There is a degree of risk when participating in an outdoor sport, including climbing. But the risk can be mitigated through insurance. Insurance companies typically offer a base Emergency Medical travel insurance plan with an option to add coverage for partaking in a climbing activity.
As it can be confusing to navigate the different travel insurance policies, we have provided a list of plans below, including products that offer coverage for climbing.
Canadian Residents and Travelers to Canada
TuGo is one of Canada’s top travel insurance providers and has “been proudly Canadian-owned and operated” since 1964.
TuGo’s Emergency Medical Insurance covers many activities such as hiking, skiing, parasailing, and even ziplining! But if you’re looking to go rock climbing, ice climbing, or even mountaineering, you’ll need to add TuGo’s optional Sports & Activities Coverage to your Emergency Medical plan.
To learn more, read TuGo’s blog on “What You Need to Know about TuGo’s Sports & Activities Coverage”.
Purchasing TuGo insurance is simple. To find more on TuGo’s travel insurance, click on the link below.1Disclaimer: Climb Onsight decided to join TuGo’s affiliate program. That is, if you purchase an insurance policy with TuGo after clicking the link below, Climb Onsight will receive a referral fee. Climb Onsight makes no representations about the quality of the policy. Also, by clicking the link, TuGo may directly market to you (which, presumably, all insurance companies do when you select “Get a Quote” on their sites – at least, the targeted ads I have received from all insurance companies seem to indicate that).
Residents of Most Countries
World Nomads
According to its site, “For over 20 years World Nomads has helped travelers access travel insurance based on what they want when travelling abroad.”
World Nomads has partnered with many different underwriters to make its insurance options available to citizens of many different countries traveling within and outside their resident country.
Climbing is generally an add-on to World Nomad’s travel insurance, so please make sure to add the appropriate activity to your coverage when searching for a quote.
UK Residents
SportsCover Direct
According to Feefo, a customer feedback and review platform, SportsCover Direct has a score of 4.8 out of 5 based on 322 reviews (at the time of this writing). Underwritten by AXA XL, SportsCover Direct offers sports travel insurance either for the entire trip or only the specific activity.
The activities are grouped in relative risk levels, whereby you are covered for any activity in that risk level or below. For instance, by selecting mountaineering, which is in “Group 7,” you are also covered for rock climbing as it is in “Group 4.”
To begin searching for SportsCover Direct insurance, simply select the “Get a Quote” button on its homepage and answer the questions on the online form.
U.S. Residents
Travelex
Travelex, a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, is underwritten by Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance and has been offering travel insurance for over twenty-five years.
Travelex offers an “Adventure Sports” upgrade that includes coverage for “free climbing or mountain climbing that requires the use of equipment such as pick-axes, anchors, bolts, crampons, carabineers, and lead or top-rope anchoring or other specialized equipment.”
Before you purchase travel insurance from Travelex (or any option), please double check the policy to make sure it covers the specific climbing activity you need covered!
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If you have any other insurance recommendations, please email them to me at srosenthal@climbonsight.ca.
