering unstable zones.
- It ensures access to reliable information even during crises
- It strengthens credibility with donors, partners, and beneficiaries
To anticipate is to protect. A prudent strategy today ensures the sustainability of humanitarian missions tomorrow.
Humanitarian travel insurance is not just paperwork it is a pillar of safety, risk management, and responsible governance for any organization operating in volatile contexts.
- Emergency medical care and assistance ;
- Medical and security evacuation (political unrest or natural disaster) ;
- Protection of equipment and data ;
- Coverage tailored to the mission’s geographic and operational scope.
Protecting your staff means protecting your mission and your global impact. Choosing the right coverage is a choice for responsibility, efficiency, and resilience in the face of the unexpected.
