Insurance for those working in danger zones

Whether you have volunteered to help victims of the earthquake on Haiti or were employed as a civilian support in Iraq, your employer is very likely to face quite hefty insurance premiums for insuring your life when you're undertaking such high risk jobs. Moreover, there's a possibility to be denied coverage altogether as some companies won't be willing to insure you while you're working in a high risk place.

In fact, there is a list of countries that the US State Department warns against traveling to, and the insurance companies are consulting with when charging for insuring life or health during trips to these regions. And some insurance companies can even refuse covering a person if he or she travels to one of these areas.

Such travel warnings are usually issued when there's a long-term security problem within a specific region, or the US diplomatic aid in this country can't provide proper protection to US citizens there.

This list includes most countries that have war conflicts in them such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Chad and recently certain regions of Mexico with their violent clashes between the police and drug dealers. These regions are all characterized by high risk of being kidnapped, injured, wounded or killed.

It's evident that in a country that is torn by war or another social or political instability there is a higher risk of being injured or killed than in a calmer region. And insurance providers are taking this into account. So when you're going to a very risky region it may turn out that even the Lloyd's of London won't be willing to cover you because your travel is associated with very high risk no one is willing to undertake.

Military workers are usually covered through the government-sponsored Servicemen's Group Life Insurance when going to war zones, and it costs them about $24 a month for $400,000 life insurance coverage. Moreover, working as a military often grants discounts when dealing with independent insurance companies that tend to drop all extra costs when insuring such a customer.

Still, most insurance companies won't be willing to cover you if you're a civilian going to a service to Somalia for example. It all depends on who are you working for. If that's a big company, you are most likely to get life insurance as a part of a global accident policy that most big companies purchase for any directions. The costs in case of large corporations will be reasonable and you'll have a premium comparable to that of a typical insurance policy if you'll be required to pay any in the first place. Besides, there are high-risk specialized insurance providers such as Lloyd's of London that will cover even journalist going to war zones, if the price is something the employer can pay for.

The price gets even higher, if you're traveling to a high risk area or get involved in high-risk sport in your leisure time and not endorsed by your employer. It may get as high as 50 cents per every $1,000 of coverage, and when you multiply this rate by a standard $500,000 coverage amount, the risk gets quite a hefty price tag for enjoying extreme activities and going to exotic yet dangerous places.