Before you set off on your dream trip to this wonderful part of the world, it's important that you take out travel insurance cover for your holiday. Travel insurance offers vital financial protection against an extensive range of travel risks including
Overseas medical emergencies
Theft and stolen items
Personal liability
Travel delays and cancellations
A travel insurance policy for South America gives you the security and confidence you need when travelling the continent.
Get travel insurance for South America
Got a quote before?
Worried about COVID-19?
You're not the only one. Travel insurance companies are now offering some cover for coronavirus. So you can travel with more peace of mind.
5 reasons why travel insurance for South America is essential
What would you do if the illness of your travelling companion forced you to call off your trip 1 week into a 4-week journey through Argentina and Brazil? Without travel insurance, you'd simply lose any money you had already handed over in deposits, not to mention possible cancellation fees. In addition to these common travel risks, some travel concerns unique to South America include:
High-altitude regions. Some of the most beautiful sites of South America such as the Inca Trail are synonymous with altitude sickness. The fatigue and nausea of travelling at altitude could require costly medical attention – something that travel insurance can cover.
Malaria and other infections. In tropical regions such as the Amazon, there is a high risk of catching malaria from mosquitoes. Additionally, due to the humid climate conditions, the spread of flu and other viruses is quite significant.
Pickpockets and theft. Although South America provides many memorable experiences, many of its countries are impoverished, meaning there is a risk that people will try to steal your money and possessions.
Drugs and crime. While South America is generally safe, there has always been a long history of drug trade. While you should strictly avoid all drug-related risks, you may encounter circumstances where you are exposed to drug-related crime unintentionally, e.g. your hotel is closed due to a police investigation for drug-related activity.
Adventure activities. With its vast, diverse landscape, South America is perfect for adventure activities like hiking and paragliding. These activities, of course, expose you to the risk of injury and even death. Travel insurance is the most important consideration if you plan to partake in these activities.
Travel insurance is designed to cushion the costs that may arise from any of these risks.
The following is an example that highlights the importance of having travel insurance when travelling to South America.
Example: Chilean ACL surgery
Michael was approaching the last 2 weeks of his 3-month trip around South America where he had planned to finish with a 4-day trek of the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. On a sunny afternoon, he decided to go sandboarding on the infamous sand dunes at Valle de la Muerte, but he became a touch overconfident and hurt his knee trying to land a trick.
A doctor at the local medical centre advised Michael that he had a severe ligament tear and that he would need an MRI scan to determine which ligaments were damaged. On crutches and painkillers, Michael spent the rest of his night organising cover with his travel insurance provider, Travel Insurance Direct. To his surprise, Michael was able to speak to someone on the phone and explain his situation. Because Michael had "sports coverage", he was told that he would be well covered medically.
Michael was able to send through the necessary documentation to permit an MRI and surgery to repair his ACL on the same night. The cost of the surgery and hospital stay totalled over $15,000, but it was taken care of by his travel insurance provider, allowing Michael to undergo his medical procedure without the added mental and financial stress.
During his stay at the city's top private hospital, Michael was provided amenities including Wi-Fi, quality meals and his own private room. The ability to have a smooth recovery process without financial roadblocks was made possible by having an appropriate travel insurance cover.
What was covered?
Cost of changing his flight date and upgrade to business class for extra leg room
Medical expenses, e.g. painkillers, initial check-up
Return transport to his accommodation
Transport to the airport
Ambulance to the hospital
Surgery
Anaesthetist
Hospital bed hire
Nursing
Final cost covered?
$16,000+
* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.
What adventure activities should I add as extras?
If you plan to have adventures while in South America, you may want to take out extra cover for activities considered riskier by insurers. Make sure you check with the policy provider to see if it covers for specific adventure activities. This will leave you with the best possible travel insurance for your trip to South America. These extras could include:
Biking the Death Road in Bolivia. Once considered the world's most dangerous road, North Yungas Road is now a road travelled regularly by many tourists on bike as a daring challenge.
Hiking Perito Moreno. An enormous and mysterious glacier in Argentina, which is one of the country's most important tourist attractions.
Canoeing down a river in the Bolivian Pampas. In waters teeming with caiman, piranhas and giant anacondas.
Jungle trekking on an Amazon survival tour from Manaus. In search of anacondas, jaguars, piranhas, poison dart frogs and vampire bats.
Climbing Nevado Ojos del Salado in the Andes. This is the world’s highest active volcano, sitting at 8,693km in elevation.
Diving with sharks in Atol das Rocas, Brazil. An adrenaline-pumping activity, where you dive in waters where sharks gather in swarms of up to 30 or more.
While travelling in South America, you may decide to take a boat trip down the Amazon basin and it is essential that you are covered by your travel insurance.
While the boat may look seaworthy and be skippered by a capable captain, your insurance cover is entirely dependent on whether the captain is licensed or not. Boats that are legal for charter have papers stating that they are licensed passenger vessels operated by a licensed captain. If you are unsure, ask to see their papers.
The benefits of taking out backpacker insurance
Travel insurance, just like health insurance, can come in many different shapes and sizes. One popular option for travellers spending a significant amount of time in South America or overlanding through multiple countries is backpacker travel insurance.
Some of the unique benefits offered by this type of insurance include:
Up to 18 months' coverage length. Unlike normal travel insurance, which puts a cap on the length of your trip, usually between 30 and 60 days, backpacker travel insurance covers you continuously for up to 18 months, which is great if you plan to backpack over the whole of South America over an extended period of time.
Wider region cover. Backpacker travel insurance insures you for a whole host of countries on one trip, meaning you don't need to arrange cover for each country you plan to visit in South America individually.
Designed for workers. Backpacker travel insurance will often incorporate cover for working abroad and travellers who commonly teach English or other skills to locals in South America in order to fund their travels.
Automatically covers some adventure activities. Backpacker travel insurance covers a range of adventure activities popular with younger travellers, which are not usually covered by regular travel insurance. This is highly beneficial for a South America trip that presents so many opportunities for adventurous activities.
If something goes wrong, what do I need to make a claim?
What do I need?
If you need to make a claim on your travel insurance, particularly a medical claim, you will need to have original documents relating not only to your medical expenses, but also to the cause of your accident or illness. That’s why it’s important to get everything in writing, such as contracts with tour operators or adventure activity providers, so your insurer can accurately assess your claim.
General steps when making a claim
Collect all documents. This includes police reports, details of a tour company/airline/hotel, receipts for belongings, medical bills, etc. For instance, if your wallet has been pickpocketed, you will need a police report and a receipt or proof of purchase of your wallet.
Contact your insurer. This is where you will provide all the details of an incident so it can access your claim. You may need to scan these documents and send them through along with the provider's claims form.
Request upfront payment from the insurer. In some medical emergency cases, South American hospitals will require an upfront payment from your insurer. This is where you should attempt to get a guarantee of payment or an upfront payment from your insurer.
Make sure you double-check the policy fine print. Check for exclusions to make sure you are covered as well as any wording that allows you to claim in situations where your claim is denied.
The following is an example which highlights the importance of getting it in writing and reading the terms and conditions of service providers and what can happen if you don’t.
Example: Read and hold on to all documents
Damien was excited to begin a 3-day tour of the Salar de Uyuni desert with his friends from back home, after watching videos of the picturesque wonder on YouTube. To start their South American adventure, they ventured into the desert with a Bolivian tour company. Their tour was cut short on the second day due to a combination of the bus driver's negligence and the wet surface of the flats.
The vehicle owned by the Bolivian tour company was being driven at excessive speed on the salt flats, when the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to roll over and crash. Damien was one of several passengers who suffered severe injuries, fracturing the shin of his left leg as the bus flipped and landed on its side. Damien required serious medical attention.
When the other passengers contacted the tour company office, they refused to accept responsibility for their driver's negligence and refused to provide the information needed for insurance claims. This was until the police were finally called in and the information was handed over. Damien was able to provide his insurer with the details of the tour company, along with the police report. After his cover provider confirmed the claim, Damien was able to receive upfront payment for the surgery at a hospital in Sucre along with payment for the cost of the hospital stay.
* This is a fictional, but realistic, example.
Who do I contact in an emergency?
If you find yourself in an emergency in South America, some helpful contacts include:
You travel insurer. Your insurance provider will have a 24/7 helpline for claims and medical emergencies.
Australian embassies and consulates. You can find the contact details of Australian embassies and consulates in South America below.
Common South American travel scams
In South America and in many other parts of the world, there are some common scams you need to be aware of to ensure that no one takes advantage of you. These include:
Fake or dishonest taxi drivers. Make sure you’re travelling with a legitimate taxi driver before you set off. You may also need to agree on a price beforehand and familiarise yourself with the best route so the driver doesn’t try to jack up the price by taking you the long way round.
Keep an eye out for pickpockets. Especially at train stations and other crowded areas.
Avoid trouble areas. No matter where you are in the world, every city has an area where locals and tourists alike will recommend you don’t visit. Use your common sense and stay away from such areas.
Fake police officers. Be wary of scammers posing as police officers to try to swindle you out of your money – or worse.
Be careful with your passport. Make sure you’re aware of situations where you are required to hand over your passport (e.g. border crossings), so you don’t let it out of your sight except when you absolutely have to.
Get the price and description of your hotel room in writing. This will prevent dodgy operators from claiming you "misheard" something over the phone.
Don’t let anyone else get their hands on your luggage. Also, don’t leave your personal belongings unattended in a public place.
Check for extra items. Check items on the bill when you’re dining out.
Watch out for those claiming they want to practice their English on you. It starts with a friendly approach, but quickly turns to a sob story about poverty and increasingly aggressive pleas for money.
South America travel tips
So you’ve booked and paid for your South American adventure and now can’t wait to head off on your journey? Make sure you check out this handy list of tips before you hop on a plane.
Use your common sense. Some parts of South America have a pretty bad reputation for crime, drugs, corruption and a few other nasties. But don’t let this put you off visiting this beautiful part of the world. Use your common sense and you will most likely avoid any potential problems.
Buses are usually the best way to get around. Internal flights are quite expensive in South America, so be prepared to ride the bus to get around.
Don’t try to see it all at once. South America is a big continent with so much to see and do. Unless you’re planning an extended stay, don’t try to pack too much into one trip. Pick a couple of must-sees and then build an itinerary from there.
Learn Spanish. If you’re keen to broaden your horizons, consider taking Spanish lessons before you arrive. It’ll make it a whole lot easier to get around.
Keep a credit card separate. Don’t keep all your money and cards in your wallet – keeping one card separate can be a great help in an emergency if your wallet is stolen.
Scan your important travel documents. Keep all your files on a USB drive and on the cloud if necessary.
Don’t call attention to yourself. Don’t wave large amounts of money around or wear expensive jewellery. Stay away from dark alleys and dangerous areas of town.
What exclusions should I know about?
The following exclusions will typically apply to most travel insurance policies. Your claim will not be paid if:
It is the result of any intentional self-inflicted injury or attempted suicide.
It arises from you acting illegally or unlawfully.
It is a result of a government authority detaining, confiscating or destroying anything.
It is the result of you riding a motorcycle above a certain engine capacity.
You participate in certain extreme sports or adventure activities.
You undertake paid work on your trip which is not for your usual employer in Australia and which was not organised before you began your journey.
It is related to acts of war or terrorism.
With a sensible approach and a willingness to shop around, you can be guaranteed of finding the right type and level of cover for your South American adventure.
Got yourself covered? Time to have some fun.
Your adventures in South America are just a few clicks away. Find savings on accommodation, holiday packages and tours.
*The products compared on this page are chosen from a range of offers available to us and are not representative of all the products available in the market. There is no perfect order or perfect ranking system for the products we list on our Site, so we provide you with the functionality to self-select, re-order and compare products. The initial display order is influenced by a range of factors including conversion rates, product costs and commercial arrangements, so please don't interpret the listing order as an endorsement or recommendation from us. We're happy to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions, but we'd like you to make your own decisions and compare and assess products based on your own preferences, circumstances and needs.
Cristal Dyer is a travel writer at Finder. She has been writing about travel for over five years and has visited over 40 countries around the world. Cristal currently travels full-time, writing about her favourite cities and food finds, and she is always on the lookout for amazing flight deals to share. See full bio
Find out how to get travel insurance for children/under 18s travelling without the supervision of their parents and learn the terms and conditions for getting free child cover for your dependent child.
This article examines what is and isn’t covered by missed flight travel insurance and also takes a look at other types of trip interruption and cancellation cover.
Domestic travel insurance can provide cover for trip cancellation (domestic flights), loss or damage to luggage and expensive items, car rental excess charges and much more. Find out why domestic travel insurance is worth getting and compare policies from Australian insurers.
How likely would you be to recommend Finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Important information about this website
Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.
Finder is one of Australia's leading comparison websites. We are committed to our readers and stand by our editorial principles.
We try to take an open and transparent approach and provide a broad-based comparison service. However, you should be aware that while we are an independently owned service, our comparison service does not include all providers or all products available in the market.
Some product issuers may provide products or offer services through multiple brands, associated companies or different labeling arrangements. This can make it difficult for consumers to compare alternatives or identify the companies behind the products. However, we aim to provide information to enable consumers to understand these issues.
We make money by featuring products on our site. Compensation received from the providers featured on our site can influence which products we write about as well as where and how products appear on our page, but the order or placement of these products does not influence our assessment or opinions of them, nor is it an endorsement or recommendation for them.
Products marked as 'Top Pick', 'Promoted' or 'Advertisement' are prominently displayed either as a result of a commercial advertising arrangement or to highlight a particular product, provider or feature. Finder may receive remuneration from the Provider if you click on the related link, purchase or enquire about the product. Finder's decision to show a 'promoted' product is neither a recommendation that the product is appropriate for you nor an indication that the product is the best in its category. We encourage you to use the tools and information we provide to compare your options.
Where our site links to particular products or displays 'Go to site' buttons, we may receive a commission, referral fee or payment when you click on those buttons or apply for a product.
When products are grouped in a table or list, the order in which they are initially sorted may be influenced by a range of factors including price, fees and discounts; commercial partnerships; product features; and brand popularity. We provide tools so you can sort and filter these lists to highlight features that matter to you.
Please read our website terms of use and privacy policy for more information about our services and our approach to privacy.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.