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Hazardous Sports Your Travel Insurance Won’t Cover

Do you consider yourself to be the adventurous type? The type who enjoys taking risks and taking part in hazardous activities when you travel? Or maybe that’s not really your style, but you’re up for a good thrill every once in a while–especially when you’re in a new place? For the adventurous among us, there is no shortage of adventure activities to try out when traveling, from extreme sports like skydiving to scuba diving, just to name a few.

If this sounds like you, it’s important to make sure that you’ve obtained a travel insurance policy with medical coverage for extreme sports in the unfortunate case that something goes wrong on one of your excursions. The thing is…your standard travel insurance plan won’t cover a lot of the risks associated with adventure travel.

Coverage varies by the travel insurance provider, but generally speaking, there’s a list of activities that are considered to be hazardous in nature and won’t be covered under most of them:

blue circle with white checkmark Skydiving
blue circle with white checkmark Bungee jumping
blue circle with white checkmark Extreme skiing, heli-skiing or going outside marked areas (Important note: Normal skiing is covered by most travel insurance–just not the riskier kind!)
blue circle with white checkmark Mountain climbing and high-altitude activities where climbing gear such as picks and ropes are involved
blue circle with white checkmark Parachuting
blue circle with white checkmark Hang gliding
blue circle with white checkmark Full contact sports, like football and wrestling
blue circle with white checkmark Boxing
blue circle with white checkmark  Scuba diving below 120 feet (40 meters) or without a dive instructor

But fear not, brave adventurers! When it comes to travel insurance, you’ve got options, no matter what it is you plan to do while on vacation or where you choose to visit. If any of these kinds of hazardous sports are on your list, you just need to get a bit of additional coverage by way of what’s described as a “hazardous sports rider” and pay an additional premium. Basically, this rider will insure any additional personal or medical expenses you acquire as a result of participating in these “hazardous activities”, so you won’t be in a bind if you end up in a rare–but possible–accident.

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So plan that bucket list trip to scuba dive in Belize, trekking in Nepal, or heli-ski in Japan…just make sure you’re covered with travel insurance in case your adventure turns into a misadventure. We hope it doesn’t happen on your trip, but if it does you’ll be glad you took this extra step in getting trip travel insurance!

To help you get started with travel insurance, check out this travel insurance profile we put together for adventure travelers like yourself, and then get a free instant quote here. You’ll find policies with medical evacuation coverage and other types of coverage in case you had an injury or accident that arose when traveling.

If you’re the adrenaline-seeking type, check out these destinations that are practically made for you!

The world is waiting for you…go out and get it!

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