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What is Travel and Trek Insurance and why should you take one?
Interest in travel & trek insurance has been on the rise lately and for all the positive reasons, it is a very good thing to know. Read on to know why.
We’ve been gifted with a beautiful world. And grabbing the opportunity to spend time exploring the unexplored, by planning the unplanned is totally on us. However, keeping in mind the safety of self and belongings is also very important. And when you know there is someone who will take care of you and your belongings if things go south, you’re free. You’re free from the constant fear, you’re free from the constant reminders to be safe or that forgotten key.
That someone will let you actually immerse yourself in the adventure you’ve undertaken.
And that someone that I am talking about is a Trek & Travel Insurance. We’ll discuss what trek & travel insurance actually is, what all does it cover, and how to pick one.
What is a Trek & Travel Insurance Policy?
First, let’s start off to get an understanding of what travel insurance is. Like any other insurance, you pay a premium and the insurance partner provides you with a cover. Most of the travel insurance covers for a traveler’s main concerns, this includes trip cancellations, medical emergencies, travel delays, and lost luggage. To sum up, travel insurance covers you from any unforeseen events that may cause a financial loss during or before the trip commences.
Trek insurance is for the thrill and adventure seekers who along with traveling to places, also wish to see more of what the world has to offer by trekking up for the best views.
Trekking usually involves going to high altitudes, and hence the trek insurance policies are divided to cater to the different altitudes. So you gotta pick the right trek insurance policy depending on high you are planning to trek to.
What does a Trek & Travel Insurance Policy cover?
Generally, A travel insurance policy covers the below, additional inclusions may vary from policy to policy.
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Trip Cancellation: We make plans, and if god forbid something comes up at the last minute that results in you canceling the trip. If the reason is covered by the policy you can get up to 75%-100% of the refund. If the existing policy doesn’t cover all the possible reasons, then an upgrade may be available that includes every other possible reason.
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Travel Delays: Let’s say you’ve made all the bookings and the flight is delayed for reasons beyond your control and you’re stranded in an airport. The travel delay coverage helps you get refunds for meals & accommodation during your delay.
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Medical Emergencies: Most domestic medical insurances don’t serve you overseas. Hence most travel insurance cover medical emergencies as well.
- Lost/Delayed Luggage: The travel insurance policy can cover up delayed luggage. The policy can reimburse expenses for purchasing clothes & other essentials for a set period of time. If your luggage is lost, then you can be reimbursed the replacement expense of the lost items.
Now let’s look at what Trek insurance covers over and above what travel insurance covers for.
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Altitude-related illness: Trekking in the mountains often involves going to higher altitudes. Hence having travel insurance won’t help as it doesn’t cover altitude-related illness. The policies also vary depending on the altitude you’re targeting to scale. As the risk of Altitude related illness like AMS & related illness.
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Accidents: Trekking involves considerable possibilities for accidents. So, trek insurance policies cover a variety of accidents. Ensure it also has an emergency evacuation or medical assistance at high altitudes baked into the policy.
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Hygiene Related Illness: The mountainous regions have bare minimum necessities for survival. Hence the food you eat may not always be hygienic. Hence, more often than not non-trek-related illnesses are also covered in a trek insurance policy.
How to pick one?
Hope you have gotten a good understanding of what travel & trek insurances are. What all they cover.
Here’s a handy guide to choose an insurance policy depending on the adventure you’re undertaking. The risk involved varies from sport to sport hence the activities are divided into 5 levels. We’ve also put together a table for the most common adventure activities and the cost per person for a set duration of the trip.
| ASC Domestic Adventure Cover | ||
| Benefits | Level 2 | Level 3-Base |
| Hospitalization Expenses for Injury | INR 2,00,000 | INR 1,00,000 |
| Medical Evacuation | INR 1,50,000 | INR 75,000 |
| Personal Accident | INR 1,00,000 | INR 1,00,000 |
| Repatriation of Remains Extension | INR 20,000 | |
| Extension 1: Outpatient Expense for injuries | INR 7,500 | INR 5000 |
| Extension 2: Daily allowance in case of hospitalization due to injury | INR 1500/day up to max 7days | INR 1500/day up to max 7days |
| Checked-in Baggage Loss | INR 2500 | INR 5000 |
| Checkin-in Baggage delay | INR 1000 | INR 10,000 |
| Missed Connections | INR 5,550 | INR 15,000 |
| Maximum Trip Duration | Rate/person | Rate/person |
| 7 days | INR 175 | INR 825 |
| 10 days | INR 225 | INR 1400 |
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Activities covered under Level 1: http://www.asc360.com/200-sports-activities.php
Note:
- Level 3 covers AMS with an illness cover and is suitable for altitudes up to 5500 meters
- Level 1 is only for trekking up to 3000 meters
