Owen Park
All travel insurance policies advertise to cover all activities but in fine print they do not. After setting up coverage for several of our field researchers to travel to remote parts of the world and after dealing with a scuba diving claim myself last year I know exactly what clauses can cause a big surprise when a claim is denied. Even though the marketing of all travel insurance companies look the same the actual coverage is not.
Climbing: indoor, sport, trad, alpine
While many travel insurance policies will cover climbers climbing indoors or recreational climbing, most exclude trad climbing and alpine climbing. World Nomads Explorer Plan, for example, covers up to 6,000m while SafetyWing does not cover climbing over 4,500m or any climbing that requires ropes for protection beyond top-rope. And most policies have an altitude restriction that typically matches the bottom of the Andean and Himalayan trekking ranges – 4,500m/6,000m – and not the actual mountains. There are, however, policies like Global Rescue and Ripcord designed for mountaineers. Choose your policy carefully.
Scuba: 30m, 40m, technical
Recreational scuba diving at depths of less than or equal to 30m are generally covered. However, all the major travel insurance providers that I reviewed exclude coverage for diving below 30m in depth, whether that be for a specialty deep dive rating, or for technical diving, such as rebreather diving, cave diving or wreck penetration. Additional coverage can be added to the World Nomads Explorer Plan for PADI Deep Diver certified divers who wish to dive to 50m or deeper. Some travel insurance providers also exclude solo diving, whether that be scuba diving or another adventure activity. In addition, some travel insurance providers also exclude diving with sharks, whether that be in a shark cage or not. Most travelers find out about these additional exclusions for scuba diving-related claims that require decompression treatments.
Skiing: resort, off-piste, backcountry
On-piste ski and snowboard are typically covered under a general travel policy; off-piste ski within resort boundaries are covered by some travel policies and not by others. Back country ski, ski mountaineering, heli-ski, any other type of skiing that is conducted outside of a resort and beyond the area patrolled by resort ski patrols are typically not covered under standard travel insurance policies. Ripcord and World Nomads Explorer do cover some of these activities. I generally do not buy a ski policy as lift-served vs not-lift-served is how most insurers categorize ski activities and if I took a snowmobile to the start of my ski tour, for example, I would not be covered under a standard policy. Recently, I tested this out on a trip. See below.
Activity riders and adventure plans
Typically the ‘adventure rider’ that most general travel insurance is offering for $10-$30 per trip has a very specific scope of activities that are actually covered under the rider. It’s worthwhile asking what specifically is covered before you hand over your hard earned cash and it’s best to have that written out before you purchase it. For most people, paying $5-$10 per day for their standard insurance versus $1-$3 per day for the same coverage in an ‘adventure policy’ is well worth it. However, there are times when having an ‘adventure policy’ would be more than worth it. World Nomads Explorer, SafetyWing, Ripcord and Global Rescue offer ‘adventure specific’ policies that have far greater scope of activities and coverage than the ‘adventure rider’ you can purchase through most general travel insurance.
Three exclusion clauses to read carefully
There are usually three main clauses that one should pay close attention to before purchasing insurance. First, the alcohol clause (which states that if you were consuming alcohol at the time of the incident that led to your claim that it will be denied). This clause is generally worded in a way that most insurers would deem that you ‘contributed’ to your injury. The second is the equipment clause (which states that claims may be denied if you were using uncertified or unrented equipment, even if it was paid for). This is generally more relevant to adventure travelers who plan on engaging in activities such as rock or ice climbing. The last is the guide clause (which states that for certain activities, you must hire a certified guide in order for you to have coverage). Many Class IV and above routes are not offered as guided climbs, but this does not mean that solo climbing the route is covered under your insurance.
How I structure coverage in practice
When I was traveling to Patagonia (a 5,000m hike and pack rafting were involved in this trip) I opted for the World Nomads Explorer Plan after I had specifically verified that the required coverage for altitude (4,700m were included in this trip) and the required watersport-coverage (kayaking, whitewater rafting, and fishing) were covered by the Explorer Plan in writing before I started my trip. On a Caribbean trip (25m below the surface of the ocean while scuba diving were involved in this trip) I was covered by the standard coverage of SafetyWing. For my last skiing trip in Alaska, where I went ski-touring, neither of the two plans mentioned before were sufficient. Therefore, I bought a membership for Global Rescue in order to have an evacuation guarantee, in case that should be required.
