Every guest on our tours is covered by Ha Giang Loop insurance from BIC, up to 50,000,000 VND (about $1,900) for death or permanent disability caused by an accident. The part most riders miss is that the same policy pays at most 10,000,000 VND (about $385) towards medical bills after an accident and includes no medical evacuation. So yes, insurance is included on a tour, and yes, you still need your own travel insurance that covers motorbikes before you ride.
We are a licensed international tour operator (licence 08-0007/2025/CDLQGVN-GP LHQT) based in Ha Giang city, we send groups up the Loop every day, and we have read the insurer’s rulebook line by line so you do not have to. This guide explains what the included Ha Giang Loop insurance pays, the exclusions that catch travellers out, what to buy at home, and exactly what happens if you crash. If you want the bigger safety picture first, start with our guide to whether the Ha Giang Loop is safe, then come back here for the paperwork.
Is Ha Giang Loop insurance included in a tour?
On our tours, yes. Ha Giang Loop insurance is part of every Ali tour price: from the 2-day Express with an Easy Rider at 2,790,000 VND (about $107) to the 5-day Grand North Loop, includes a travel insurance policy with BIC, the insurance company of BIDV bank, for every guest. It is the same policy whether you ride pillion with an Easy Rider, ride by yourself, bring your own bike or travel in one of our cars, and it is written into the price together with the border permit and 8% VAT.
The Ha Giang Loop insurance we include is three separate benefits, not one lump sum, and the difference matters:
| Benefit | Amount per person | What it means on the Loop |
|---|---|---|
| Death or permanent disability caused by an accident | Up to 50,000,000 VND (about $1,900) | Disability is paid as a percentage of the sum insured, using BIC’s injury table |
| Death caused by illness | Up to 50,000,000 VND | Pre-existing conditions are excluded |
| Medical expenses after an accident | Up to 10,000,000 VND (about $385) | The cap that decides who pays the hospital |
The policy accepts Vietnamese citizens and foreign visitors who entered Vietnam legally, aged from six weeks to 80 years, and it starts at 00:01 on the first day of your tour. One honest caveat: Ha Giang Loop insurance comes with our tours. A bike rental on its own is a different product, so if you rent a motorbike from us without a tour, plan on your own travel insurance being your main cover from the moment you ride out of the gate.
What does the included Ha Giang Loop insurance not cover?
This is the section to read twice. We took these points from BIC’s rules for domestic travel insurance (issued under Decision 3598/QĐ-PHH on 26 November 2025), and these are the Ha Giang Loop insurance exclusions that touch a real trip:
- Medical bills above 10,000,000 VND. A clinic visit, an X-ray and a cast usually fit under the cap. Surgery or several nights in hospital do not.
- Medical evacuation and repatriation. There is no helicopter, no ambulance flight to Hanoi or Bangkok and no flight home in this policy. It is the single biggest gap in any Ha Giang Loop insurance that comes bundled with a tour, and only your own travel insurance closes it.
- Riding with alcohol in your blood. Above 50 mg per 100 ml of blood (or 0.25 mg per litre of breath) the claim is refused in full. Vietnamese road law is stricter still, zero tolerance for anyone in control of a vehicle, so treat a homestay dinner with happy water as the end of your riding day, and remember that corn wine can still be in your system the next morning.
- Riding without a valid licence: 50% paid, not zero. Many travellers believe no licence means no insurance. Under this Ha Giang Loop insurance policy a self-rider who crashes without a valid licence still receives 50% of the benefit, so 50,000,000 VND becomes 25,000,000 VND. Not nothing, but a very expensive piece of missing paperwork. Our guides to the 1968 International Driving Permit and how to drive legally in Vietnam explain what counts as valid.
- Food poisoning. Excluded outright, which is one reason we are fussy about the kitchens we eat at along the route.
- Leaving the tour on your own. Ending, abandoning or changing the itinerary on your own initiative after the policy has started can void the cover, so tell your guide before you split from the group, even for an hour.
- Competitive and extreme sports. Racing, boxing, mountaineering and surfing are excluded. The Nho Que boat trip and a swim at Du Gia waterfall are ordinary tourist activities, not sports in the policy’s sense.
- Anyone over 80. The policy cannot be issued to a traveller who is over 80 at the start of the trip. If that is you or a parent, tell us when you book and bring your own cover; our guide for travellers over 50 covers the rest of the planning.
Also excluded, as on almost any policy: deliberate acts, drugs, riding against traffic or on banned roads, deaths from pre-existing illness, war and natural catastrophes such as earthquakes.
Do you need your own travel insurance for the Ha Giang Loop?
Yes. Treat the included Ha Giang Loop insurance as a local safety net for the small stuff and buy a proper policy at home for the big stuff. When you compare your own Ha Giang Loop insurance options, check these points in the wording, not on the sales page:
- Motorbike riding is covered at all. Many standard policies exclude motorcycles entirely or cap the engine at 125cc. Our rental fleet runs from 110cc to 155cc: a Honda Vision, Air Blade, Future, Blade or Yamaha PG-1 sits under a 125cc cap; a Honda XR150, Winner X 150 or Yamaha WR155 does not. Choose the bike to match your policy, not the other way round.
- The licence condition. Most insurers only cover you if you are licensed to ride that bike at home and in Vietnam. For foreign visitors that means a motorcycle licence plus a 1968-Convention IDP. If you cannot meet it, the Easy Rider option keeps your insurance position clean.
- Pillion passengers. Easy Rider guests ride as passengers. Most policies cover pillion riding without any licence condition, but get it confirmed in writing before you leave.
- Emergency evacuation and repatriation with a limit well into six figures of US dollars. Ha Giang city is about 300 km and six hours by road from Hanoi, and the serious cases are the ones that have to travel.
- The helmet clause. Almost every policy requires one. We hand a helmet out with every bike and every tour, and wearing it is not optional with us anyway.
- A 24-hour assistance line that will deal with a Vietnamese hospital directly, because beyond emergency care the hospital will want a guarantee of payment.
The UK government’s travel advice for Vietnam makes the same point bluntly: ride without the right licence and your travel insurance may not pay. Whatever your passport, the logic is identical. Good Ha Giang Loop insurance is two layers, the local policy and your own, and the second layer is the one that flies you home.
Easy Rider or self-ride: how your Ha Giang Loop insurance changes
The way you ride changes both layers of Ha Giang Loop insurance at once, the included policy and your own. Here is the comparison we talk guests through at check-in:
| Easy Rider (you ride pillion) | Ride by yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| Included BIC policy | Full benefit | Full benefit with a valid licence; 50% without one |
| Your own travel insurance | Usually valid as a passenger; confirm pillion cover | Valid only if you meet the licence, engine-size and helmet conditions |
| Alcohol rule | Not your problem as a passenger | Alcohol over the limit voids the claim, and we can refuse to hand over the bike |
| Damage to the bike | Not your responsibility | Not insurance at all: settled with the rental, see below |
| Example price, Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng, 3 days | 4,250,000 VND (about $163) | 3,250,000 VND (about $125) |
If you are still deciding how to ride, our Easy Rider vs self-drive comparison weighs the whole trip, not only the insurance. Read the full what’s included list too, because insurance is one of the lines that separates a real tour price from a cheap one, and it is worth asking any operator for the amount, not just a yes.
What happens if you crash on the Ha Giang Loop?
Most incidents on the Loop are low-speed slides on gravel or a wet corner: grazes, a bruised knee, a scratched bike. Here is the sequence that keeps you safe and keeps your Ha Giang Loop insurance claim alive, on our tours and on your own:
- Get off the road and call your guide (or us on +84 787 652 333 if you are riding alone). Every Ali group has a lead rider who has handled this before.
- Get treated. The medical centres in Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac towns handle first aid and stitches; the provincial general hospital in Ha Giang city handles X-rays, fractures and overnight care; serious cases go on to Hanoi. Pay small bills yourself, keep every receipt and ask for a treatment confirmation in Vietnamese or English.
- Get an official record for anything serious. A police accident report is mandatory for a fatal claim and expected for anything involving another vehicle or a hospital stay. It is also the first document your insurer at home will ask for.
- Notify the insurer within 48 hours. This is the Ha Giang Loop insurance rule most people forget: BIC must be told within 48 hours of the accident or the payout is cut by 10%. On our tours we make that call (BIC hotline 1900 9456) while you are being looked after. Call your own insurer’s assistance line in the same window.
- Lodge the claim within one year with your passport, the treatment confirmation, receipts and the police report where there is one. Documents must be in Vietnamese or English; anything else needs a certified translation at your cost. Once the file is complete, BIC pays within 15 days.
Damage to a rented bike is a separate conversation. No Ha Giang Loop insurance, ours or yours, pays to repair the motorbike. With a rental you leave your documents and a refundable deposit, and scratches or broken parts are settled with the shop when you return it. Third-party liability for the bike is a compulsory motor policy that belongs with the vehicle papers, so ask to see it wherever you rent. Our motorbike rental guide covers the handover checks that avoid arguments later.
Does rain, a landslide or a cancelled day affect your cover?
Ha Giang’s rainy season, May to September, brings landslides and the occasional closed pass. Two things protect you. First, the included Ha Giang Loop insurance extends itself automatically by up to 48 hours at no extra cost if your trip is prolonged by a storm, flood, landslide, strike or a transport company’s delay, so a group held back in Meo Vac for a night is still insured. Second, our own policy: if an official storm warning, road closure or landslide stops your booked tour, you choose a free date change or a full refund. Our rainy season guide explains how the roads actually behave in July and August, and our list of Ha Giang Loop mistakes shows where riders push on when they should wait.
Ha Giang Loop insurance checklist before you ride
- Buy your own Ha Giang Loop insurance at home: a travel policy that names motorbike riding, your engine size and medical evacuation. Save the assistance number in your phone and on paper.
- Bring your home motorcycle licence and a 1968 IDP if you plan to self-ride. No licence halves the local payout and can void your own policy.
- Tell us if anyone in your group is over 80 or has a condition that might need evacuation, so we can plan around the limits of the included Ha Giang Loop insurance.
- Wear the helmet we give you, every kilometre, and ride sober. Those two habits clear almost every exclusion on the list.
- Keep your passport, policy number and the insurer’s phone number in a dry bag; see our packing list for the rest.
- If something happens: treat, record, notify within 48 hours, keep receipts.
FAQ: Ha Giang Loop insurance
Is insurance included in Ha Giang Loop tours?
On every Ali tour, yes: Ha Giang Loop insurance from BIC up to 50,000,000 VND per person for accidental death or disability, 50,000,000 VND for death by illness, and up to 10,000,000 VND of medical expenses after an accident. Other operators vary, so ask for the amount in writing.
Does travel insurance cover the Ha Giang Loop by motorbike?
Only if your policy includes motorbike riding, you meet its licence and engine-size conditions, and you wear a helmet. Riding pillion with an Easy Rider is covered by most policies without a licence; riding yourself usually is not unless you hold a motorcycle licence and a 1968 IDP.
What if I crash without a licence on the Ha Giang Loop?
Under the included Ha Giang Loop insurance you still receive 50% of the benefit, not zero. Your own travel insurance will most likely refuse the claim entirely, and the police can fine you. That gap is the strongest argument for the Easy Rider option.
Does the included Ha Giang Loop insurance cover hospital bills?
Up to 10,000,000 VND (about $385) of accident-related medical costs, and nothing for evacuation. For anything beyond stitches and an X-ray you will be relying on your own travel insurance.
Is drinking happy water a problem for Ha Giang Loop insurance?
Only if you ride afterwards. As a passenger, enjoy the homestay dinner. As a rider, alcohol over the policy limit means the claim is refused in full, and Vietnamese law is zero tolerance, so the evening’s corn wine ends your riding for the day.
Ride covered, ride with us
Every Ali tour comes with Ha Giang Loop insurance from BIC, a helmet, protective gear for self-riders and a team that knows which clinic to call. Book the Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng 3-day tour with a 500,000 VND deposit per person, or message us on WhatsApp/Zalo at (+84) 787 652 333 or info@hagiangalitravel.com with a question about your own policy wording; we read a lot of them. Every tour is at hagiangalitravel.com.
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