What Is Marine Crew Insurance?

What Is Marine Crew Insurance?

If you’re a professional marine crew member, you’re probably aware that the unique demands of your role can sometimes make it difficult to find the inclusive international healthcare coverage you need. Fortunately, there are comprehensive and flexible travel insurance plans designed specifically to satisfy the demands of the marine industry.

What Does Crew Insurance Cover?

Crew insurance services provide worldwide comprehensive and flexible medical coverage for international crew members when they travel outside their home countries. This means that if you sustain an injury aboard your vessel, you’ll be able to get urgent care without the insurmountable medical debt. Here’s a quick rundown of what marine travel insurance often covers:

  • Health and medical expenses related to urgently needed care
  • Political evacuation
  • Emergency medical evacuation should you need to be airlifted from the vessel to the nearest medical facility
  • Repatriation benefits
  • Return of minor child to home country
  • Trip interruption 
  • Accidental death and dismemberment benefit
  • Remote transportation
  • Preventative benefits
  • Lost/theft of luggage/personal papers 
  • Lifetime organ transplant benefit
  • Optional coverage for pre-existing conditions, maternity, hazardous sports; terrorism and global daily indemnity
  • Medical concierge program
  • Out-of-country legal expense

Who Is Eligible for Crew Insurance?


To be eligible for marine crew insurance, the individual or group must be an active employee aboard a sea-going vessel and expect to be outside the home country for a predetermined number of months per month. Marine insurance can cover individual mariners or an entire crew, from the captain of a vessel to crew members working at sea.


What Are the Types of Crew Insurance?

Depending on the assignment of the individual crew member, marine crew insurance can be bought either for a short-term or a long-term period.

The duration of coverage for a short-term insurance plan may range from 5 days to 2 years. The long-term insurance plan can be initially bought for a 12 month period and you can continue to renew it as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. It’s also not uncommon for some long-term marine travel insurance to offer some domestic healthcare insurance coverage.

Finding the Best Marine Crew Insurance Providers

There are a few options for marine crew insurance but IMG’s Global Medical Insurance offers one of the best crew insurance services on the market. See what Global Medical Insurance can do for you.

When looking for marine travel insurance it’s especially important to research before you make your purchase. In most cases, you’ll be abroad and the demands of your role make coverage a necessity. So how do you decide? VisitorsCoverage is a great place to start. You can compare plans and get quotes in minutes. And If you need help understanding the insurance-speak, our Customer Success Team licensed travel insurance experts is happy to help.