From October 1st, all visitors will be required to purchase mandatory insurance from the Tanzanian authorities. 

The fee has been set at US$44, payable in Tanzanian shillings. The policy is said to be valid of a maximum of 92 days and allows multiple entries into mainland Tanzania during that time. The scheme is being implemented and run by Tanzania’s National Insurance Corporation (NIC). 

Only East African Community citizens (ie those from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan, and the DRC) and citizens of the sixteen countries of the Southern African Development Community (which includes Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe plus South Africa itself) are exempt. However, visitors aged 17 and under are entitled to a 50% discount, and those under two receive the insurance free of charge.

The move follows a similar scheme introduced by the island of Zanzibar that was set up back in 2024. But even though the island is part of Tanzania, the two schemes are entirely separate. That said, if you arrive in Zanzibar first, as long as you keep a copy of the insurance certificate they give you, it will be valid in Tanzania. And apparently it works if you arrive in Tanzania first too: as long as you keep hold of the NIC certificate, you shouldn’t have to pay the insurance again on arrival in Tanzania. 

Like the Tanzanian visa, the insurance can, apparently, be paid for at the airport. However, the authorities are urging people to apply for it online before arriving on the following official NIC Insurance link.

So what do you get for your money?

It is believed that the insurance is expected to provide the following:

The insurance is purported to provide cover for:

  • Emergency medical treatment
  • Medical evacuation
  • Repatriation of a patient or the remains of a deceased person
  • Loss of baggage
  • Coverage limits and claim conditions will be specified in the relevant insurance policy.

How much the cover is worth, what exactly is included in the policy, and how one can go about making a claim are details that have yet to have been divulged by the authorities. 

For example, is helicopter rescue on Kilimanjaro covered by the term ‘medical evacuation’? Indeed, is Kilimanjaro covered at all, or is it not covered due to the very altitude that trekkers have to reach in order to summit? 

Presumably these are details that will be released in time once the system is underway. 

So does this mean you don’t need to buy your own travel insurance for Tanzania?

No doubt there will be some visitors who will be tempted into not buying their own travel insurance and relying on the cover provided by this mandatory insurance. 

However, many remain cynical about what has been promised. Indeed, some say that it reminds them very much of the US$20 ‘rescue fee’ that all trekkers must pay as part of their park fees on Kilimanjaro, in that while paying it is compulsory, nobody is actually sure what benefits you get in return. 

For the time being, until we actually see the extent of the coverage provided by this mandatory policy, we advise all visitors to Tanzania to purchase their own private insurance from insurers in their own country before arriving in Tanzania.