Travel Insurance for Adventure Sports

Millions of people take a vacation every year, traveling within their state and flying halfway around the world to see a new place. No matter their destination, many people prudently choose to purchase travel insurance in case of any unexpected situations that could occur while on their trip.

While vacationing, many travelers participate in adventure sports. Some activities may be preplanned, but others are decided on spontaneously because it sounds fun. While on a trip, many people may become excited when they see that others are water jet skiing or parasailing, and they decide to sign up.

On family vacations, parents may not be interested in participating in extreme adventure sports but their teenage children are very excited about it and beg to perform such adventure sports. In situations like this, parents need to make sure that such sports are covered by their travel insurance first.

Because of the high risk of injuries or even death with some activities, many travel insurance plans exclude adventure sports coverage and action sports insurance coverage by default. Most travel insurance plans require you to purchase an optional rider at an additional cost to provide adventure sports coverage.

If you participate in any of such sports and were to be injured or worse, without proper travel insurance that includes adventure sports coverage, it could be financially devastating for you and your family. For that reason, proper travel insurance with adequate sports coverage is highly recommended.

Common Adventure Sports

There are hundreds of adventure sports that a person could participate in; the following are some of the most common:

• Bungee jumping
• Heli-Skiing
• Jet skiing
• Kayaking
• Kneeboard Surfing
• Paragliding
• Parasailing - Very popular on Caribbean cruises
• River rafting
• Rock Climbing
• Scuba diving
• Snow skiing
• Ziplining

Additionally, there are some more unusual, but still well-known adventure sports, such as running of the bulls or cave diving that can also be covered with the correct rider.

Important Features of Adventure Sports Travel Insurance

When purchasing travel insurance with adventure sports coverage, you should keep in mind the following items:

• Specific Adventure Sports Coverage

  There are many different travel insurance plans to choose from and even more adventure sports in which people participate.

  Therefore, make sure to read the certificate wording and assure yourself that the specific adventure sports you are planning to participate in are covered by your travel insurance for adventure sports. 

  Not all policies are the same. Moreover, some travel insurance plans may have different levels of adventure sports coverage such as Class 1, Class 2, and so on. Each class covers different levels of adventure sports. Generally, the higher the class, the higher the premium. Therefore, the best travel insurance for extreme sports will be a policy that offers coverage specifically for the activity you are going to participate in. 

  If you are not sure in advance that all the adventure sports you are or may be participating in would be covered, you should purchase the highest level of coverage that would cover all possible adventure sports that you may participate in.

• Emergency Medical Evacuation

  Many adventure sports are found in remote locations such as a beach, mountain, desert, or ocean. If you were to get injured at a remote location, adequate healthcare facilities may not be available nearby. Therefore, you would need to be transported to the nearest place where adequate care can be given if injured. Your adventure sports travel insurance would cover emergency medical evacuation in these cases.

• Repatriation of Remains

  Make sure that the travel insurance you purchase covers the repatriation of remains back to your home country in the unfortunate event that you were to pass away while participating in an adventure sport. Otherwise, the expenses could be very high and the formalities of transporting mortal remains through different countries and airports may be overwhelming for family members who are already grieving after an unexpected tragedy.

• Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D)

  While performing adventure sports activities, there is always a chance of accidental death or dismemberment. AD&D provides a lump sum benefit paid to you or your family. If that is important to you, make sure the adventure sports coverage you purchase has an adequate amount of AD&D coverage.

Conclusion

While participating in adventure sports may be a lot of fun during the trip, getting into an unexpected accident is not. All travelers are highly recommended to consider purchasing adequate travel insurance with adequate sports coverage before they need it.

• Adventure Sports Coverage in Travel Insurance

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DISCLAIMER: The information within this article is intended as a broad summary of benefits and services and is meant for informational purposes only. The information does not describe all scenarios, coverages or exclusions of any insurance plan. The benefits and services of an insurance plan are subject to change. This is not your policy/certificate of insurance. If there is any discrepancy between the information in this article and the language of your policy/certificate wording, the language of the policy/certificate wording will prevail.