Extreme sports travel insurance: 6 things to take note for adventure sports lovers

We all know friends who are adrenaline junkies. Those who get kicks out of taking crazy risks and going on wild adventures all around the world.

Heck, maybe you're thinking: That's me. 

We all know how important travel insurance is, but if you're planning a ski trip, scuba diving trip or something even crazier than that, then you need to know what kind of travel insurance provides the best cover for adventure sports.

Here are six things you need to pay attention to when buying any sort of adventure sports travel insurance.

1. Know which activities are excluded from your travel insurance cover

Even if your travel insurance plan is marketed as extreme sports travel insurance, there are still activities that no insurance company is willing to cover. Here are a few major examples:

• Any professional competitions or sports in which you get paid, sponsored or receive any kind of financial reward.
• Expeditions to inaccessible, remote or previously unexplored places.
• Being the pilot or a crew member of an aircraft.

Now, you might say that you're probably not going to do any of these things, but between companies, there are different standards as to what's allowed, so always check before you buy your travel insurance.

2. Find out which activities exclude you from Personal Accident or Personal Liability Cover

While some travel insurance seems to have comprehensive coverage, you have to make sure that the activity that you are doing is covered under Personal Accident or Personal Liability.

For instance, Aviva's travel insurance coverage claims that you'll be automatically covered for a whole list of leisure activities, as long as they're played on a recreational basis. It covers go-karting, jet skiing and surfing.

Fair enough.

… Until you read the fine print. Then you'd realise that these three activities, along with wind-surfing and water skiing, have no personal accident cover.

You do enjoy personal liability cover though, which means any third party damage (people or property) will be covered up to $250,000.

In other words, if you get seriously injured during any of these activities, your travel insurance will not cover any medical costs.

The irony? These are exactly the kind of activities where you're more likely to suffer an accident. So don't forget to check the fine print!

3. Be aware of the special circumstances where activities are not covered

Some activities will be covered by your travel insurance, but only if it's within a specific circumstance. Again, this is not being unrealistic. But it does mean you have to be careful that your activities don't exceed the boundaries set by your travel insurance. These are examples of some activities which aren't covered by your insurance:

• Canoeing or white water rafting without a qualified guide or Grade 4 and above (of the International Scale of River Difficulty).
• Off-piste skiing, or skiing outside the officially approved boundaries of a ski resort.
• Mountaineering beyond the height of 3,000 metres above sea level.
• Underwater activities involving artificial breathing apparatus for diving deeper than 30 metres.

So while some of these activities are covered by certain travel insurance policies, they do have limits to their coverage, so be careful to stay within the stipulated boundaries.

4. Check if you need to pay more for extra cover for adventurous activities

Depending on the company, some firms require that you upgrade your travel insurance plan to include adventurous activities.

Although it might seem unfair to incur a steep increase in the premium price, do note that most of the time, this increases your coverage for other categories within the same plan as well.

For MSIG's travel insurance plans, for example, the Standard Plan doesn't include activities like bungee jumping and skydiving, but the Elite Plan, which costs more, does.

By paying the extra premium, your cover for personal accidents and personal liability increases by 50 per cent to 100 per cent. When you look at the big picture, that's not a bad deal.

5. Look out for Sports Equipment Coverage

If you're a hardcore skier or diver, then this section should not be news for you.

If you have your own sporting equipment that you intend to bring on the trip, you have to be aware of how much your travel insurance is covering you.

When your gear can cost a few hundred dollars, you'll definitely want to invest in a plan that will ensure you don't lose out if your gear is stolen or damaged.

6. Ensure you have sufficient Emergency Medical Evacuation cover

This is especially important if you're planning to go scuba diving, hiking or skydiving.

Since you're most likely not going to be near any decent medical facilities should anything happen, you may need to get an emergency medical evacuation.

Check to make sure your travel insurance policy covers you sufficiently for such an occasion.

Where possible, choose policies that can give you at least $500,000 cover for medical evacuation, even if you end up paying a little more.

Travel insurance plans to consider

There is no one-size-fits-all, but these three travel insurance plans are generally quite suitable for adventure sports:

FWD Premium

Tokio Marine XPLORA Classic

MSIG TravelEasy Elite

ALSO READ: Travel insurance: Promo codes for 2022 and 7 more ways to save on it

This article was first published in MoneySmart.