Private insurance
All non-AAD employees are strongly advised to obtain adequate private insurance to cover loss or damage to clothing, personal effects and valuables transported to Antarctica.
Please note that our current Comcover policy covers loss of, or damage to, personal effects for voluntary workers whilst on an approved workplace or on approved travel within his or her home country, or country of assignment, up to a maximum of $10,000 for any one item. Our limit of cover is $30,000 with an excess of $250.
A voluntary worker is defined under our policy as 'a person who consents to undertake duties under the direction or at the request of your organisation, receives nil or nominal reward, and does so on a temporary or casual basis'.
Cover does not apply if the volunteer acted outside AAD guidelines and/or policies or in a negligent manner.
For personal effects with a per item value > $10,000 (or multiple items totalling more than $30,000) the volunteer would need to arrange their own cover for the gap above these values.
General Insurance companies (e.g. NRMA, RACT, AAMI etc) may provide such insurance. Typically this type of insurance is classed as 'Travel Insurance'.
When seeking quotes, non-AAD employee expeditioners should understand their requirements and convey these clearly to the company i.e. length of time away, where traveling, destination etc (be aware that travel insurance is often for limited periods).
Special conditions may apply if the insurance company considers you to be 'working' while in Antarctic/Southern Ocean.
