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Adventure Travel Insurance
Adventure Travel Insurance
Written by
Rachel Gregg
Edited by
Ellie Garran
Reviewed by
Adrian BennettEasily compare Travel Insurance
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What is adventure travel?
Long story short
Adventure travel insurance covers higher-adrenaline activities
Many travel insurance policies don’t cover riskier activities. For those, adventure travel insurance offers extra medical emergency coverage and more.
Every insurer has a different list of what activities are included
What counts as an adventure activity can vary wildly from one insurer to another, so make sure to check your insurer’s list.
Activity definitions matter more than you think
Some policies have certain definitions for specific activities like altitude limits or certain grades of activities, so make sure you’re on the same page.
What is adventure travel?
Adventure travel is about swapping taxis and shopping days for mountain trails and sky diving. Otherwise known as adventure tourism, it’s all about getting your heart pumping and your shoes dirty. It gets you out of your comfort zone and sends you home with some great memories.
When you think of adventure travel, you might think of people who’ve hiked to the base of Mount Everest or swum with sharks in Africa. But you don’t have to scale a mountain to earn your adventure traveller badge. A horse trek across Iceland or a half-day rainforest hike can potentially count, if you’re getting outside and soaking up the views and atmosphere.
What’s adventure travel insurance?
Not everyone’s idea of the perfect holiday is sitting in a hammock with cocktails on tap. For some of us, a holiday isn’t complete without a bit of adrenaline-pumping fun.
If that’s you, there’s a little more risk to consider than if you were just sticking to museums and markets. This is why many travel insurers offer adventure travel policies to add to your coverage.
Adventure travel insurance is designed to cover those extra thrill factors. So, you can usually expect a bit more coverage for medical expenses and personal belongings like expensive sports gear if something goes wrong. You might find that some basic or comprehensive travel insurance policies cover low-key adventure activities like hot air ballooning, cycling, and surfing. But for bigger thrills, like cave tubing, jet skiing, or scuba diving, you’ll likely need some extra coverage. What’s covered (and what’s not) will really depend on your chosen travel insurer. So it pays to double-check before you leap.
What does adventure travel insurance cover?
Medical evacuation and repatriation
If you get injured in the middle of your adventure activity and need to be evacuated, you can claim the related costs.
Emergency medical costs
If you need emergency medical treatment from an adventure activity, your related costs can be covered.
Personal belongings and related gear
If you damage, break or lose your adventure activity gear, you could claim costs to replace your items.
Cancellations
If you’ve had to cancel your activities due to unforeseen circumstances, you could claim the lost costs.
Not meeting policy conditions
If you don’t meet the conditions of your adventure policy (like wearing all applicable safety gear), you may not be able to claim.
Exceeding age limits
Some adventure activity policies have age limits. If you exceed these, you won’t be able to claim.
Competitions or professional-level activities
If you compete, race, or take part in an adventure activity as a professional, it likely won’t be included.
Activities that are on a higher coverage level or not included
If your activity needs a higher level of adventure activity cover, or isn’t included at all, you won’t be able to claim for it.
Snow or cruise-related activities
If you’re cruising or skiing during your trip, you need a specific extras policy for this; it isn’t included in the adventure activity policy.
Driving or being a passenger on a scooter
You’ll need the related extras policy for this to be covered by your travel insurance.
Taking part in an activity while under the influence
If you get into an accident during your adventure activity while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you won’t be able to claim.
Medical evacuation and repatriation
If you get injured in the middle of your adventure activity and need to be evacuated, you can claim the related costs.
Emergency medical costs
If you need emergency medical treatment from an adventure activity, your related costs can be covered.
Personal belongings and related gear
If you damage, break or lose your adventure activity gear, you could claim costs to replace your items.
Cancellations
If you’ve had to cancel your activities due to unforeseen circumstances, you could claim the lost costs.
Not meeting policy conditions
If you don’t meet the conditions of your adventure policy (like wearing all applicable safety gear), you may not be able to claim.
Exceeding age limits
Some adventure activity policies have age limits. If you exceed these, you won’t be able to claim.
Competitions or professional-level activities
If you compete, race, or take part in an adventure activity as a professional, it likely won’t be included.
Activities that are on a higher coverage level or not included
If your activity needs a higher level of adventure activity cover, or isn’t included at all, you won’t be able to claim for it.
Snow or cruise-related activities
If you’re cruising or skiing during your trip, you need a specific extras policy for this; it isn’t included in the adventure activity policy.
Driving or being a passenger on a scooter
You’ll need the related extras policy for this to be covered by your travel insurance.
Taking part in an activity while under the influence
If you get into an accident during your adventure activity while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you won’t be able to claim.
Helpful tip
Just because an activity is listed doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve got a free pass to claim if something goes wrong. Most travel insurers have conditions to their coverage that you’ll need to tick off first. For example, hiking over 3,500 m in altitude might not be covered (the summit of Mount Fuji is 3,776 m, for reference).
Some activities also need to be run by specifically accredited or certified guides or run as an organised tour. One of the most common conditions is for diving schools to be registered with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. If you sign up for a cheap activity that forgoes the safety briefing or an accredited instructor, and something goes wrong, you might not be able to claim.
Adrian Bennett
General Manager for General Insurance
Why should I get adventure travel insurance if I plan on doing adventure activities?
Adventure activities like quad biking and paragliding are things that come with a bit more excitement and a bit more risk. Just think about the difference in danger between a day cycling in Japan and trekking the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea’s dense jungle. No matter the risk factor, we never really know when something might go wrong, which is why it pays to have the right coverage.
Adventure activity insurance is designed to cover higher-risk activities that aren’t usually covered in standard policies. This means more coverage if your gear is damaged or stolen, cancellation cover for pre-paid activities, and added medical cover for injuries. Basically, it helps create a safety net for the stuff that gets your heart racing (and maybe makes your mum nervous).
Which adventure activities are included in adventure travel insurance?
The exact activities that are covered in your adventure activity policy will change from one insurer to the next. And even if a few travel insurers cover the same thing, different conditions might put some in different playing fields than others. Here are a few general activities you could see included.
Adrenaline pumping
- Bungee jumping
- Skydiving
- Paragliding
- Micro lighting
- Ziplining
- Rock climbing
- Ice climbing
- Via ferrata
- Abseiling
- Whitewater rafting/kayaking
- Blackwater canoeing/kayaking/rafting
- Hydrospeeding
- River boarding
- Land yachting
- Speed sailing
- Bobsleighing
- Dirt boarding
- Lacrosse
- Roller derby
- Polo
- Iron man
- Biathlon
- Triathlon
Thrilling but controlled
- Animal handling
- Coasteering
- Canyoning
- Wadi bashing
- Overland expeditions
- Trekking
- Glacier hiking
- Kokoda track
- Scuba diving
- Cave tubing
- Quad biking
- Mud buggying
- Paintball
- Assault course
- E-bikes (off-road)
- Golf
- Target rifle shooting
- Bouldering
- Archery
- Boxing
- Segway tours
Land-based
- Mountain biking
- BMX stunts/riding
- Off-road/4WD
- Wadi bashing
- Blow karting
- Sandboarding/dune surfing
- Rollerblading/skating
- Dune buggying
- Rock scrambling
- Fell walking
- Orienteering
- Safari
- Battle re-enactments
- Horse trekking
- Horse riding
- Rambling
- Camel or elephant riding/trekking
Water-based
- Bamboo boat rafting
- Land skiing
- Banana boating
- Sailing (open water)
- Stand-up paddleboarding
- Jet skiing
- Jet boating
- Kite landboarding
- Dragon boating
- Banana boating
- Wakeboarding
- Windsurfing
- Surfing
- River tubing
- Water skiing
- Snorkelling
- Deep-sea fishing
- Swimming with dolphins
Icy
- Ice fishing
- Dog sledding
- Ice hockey
- Speed skating
- Tobogganing
- Sleigh rides
- Glacier crossing
Defying gravity
- Hang gliding
- Gliding (passenger)
- Zip lining
- Flying in small aircraft
- Hot air ballooning
- Bridge walking
- Parascending
- Zorbing
- Helicopter tours
- High diving
Which adventure activities are excluded from adventure travel insurance?
While the exact list of excluded activities will change depending on your travel insurer, there are a few usual suspects. Snow sports, like skiing, often aren’t included under adventure policies, and will usually be listed under their own snow sports travel policy.
BASE jumping
Free climbing
Hang gliding
Hunting
Motocross
Motorcycle or scooter use, as a rider or passenger (you’ll need specific moped, scooter, and motorcycle extra cover for this)
Mountaineering using guides, ropes, rock climbing equipment or oxygen
Professional sports activities
Rodeo riding
Running with the bulls
Scuba diving beyond a certain depth
Trekking higher than 6,000 metres above sea level
Is adventure travel insurance expensive?
The cost of adventure travel insurance really depends on who your insurer is and what you need covered.
Some insurers might bundle a bunch of activities into their core policies, meaning there’s a smaller add-on price to get covered for specific activities.
On the flipside, other insurers might not include many adventure activities in their standard cover. Instead, they might treat it more like its own policy (like snow sports packages), meaning the costs could be higher.
So it pays to shop around and see what’s actually included in each insurer’s policy before locking in.
The price could also change depending on the country you’re visiting, your age, and any pre-existing medical conditions.
How can I choose a great adventure travel insurance for my trip?
Here are a few things to double check in your potential adventure travel policy.
Age limits
Some travel insurers have age limits for their adventure travel, so make sure to check before assuming you’ll be covered.
Which activities are covered
Not all heart-pumping activities will be included in your policy. Check what activities are covered in your core and add-on adventure travel policy to make sure all your plans are covered.
Activity definitions
Make sure to read all the activity definitions in your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS). Some might only cover hiking up to a certain altitude or certain rafting water grades, so make sure the definitions fit with your activities of choice.
Gear coverage
If you have to pack activity-related gear, like hiking equipment, make sure your policy will cover it in case it gets lost, stolen or snapped in two.
Health conditions
Think about your fitness level, health, and any pre-existing conditions that might need to be factored into your policy. Also, read up on any health requirements that might be listed in the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).
Keep your trip covered so you can enjoy every second
Whether your idea of a good holiday is one that gets your heart pumping or one with a few more beach days involved, getting insurance protection is one thing anyone would want to tick off their pre-trip list. Start comparing from a range of travel insurance policies and providers with iSelect to find coverage that works for your itinerary.
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