All the adventure holiday activities your travel insurance might not cover

When you think of an adventure holiday, you probably picture some Mission Impossible-type escapades – jumping out of airplanes, scrambling up a sheer rock face or battling harsh weather conditions while scaling a mountain in the Himalayas. You probably don’t picture paddling in a kayak along a slow-moving river, or scuba diving in the Maldives.

Yet all of these activities are unlikely to be covered by your bog standard travel insurance – and you definitely want to want to be caught out should something go wrong.

Tim Riley, MD of adventure travel insurer True Traveller, said, “Most people don’t realise that the average travel insurance policy does not include cover for typical holiday experiences like bungee jumping, kayaking, horse riding and scuba diving. As a specialist adventure travel insurer, we happen to cover these things as part of the 92 standard activities included on our policies.”

Here, we’ve spoken to the experts on about all the surprising (and not-so-surprising) adventure activities you’ll need to double check you’re covered for.*

Activities not typically covered by travel insurance

If you’re heading somewhere where the national sport is a big part of the country’s cultural identity, you may want to try it for yourself and learn from the experts. And while that will be fine for cricket in India or tai chi in China, you might want to rethink rugby in New Zealand or Muay Thai in Thailand.

Tim said, “Full-contact sports like rugby carry a high chance of collision injuries, meaning medical claims are frequent and often serious.”

Donned your hard hat and headlight torch, and you’re ready to go? Not so fast – caving, potholing, spelunking, or whatever you want to call it might not necessarily be covered either.

Tim said, “Confined spaces, flooding risk, and the complexity of rescue operations make potholing extremely hazardous and expensive if something goes wrong.”

While you might have tried rock climbing and abseiling as a kid, that doesn’t mean the activity isn’t dangerous – or that it’s covered by travel insurance. Those Via Ferrata routes you keep seeing all over Instagram? Those likely aren’t covered either.

Tim said, “Climbing on rock involves ropes, technical equipment, and exposure to falls – all far beyond what’s covered under basic trekking insurance.”

In a similar vein, ice climbing is also unlikely to be covered for the same reasons, with the frozen terrain adding in an element of unpredictability and danger. It also makes rescue harder, and likely more expensive.

While your regular hikes might be covered, those taking on treks deep into the mountains might want to check what altitude their insurance covers them up to.

Tim said, “Because altitude sickness and the need for helicopter evacuation become much more likely above standard trekking heights, the risks and costs increase sharply.”

While you might not be attempting the world record-breaking distance of 764 kilometres on your next holiday, any flight in a hang glider is unlikely to be covered.

Tim said, “Unpowered flight depends entirely on conditions and pilot control, making accidents more likely and rescues more complicated.”

An obvious one, but parachuting and skydiving likely won’t be covered.

Tim said, “Jumping from aircraft carries obvious accident risk, and so additional insurance is needed to cover both equipment failure and landing injuries.”

Manual labour

Now this won’t be relevant to many readers, but if you’ve got a working holiday or a gap year coming up, you might need to get different insurance.

Tim said, “Even seemingly low-risk jobs can expose travellers to accidents with tools, machinery, or unsafe environments, which aren’t covered under leisure travel policies.”

*All content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute advice. If in doubt about whether or not an activity is covered, consult with your travel insurance provider before travelling.