Yes, travel insurance is worth having for a trip centered on Arandis: this small mining town sits deep in the Namib Desert, well outside the reach of full hospital care, and the honest case for coverage here is distance and logistics rather than any dramatic danger. Most visitors pass through en route to Swakopmund on the coast or deeper into the desert interior, and a policy still smooths over lost luggage, cancelled flights, or an unexpected pharmacy run in a country whose systems are unfamiliar, on top of earning its keep the moment something goes wrong far from a proper facility.
Care standards vary sharply once you leave a real city in Namibia, and Arandis itself has only basic local services. Serious illness or injury is typically stabilized on site if possible and then evacuated, often by road or light aircraft, to Windhoek, the country's real medical hub several hours away. Look for a policy that explicitly covers medical evacuation and repatriation rather than one that only reimburses routine clinic visits, since the evacuation leg is the part that actually costs money here.
Self-drive desert touring is the main activity risk around Arandis - long gravel stretches, limited fuel and phone signal, and heat that punishes breakdowns. The dry season brings dust and distance rather than storms, but the short rainy season from roughly January to April can flood normally dry riverbeds and cut remote roads without warning, stranding vehicles until water recedes. Confirm your policy covers self-drive travel on unpaved roads, since some exclude driving outside sealed highways entirely.
Keep any local clinic paperwork, police or ranger reports, and receipts for treatment or vehicle recovery, since claims here rely on documentation more than anything else. Check whether your existing health cover extends abroad and specifically to Namibia before you assume it does - many home policies quietly stop at the border. A standalone travel policy with evacuation cover is the more reliable route for a desert-town itinerary like this one.