Adventure Activities Coverage

This coverage addresses the needs of adventure travelers. It is typically in the form of an exclusion waiver because (except in a few instances) travel insurance plans always exclude coverage for adventurous activities and hazardous sports.

Contents (click to jump down) What does Adventure Activities cover? Important notes about this coverage What type of policy covers this? How much coverage does each company provide? Summary

Let us tell you a story

Mike and Sylvia had long planned a Hawaii honeymoon and were looking forward hang gliding off the Makepu’u cliffs on Ohahu. Experienced hang gliders, they had each completed well over 50 jumps in a number of locations around the world.

On their third day of flying, Mike experienced some trouble with his glider and had to descend quickly. His forced descent meant he was far short of their intended landing zone and he landed in a bushy field instead of the cleared landing area. During landing, his foot caught in one of the higher bushes and he crashed to the ground. Sylvia witnessed the accident and drove with the other local hang gliders to where they had seen Mike fall. On the way, they called an ambulance and guided the paramedics to the location. Mike was unconscious when they arrived, but the paramedics cut him loose from the glider and transported him to the hospital. His leg was broken in two places and he had a concussion and some serious cuts, but he would survive. Once in the emergency room, Sylvia called their travel insurance company to let them know about Mike’s accident. She was re-assured after the representative confirmed they had purchased coverage that included adventurous sports and the insurance company would arrange for an advance payment to the hospital. Sylvia took a deep breath and focused on Mike’s treatment.

What does Adventure Activities cover?

All travel insurance plans specifically list adventurous (some call them ‘hazardous’) activities as specifically excluded from coverage, which makes it difficult for hang gliders, skiers, mountain climbers, bungee jumpers, SCUBA divers and others to find adequate travel insurance coverage for their trips. There are plans that cover these types of travelers, however.

In some plans, SCUBA divers who are PADI or NAUI certified are covered in the base plan without the need for an optional rider. For example, all of the Seven Corners’ Liaison plans allow for SCUBA diving activities in the base plan as long as the diver is appropriately certified.

In most cases, all other adventure activities are covered with an optional rider, which adds to the cost of the plan.

Those participating in adventurous activities are primarily interested in the following coverages:

• Medical and dental expenses
• Evacuation and repatriation expenses
• AD&D benefits

Some travel insurance plans provide a benefit amount for unused nonrefundable payments made separately from the vacation and related to sports activities, including ski lift tickets, green fees, equipment rentals and lessons, if you have to cancel or interrupt your trip for a covered reason. Specifically, Travel Insured International provides $1,000 for these nonrefundable costs with all their package plans:

• Worldwide Trip Protector Gold
• Worldwide Trip Protector
• Trip Protector
• Trip Protector Lite

Important notes about this coverage

• In all plans, participants in SCUBA diving activities need to be PADI or NAUI certified and diving with a certified instructor for coverage to be in effect
• If the activity a traveler is participating in is not listed in the policy as covered, it’s not covered
• No travel insurance plan will cover you while flying or learning to fly an aircraft – even with the hazardous sports or adventure activities option
• Some plans limit the adventure coverage to just a few activities
• When this coverage is an optional rider, it must be purchased with your travel insurance plan (it cannot be added later)
• All other plan restrictions, such as the requirement to be outside your home country and others, must be followed
• Even if your medical and evacuation expenses are covered, you cannot guarantee coverage for your sporting equipment with this coverage (see Sports Equipment coverage)

What type of policy covers adventure activities?

This type of coverage is available in some package plans (typically with an optional add-on). This coverage is also available with some medical plans.

How much coverage does each company provide?

Plan	Company	Medical limit	Medevac limit	AD&D (24-hour)
None	Allianz
None	CSA
TravMed International * ***	FrontierMEDEX	$1,000,000	up to medical limit	$25,000
None	Global Alert
Diplomat America * **	Global Underwriters	$50,000 – $500,000	$300,000	$25,000
Diplomat International * **	Global Underwriters	$50,000 – $1,000,000	$300,000	$25,000
Diplomat LT * **	Global Underwriters	$500,000 or $1,000,000	$300,000	$0
None	HTH Worldwide
Patriot Adventure *	IMG	$50,000	up to medical limit	$0
None	M.H. Ross
Liaison Continent * ** ***	Seven Corners	$50,000 – $1,000,000	$300,000	$50,000
Liaison International * ** ***	Seven Corners	$50,000 – $1,000,000	$300,000	$25,000
Liaison Majestic * ** ***	Seven Corners	$60,000 – $1,000,000	$300,000	$25,000
Liaison Worldwide * ** ***	Seven Corners	$50,000 – $500,000	$300,000	$25,000
Adventure Travel	Travel Guard	$25,000	$500,000	$10,000
Sportsman's Travel	Travel Guard	$25,000	$500,000	$10,000
Tee, Tour, and Travel	Travel Guard	$25,000	$500,000	$10,000
Visit USA HealthCare ** ***	Travel Insurance	$50,000 or $100,000	$75,000 or $100,000	$50,000 or $100,000
Voyager Annual ** ***	Travel Insurance	$5,000 – $500,000	$25,000 – $500,000	$25,000 – $500,000
WorldMed ** ***	Travel Insurance	$100,000 – $1,000,000	$100,000 or $500,000	$25,000 or $50,000
Worldwide Trip Protector Gold * **	Travel Insured	$50,000	$1,000,000	$25,000
Worldwide Trip Protector * **	Travel Insured	$50,000	$500,000	$10,000
Trip Protector Lite Expanded * **	Travel Insured	$15,000 *	$100,000	Available **
Trip Protector Lite * **	Travel Insured	$10,000 *	$100,000	Available **
Travel Select **	Travelex	$50,000	$500,000	$25,000
None	TravelSafe

* requires a deductible
** with optional rider
*** limited to certain activities

Summary

• Adventure sports – also called hazardous sports – are nearly always excluded from travel insurance plans
• Travel insurance coverage can be denied if a traveler participates in these sports without the adventure coverage
• Not all travel insurance plans provide options for adventure travelers and those that do typically offer the coverage as an optional rider
• Some activities such as learning to fly an aircraft are never covered by a travel insurance plan