Travel Insurance for bushwalking/outdoor activities

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Travel Insurance for bushwalking/outdoor activities

Postby wildwanderer » Mon 19 Mar, 2018 2:05 pm

Thought Id start a discussion on travel insurance and which providers we all use when traveling overseas (and undertaking bushwalking / adventure activities).

I have done a bit of research and my initial conclusions are.

Every provider has a ton of exclusions and special conditions (and they vary) so don’t assume you are covered because the marketing brochures says unlimited or gives a $50,000 limit. Always read the product disclosure statement. (PDS)

After reading the fine print in the PDS, I found most travel insurance only reliably covers you for medical expenses. All the other expense/damage/lost/theft cover has so many conditions and exclusions its hit and miss if your going to be able to claim.

Bushwalking.
Many providers have conditions relating to bushwalking particularly the maximum altitude you will be covered up to. Choices top recommended travel insurance provider (RACV)will only cover you for bushwalking (under 3000m) if your accompanied by a licenced guide and the activity doesn’t include a high level of required fitness. Which I found suprising to say the least..

Search and Rescue
Virtually no travel insurance provider will cover you for search and rescue expenses. None I spoke to would guarantee that activating a PLB and a helicopter dispatched to that exact location would be covered. Many countries charge the cost of SAR to the rescuee and it can be thousands of dollars.

You can buy separate search and rescue cover. The Austrian alpine club provides 12 month worldwide coverage for up to 25,000 euro in search and rescue expenses. Cost is 57 euro per year if bought directly from the club. It also includes discounts on hut use and other benefits. https://www.alpenverein.at/portal/servi ... ldwide.php

There is a cheaper alternative for (search and rescue insurance only) worldwide insurance though the Austrian Mountain rescue service. Its 28 euro for a years coverage. http://www.bergrettung-salzburg.at/grossbritannien/ Note I haven’t purchased this, so I make no claims of its legitimacy. (but was told by an Austrian mountain guide it was legit)

Other good things to know.
When booking flights its tempting to go with low cost airlines for domestic or inter-Europe travel. If those flights are not on the same ticket (and same airline or code shared) as your international flight home, be aware that if the domestic/low cost flight is delayed or cancelled due to mechanical or rescheduling etc and as a result you miss your international flight home, then neither insurance or the airlines will accept any claim for your missed international flight. A lot of people assume this would be covered by travel insurance it’s not.

With all the exclusions its tempting to not bother with travel insurance. This is a mistake. Travel Insurance will cover you for medical expenses and that is where the huge cost (i.e forced sell your house to pay for it) is if you’re not covered.

Suggested providers?
disclaimer. I make no claims that the following providers are suitable for your needs. So read the PDS of the providers and make your own judgement before purchasing

So far Ive used.

World Nomads, found their customer services to be good when asking questions on coverage but they are expensive and don’t appear to offer any extra benefit or coverage from many other providers. I haven’t had to claim.

Good2Go insurance (The works). Customer service wasn’t good at all when asking questions on what is covered and what is not. Relatively inexpensive and appear to provide approximately the same cover that World Nomads do. I haven’t had to claim.

EDIT - fixed some spelling errors.
Last edited by wildwanderer on Mon 19 Mar, 2018 4:58 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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wildwanderer
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Re: Travel Insurance for bushwalking/outdoor activities

Postby Warin » Mon 19 Mar, 2018 4:46 pm

Another possible service provider ... no association nor use
http://www.ripcordrescuetravelinsurance.com/?hu

The policy is accessed on their purchase page as a 60 page pdf.

Note: HU is a motorcycle world travel site ..they too have trouble finding insurance cover.
They may get a small commission if you proceed on the above link - no extra charge to you.
I have used the site for decades .. they are trustworthy.

I have purchased in the past 'world nomads' ..no claim.

----------------
The recommended advise is to always READ the policy.
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