Comprehensive coverage for faith-based service and humanitarian work abroad.

Most standard policies exclude volunteer work, manual labor, and trips longer than 180 days—all common for missionaries. Missionary-specific insurance from providers like Good Neighbor Insurance, IMG, or HCC Medical covers construction projects, medical outreach, teaching, and multi-year assignments that standard policies won't touch.

Standard insurers exclude countries with Level 3 or 4 travel warnings (high crime, terrorism, civil unrest). Missionary insurance often covers these regions because that's where humanitarian work is most needed. If you're serving in parts of Central Africa, the Middle East, or Central America with active warnings, confirm your policy explicitly covers political evacuation and emergency medical in those countries.

If you're providing medical care (dental clinics, surgery, vaccinations), you need medical malpractice and professional liability coverage—not included in standard travel insurance. A dentist on a mission trip in Guatemala faced a malpractice claim after a complication; their personal insurance didn't cover international volunteer work. Mission-specific policies include professional liability riders.

Missionaries often serve in areas hours from the nearest hospital. A medical evacuation by bush plane, boat, and air ambulance can cost $75,000-$200,000. One missionary in Papua New Guinea contracted cerebral malaria and needed a $140,000 evacuation to Australia—standard travel insurance capped evacuation at $50,000, leaving a $90,000 gap. Missionary policies typically offer $250,000-$500,000 evacuation limits.

Family missionary policies cover spouse and dependent children, but confirm age limits (usually up to 18-25). If your 16-year-old breaks an arm while helping build a school in Honduras, family coverage handles the $8,000 ER bill and follow-up care. Some policies also cover short-term visiting family members (parents, siblings) who join you for 30-90 days.

Even short-term mission trips (1-3 weeks) require proper coverage. A youth group leader on a 10-day trip to Haiti fell from scaffolding and needed a $45,000 emergency surgery plus $28,000 air ambulance. Their standard travel insurance denied the claim because it excluded volunteer construction work. Short-term mission insurance costs $50-$150 for 2 weeks and covers these gaps.

Political evacuation coverage reimburses emergency flights home if the US State Department orders evacuation or conditions become too dangerous. When civil unrest erupted in Haiti in 2024, missionaries had 48 hours to evacuate—commercial flights cost $2,000-$4,000 per person. Policies with political evacuation covered these costs; standard travel insurance didn't.

Missionary work can be emotionally taxing, especially in trauma-heavy regions. Some policies include telemedicine mental health counseling, while others exclude it. If you're working with refugees, disaster survivors, or in high-stress environments, confirm your policy covers counseling sessions ($100-$200 each). Some missionary organizations provide separate counseling benefits.

Many missionary policies offer pre-existing condition coverage if purchased early (within 14-30 days of trip deposit). If you have Type 1 diabetes and experience complications while serving in rural Kenya, your insulin, monitoring, and emergency care should be covered—but only if you disclosed the condition and qualified for the waiver. Without it, claims can be denied.