FAQs

Hotspot Cover is a specialist insurance brand insuring individuals and organisations operating around the world, including conflict and war zones. The insurer, Opportuna Insurance PCC Limited - International Risks Cell, is authorised and regulated by The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) insurance provider which is a licensed insurance company by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC). Hotspot Cover products are supported by Lloyd’s of London.

Yes, the insurance is valid for countries and regions where Governments and/or authorities such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or the World Health Organisation (WHO) or other local authority equivalent have “advised against travel”, which are excluded on most travel insurance policies. Travel to countries on any sanctions list such as Russia, Belarus, Iran, Cuba and North Korea is not able to be insured.

Hotspot Cover is a specialist travel insurance designed for high-risk, remote, and conflict-affected regions, areas that standard travel insurers typically exclude. We provide affordable protection for travel to all countries except Russia, Belarus, North Korea, and Iran, with coverage that includes:

• Emergency medical expenses and evacuation
• Passive war and terrorism cover
• Rapid response capabilities in high-risk areas
• Optional crisis cover for political unrest, natural disasters, security threats, and kidnap & ransom

Our policies are issued instantly online with minimal hassle, no lengthy forms or unnecessary questions, making it faster and more cost-effective than traditional insurance.

Unlike standard policies, Hotspot Cover is focused purely on critical travel risks. We do not include incidental benefits like lost luggage or personal possessions, allowing us to deliver focused protection where it matters most.

Yes. Hotspot Cover includes emergency medical expenses and evacuation for COVID-19. Unlike many travel insurance policies, we do not exclude pandemics or apply a blanket communicable disease exclusion.

Our coverage is designed to respond to medical emergencies, whether caused by COVID-19 or another illness, in line with the benefits listed in your policy.

All decisions regarding treatment and evacuation are made in consultation with our emergency assistance providers, who work closely with medical teams and insurers to ensure the best and most appropriate care for your situation.

This may include quarantine or in-country care if necessary. In life-threatening situations or where local medical facilities are inadequate, evacuation to a nearby center of medical excellence may be arranged. We do not deny valid, covered claims.

Hotspot Cover provides comprehensive protection tailored for high-risk and remote travel. Key benefits include:

• Emergency medical expenses for illness or injury
• Medical evacuation and repatriation if local care is inadequate
• Accidental death and dismemberment lump-sum payouts
• Permanent accidental disability benefits
• Weekly income support for temporary total disability (on policies lasting 6 months or more)
• Passive war and terrorism cover across all benefits

These core protections are designed to respond in challenging environments where access to care or safety may be compromised.

Yes, premium is a one-off payment and policies are issued instantly following payment via email.

No. Hotspot Cover is not designed to offer cover in your country of domicile and instead it is intended to cover you upon departure and for the duration of travel outside of your country of domicile.

Your legal representatives or next of kin. Please note that you are NOT covered for death by natural causes, only accidental death.

No, the policy coverage offered cannot be modified, changed or varied, policies are not customisable online. We are able to keep premiums low for you by developing this online solution with pre-arranged packages.

However, please use the contact us form if you wish to discuss alternative policy options with our underwriting team. We shall see if we can help and are delighted to assist, where possible.

These are the core benefits of your Hotspot Cover policy, designed to protect you in the event of a serious illness or accident while travelling.

If you require urgent medical treatment and local facilities are inadequate, we can arrange for emergency medical evacuation, including by air ambulance if needed, to the nearest suitable medical center.

Coverage also includes hospitalisation, medical treatment, and related expenses, helping you avoid costly overseas medical bills, especially in remote or under-resourced locations.

In the event of a medical emergency, our 24/7 emergency assistance partner, Global Guardian, will take immediate action. Operating from a dedicated call centre, their expert team, including medical professionals and multilingual support staff, will assess your situation and coordinate the best possible medical and logistical response.

This includes:

• Arranging treatment at the nearest appropriate or approved medical facility
• Coordinating emergency evacuation or repatriation if required
• Keeping your family informed throughout the process
• Ensuring continuity of care until you are safely home

Global Guardian has a proven global track record in emergency and critical response, providing expert support in even the most remote and challenging locations.

Global Guardian will arrange for your emergency transportation and any required hospital admission. They will guarantee the payments of your medical bills directly with the most appropriate hospital. They will also arrange repatriation back to your home country depending on your needs, assess your fitness to fly, be it by air ambulance, with medical escort or arrangement by commercial flights home.

For emergency medical assistance or incident response, please contact our 24/7 assistance provider, Global Guardian, using the details below:

• Phone: +44 20 3790 7060
• Email: [email protected]
• Reference: Quote “HOTSPOT” when calling

In an emergency, it is essential to contact Global Guardian before incurring any costs, as failure to do so may limit the amount recoverable under your policy. They are there to coordinate immediate medical care, evacuation, or crisis response and ensure you’re looked after throughout.

For non-emergency claims, please email: [email protected]

Claim instructions and the documentation required can be found in the IMPORTANT INFORMATION section of your policy wording.

No, cover ceases under this policy upon return to your home country.

Hotspot Cover provides cover for claims as a result of acts of war, civil war and terrorism under the policy provided you are not actively participating in such events.

Yes, Hotspot Cover has been developed to provide cover for all (except Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Cuba and Iran) countries of the world including high risk and war zone countries. You will note they are not available in the drop down country options on the quote page.

Yes, Hotspot Cover and their reinsurers at Lloyd’s of London provide pricing for all categories of occupations which can be found in the occupational dropdown categories when requesting a quote online.

If the emergency assistance company deems it appropriate, necessary and justified on compassionate and medical grounds, We will indemnify the insured person up to a maximum of EUR 5,000 for the reasonable and necessary additional costs of transport and accommodation in respect of one relative or friend who has to travel or remain or escort You home to their Country of Domicile.

Yes, Hotspot Cover is valid for the widest variety of paid and volunteer roles.

Most insurers do not offer such cover under traditional travel insurance policies or exclude it. Terrorism has risen sharply in recent decades across both hazardous countries (such as Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan) as well as across mainland Europe. Hotspot Cover policies do not exclude war and terrorism in any part of the world or country (except for Russia, Belarus, North Korea and Iran).

Yes, absolutely. Hotspot Cover is available for both leisure and business travel. You do not need to be travelling for work purposes to qualify for coverage; personal, recreational, or adventure-based trips are all eligible.

No, it does not cover travel delay, loss or damage to baggage and personal items.

Hotspot Cover can provide travel cover for 1 to 365 days thereby covering short and annual length trips. If you require an annual multi trip policy, please use the contact us form and we will be happy to provide a tailored quote for you.

Policies are valid for persons aged up to 71 years old. We do not offer cover if you are aged 71 or older. If you are older than 71, you may still be able to get coverage, please use the contact us form and we will be happy to provide a tailored quote for you. We will require a “fit to fly” letter from a GP. If you can obtain a letter first, it will help to streamline the quote process.

Yes, you are able to purchase cover on behalf of a group of travellers, up to 50 people, so long as you and everyone in the group are traveling at the same time and to the same destination. Otherwise each person will need to purchase a separate policy. You will need the full name and date of birth of all travellers and you can also add your company name to the policy.

Yes, please add the name of the company or association in the online application form. Please note we still require the names and date of birth of each traveller.

Yes, but you will need to contact our underwriting team via the contact us form and we will be glad to arrange the additional cover you require.

This insurance does not cover claims in any way caused or contributed to by any condition whether diagnosed or not, for which you have sought advice, diagnosis, treatment or counselling of which you are aware or should have been aware at inception of this insurance or for which you have been treated during the 12 months prior to the inception of this insurance.

No, this is a policy condition.

No.

No.

You will not be covered for certain hazardous pursuits as listed in the policy as shown below: “any injury sustained while taking part in:

• the following winter sports: free-style skiing, ski jumping, ice hockey, use of bobsleighs or skeletons, repetitive travel in ski run helicopters or any competition. Off piste skiing is only covered if the insured person is accompanied by a suitably experienced guide;

• the following scuba diving activities: any unaccompanied dive, any dive involving visits to wrecks or caves, any dive for gain or reward, or any dive below 30 metres. Any other scuba diving activities are only covered if the insured person:

• holds the British Sub Aqua Club “Sports Diver” certificate or the Professional Association of Diving Instructors “Open Water” certificate and follows the relevant Club or Association rules and guidelines at all times; or

• dives under the constant supervision of a properly licensed diving school and follows their rules and instructions at all times;

• potholing, caving, hang-gliding, parachuting, parascending, paragliding, mountaineering or rock-climbing for which the insured person would normally need to use ropes or guides, bungee jumping, white-water rafting, any kind of race, endurance test or any other activity which is known to carry an increased risk of personal injury;

• armed forces activities including operations, exercises or training;

• flying as a pilot or any other aerial activities other than travel by air as a passenger.”

Hotspot Cover provides and arranges for your repatriation of mortal remains or ashes to your home country if you die during an insured journey on your travels. We will also indemnify your estate for the reasonable costs of your funeral if it occurs outside your country of domicile. We cover up to USD/EUR/GBP 25,000 under this. Hotspot Cover also provides Personal Accident cover in respect of Accidental Death up to a limit of USD/EUR/GBP 250,000.

If you have purchased this optional cover, the Crisis Response section of the policy will provide cover for Kidnap For Ransom, Crisis & Security up to a policy limit of USD/EUR/GBP 250,000 per insured event and in the annual aggregate, threat, disappearance and hostage crisis up to a policy limit of USD/EUR/GBP 100,000 per insured event and in the annual aggregate, express kidnap up to a policy limit of USD/EUR/GBP 25,000 per insured event and in the annual aggregate and emergency political repatriation and relocation up to a policy limit of USD/EUR/GBP 100,000 per insured person.

Under the (optional) Crisis section we will indemnify you up to USD/EUR/GBP 3,000 for any additional costs for a delay to your outward or return journey caused by an act of terrorism and where you need to make alternative arrangements and where you are left out of pocket or this is not recoverable under any other insurance.

Not online, please contact our underwriting team for a bespoke quotation, by using the contact us form.

Not online, but please use the contact us form if you wish to discuss stand alone or personal policy requirements and we shall see if we can help and are delighted to assist, where possible.

Control Risks are the specialists dedicated responders for this section. Cover is only applicable if you have purchased the kidnap and ransom add-on.

If an insured event occurs, or you believe it to have occurred Control Risks should be contacted on the following international numbers +44 20 3356 2201 (Global) and +1 703 865 3121 (US and Canada Only). When you call the line, you will reach Control Risks’ Global Risk Operations Centre (GROC). The Senior Risk Consultant will ask you to provide your contact details and a brief description of the incident. They will then pass these details to our Response Duty Officer, who will return your call within a maximum of 30 minutes, but usually much sooner. In the initial call, the Duty Officer will gather initial information, provide preliminary advice and agree the next steps for providing ongoing support.

Our emergency assistance providers Global Guardian & Control Risks will determine the circumstances, evaluate and advise you if it is prudent and safe to evacuate or to “stay put” and “hibernate” to avert unnecessary danger.

You or your representatives should contact our response partner Control Risks who will coordinate the response and assistance as our niche and expert incident response partner.

The costs of response are covered up to a maximum amount of USD/EUR/GBP 250,000 per insured event and in the annual aggregate; thereafter you or your company will be responsible for any additional costs.

If you have purchased the additional and optional Crisis response and Kidnap cover the policy can reimburse you up to USD/EUR/GBP 250,000 in the event of a kidnap, hijack, or extortion or ransom demand. Kidnap and Ransom Insurance works on a reimbursement basis. This means that the Insured Persons (Family/Estate) are obliged to pay first and are then reimbursed by Us/Reinsurers once ransom payments have been met and paid by you as the first party.

Control Risks are the specialists dedicated responders for this section. Cover is only applicable if you have purchased the kidnap and ransom add-on.

If an insured event occurs, or you believe it to have occurred Control Risks should be contacted on the following international numbers +44 20 3356 2201 (Global) and +1 703 865 3121 (US and Canada Only). When you call the line, you will reach Control Risks’ Global Risk Operations Centre (GROC). The Senior Risk Consultant will ask you to provide your contact details and a brief description of the incident. They will then pass these details to our Response Duty Officer, who will return your call within a maximum of 30 minutes, but usually much sooner. In the initial call, the Duty Officer will gather initial information, provide preliminary advice and agree the next steps for providing ongoing support.

Yes, Hotspot Cover payment is powered by Stripe, a global online payment processor that is trusted by thousands of businesses across the globe including many Fortune 500 companies. All transactions are SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protected. Stripe is a PCI Service Provider Level 1 which is the highest grade of payment processing security. You can rest assured that your payment and information is safe and secure.

Yes, in respect of Ukraine policies, you can add additional cover for travel outside of Ukraine for up to 7 days for USD/EUR/GBP 50.00 per person. Cover applies for a maximum period of 7 days in total for days spent in transit in a country in the EEA/UK/CEE that is incidental to your journey and travel to and from the Ukraine. For example If you are travelling to Poland for a few days before or after going to Ukraine.

If transit cover is required for any country other than Ukraine, please use the contact us form to discuss this further with a member of our underwriting team.