Protect Your Ride

Specialised adventure travel plans typically cover injuries, equipment damage, and other situations arising from high-risk activities. But keep in mind the exclusions and limitations. Sometimes, an adventure rider with a standard travel insurance may work better

- By Meghna Maiti

Adventure sports can be thrilling, unless they are not. One slip on a trekking trail, one wobble on a mountain bike, or one overconfident plunge into the water during river rafting can turn your adrenaline rush into serious injuries and steep medical bills. You may think your regular travel insurance will take care of those, but will it?

Imagine you are trekking in the high-altitude Himalayas approachable only through a helicopter and twist your ankle. You call for help but the helicopter evacuation bill is at least ₹2 lakh. That standard travel insurance may cover the medical bills once you reach the hospital, but you may have to bear the cost of transportation to reach the hospital.

Unless explicitly mentioned, typically, adventure sports such as biking, scuba diving, mountaineering, bungee jumping, river rafting, and others, are excluded in standard travel insurance as they are inherently high-risk activities.

“Usually, insurers define ‘high-risk’ sports as activities with a significantly higher probability of severe injury, disability, or death compared to conventional sports. These typically involve extreme physical exertion, unpredictable environments, specialised equipment, and elevated danger factors such as speed, altitude, or depth,” says Parthanil Ghosh, executive director, HDFC ERGO General Insurance.

As more and more Indians lead the high-octane life, insurers are rewriting the rule book, adding specialised travel covers and riders for treks, dives, rides, and everything in between.

Says Amarnath Saxena, chief technical officer – commercial, Bajaj General Insurance: “The good news is that some players in the market offer adventure sports as part of their travel insurance policy. Many insurers offer a rider or add-on for adventure sports, which comes with an additional premium.”