Adventure Travel Insurance: What Kind Of Coverage Do You Need?
04.11.2023 - 07:15
/ forbes.com
Travel is an adventure — now more than ever.
It isn't just that travelers are looking for the next adrenaline rush. Travel hasn't been this dangerous, at least for Americans, since the start of the pandemic.
Last month, the State Department issued a rare worldwide warning for U.S. travelers, saying that "increased tensions" in various locations around the world had upped the potential for terrorist attacks against Americans.
At the same time, our appetite for adventure has grown. The latest membership survey by the Adventure Travel Association, a trade group, finds a 213% increase in travelers in 2023 compared to the previous year.
"Adventure travelers should be very careful," advises Curt Carlson, a senior vice president at Trawick International.
That's true. In a minute, I'll tell you about my own adventure on an expedition cruise to the Antarctic and why getting the right travel insurance policy is so important. Believe it or not, there are a lot of travelers in the same boat, and that might include you.
"Most standard travel insurance plans exclude coverage for activities deemed to be dangerous," says Stan Sandberg, the co-founder of travel insurance site TravelInsurance.com.
But the definition of "adventure" can be tricky. It includes high-risk activities like skydiving and backcountry skiing. But it can also include scuba diving beyond a recreational depth or mountain climbing above a certain altitude. Never assume you know the definition until you read it in the policy, Sandberg advises.
"Travelers have kicked it up a notch," says Elad Schaffer, CEO of Faye Travel Insurance.
That's prompted travel insurance companies to turn up the volume on their policies.
Faye already covers more than 80 sporting activities in its base policies, including skiing, snowboarding, scuba diving, jet skiing, and wakeboarding.
But that wasn't enough for some policyholders. So Faye also recently introduced an Adventure & Extreme Sports add-on, which covers medical and transportation coverage if you become injured while participating in an adventure or extreme sport, like skydiving or bungee jumping. The add-on provides coverage for accident and illness expenses, up to $250,000 on international trips and $50,000 on domestic trips.
If you're planning to do something adventurous — or even think you might — you need to read your travel insurance policy carefully, say experts.
"One of the most common mistakes adventure travelers can make when buying travel insurance is purchasing a plan that doesn’t cover high-risk travel activities," says Carol Mueller, a vice president at Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection (BHTP). A policy like BHTP's AdrenalineCare plan includes coverage for activities such as skydiving, rock