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Heading out on a vacation can be an exhilarating experience, especially if you’re into adventure activities. However, with increased adrenaline comes increased danger — and decreased coverage from insurance companies.
Being protected in an emergency is valuable when you’re doing something risky, so we’ve gathered some of the best adventure travel insurance policies.
Factors we considered when picking adventure sports travel insurance companies
You’ll want to consider the following facets of travel insurance during a comparison:
Cost. We looked for a mix of affordability and comprehensive coverage.
Types of coverage. Extreme sports insurance isn’t usually included with standard travel insurance, which is why we’ve made sure it’s included.
Coverage amounts. Being underinsured is almost as bad as having no insurance at all.
Customizability. Plans that can be customized offer more flexibility for travelers.
» Learn more: What does travel insurance cover?
An overview of the best adventure travel insurance
To determine the best extreme sports insurance, we gathered quotes from various companies using insurance aggregator SquareMouth. To do so, we input a sample trip of a 33-year-old from Colorado traveling to New Zealand for two weeks. The total trip cost was $3,400, and activities included hiking and camping.
SquareMouth came back with 16 policies offering varying levels of coverage. Among the six we chose as the best, the average cost totaled $147.18 — though you’ll find significantly lower and higher on this list. Here are our picks.
Plan | Basic coverage cost | Recommended for |
|---|---|---|
Battleface: Discovery Plan | $51.89. | Discounted but comprehensive medical coverage. |
Travelex: Travel Select | $171. | Trip protections and medical insurance. |
Tin Leg: Adventure | $197. | Extreme adventure sports. |
IMG: iTravelInsured Travel SE | $117.89. | Lower-than-average cost with full travel protections. |
John Hanco*ck: Silver | $133. | Superior trip coverage such as change fee and missed connection reimbursem*nt. |
HTH Worldwide: TripProtector Preferred | $212.35. | Huge limits for primary medical coverage. |
» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now
Top adventure travel insurance options
Let’s take a closer look at our top six recommendations for adventure travel insurance.
Battleface
What makes Battleface adventure insurance great:
Much lower cost than other options.
Provides primary health insurance.
Includes six customizing options.
Battleface is known for its adventure sports travel insurance, which makes it much more compelling than other products. Even at less than half the cost for other options, Battleface is providing you $100,000 in primary health insurance, $500,000 for medical evacuation and even coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Although its basic plan lacks features like lost luggage reimbursem*nt, you’ll still get standard trip protections such as trip cancellation and employment layoff coverage. The extremely low cost may make this an enticing option for backpacker travel insurance or anyone wishing to save money on their travels.
Travelex
What makes Travelex great:
Strong travel protections.
$50,000 in primary medical insurance.
Coverage for medical quarantine included.
Here’s a snippet from our Travelex review:
“Travelex’s primary goal is to provide travel insurance protection personalized to the type of trip you’re taking and the style of traveler you are. And regardless of which plan you choose, you’ll always have 24/7 access to travel assistance.”
Tin Leg
What makes Tin Leg great:
Coverage for activities such as bungee jumping and skydiving.
No medical deductible.
Strong trip protections.
Here’s a snippet from our Tin Leg review:
“The Adventure Plan … features primary medical coverage and work-related cancellations, plus more lost luggage insurance than the Luxury plan, coverage for accidental death and dismemberment during the trip (excluding flights) and extra coverage for delayed sports equipment. It’s also the only plan that offers medical coverage for adventure activities like mountain biking.”
IMG
What makes IMG great:
Up to $300 in reimbursed kennel fees for delays in returning home.
Comprehensive trip protections, including trip delay and trip interruption reimbursem*nt.
Lower-than-average cost.
Here’s a snippet from our IMG review:
“Some policies provide emergency medical evacuation coverage, while others skip this benefit entirely. This benefit may be more important if you travel to a remote location or engage in physical activity such as trekking.
“More comprehensive plans may include other benefits such as assistance with acquiring a new passport, reimbursing reward mile redeposit fees or coverage for pre-existing conditions. If these are something you’re interested in, be sure to check that your policy includes these options.”
John Hanco*ck
What makes John Hanco*ck great:
Trip delay reimbursem*nt after three hours.
No medical deductible.
$750 reimbursem*nt for missed connections.
Here’s a snippet from our John Hanco*ck review:
“The Gold plan provides the greatest benefits, including a much higher limit for emergency medical and lost baggage reimbursem*nt. Other than that, however, the Silver level is fairly similar, enjoying the same 150% reimbursem*nt rate for trip interruption and a three-hour window for trip delay to kick in.
“The Bronze level is the least expensive, but it’s not all that far off from the cost of the Silver level. At this rate, you’ll be looking at far less coverage for emergency medical and trip delay, though you’ll still have $200 in coverage for change fees and 100% of costs incurred for trip cancellation.”
HTH Travel Insurance
What makes HTH Travel Insurance great:
$500,000 in primary medical coverage.
$1 million in medical evacuation.
High-limit travel protections.
Here’s a snippet from our HTH Travel Insurance review:
“HTH offers several types of travel medical insurance, as well as trip protection plans that include coverage for trip cancellation or interruption, baggage delays, and accident or sickness. … The cheapest plan … included 100% of the trip cost in case of cancellation, up to 150% of the trip cost in case of trip interruption and a variety of other benefits, including medical insurance coverage.”
What does travel insurance cover?
You’ll find a wide variety of coverage types offered by travel insurance policies. This is true whether you’re purchasing a single-trip or annual travel insurance plan.
Common types of travel insurance
Accidental death insurance.
Baggage delay and lost luggage insurance.
Cancel for Any Reason insurance.
Emergency evacuation insurance.
Medical insurance.
Rental car insurance.
Trip cancellation insurance.
Trip interruption insurance.
How to choose the best adventure travel insurance policy
Travel insurance can be good to have while you’re away from home and can provide coverage when your plans go awry. Standard plans will generally include coverage for trip interruption, lost luggage and emergency medical situations.
However, they also usually include a provision excluding adventure sports from their policies, so it’s important to read over your plan documents thoroughly. Companies like SquareMouth also allow you to filter travel insurance plans by the types of activities you’re doing, which may make it simpler to find one that fits your needs.
» Learn more: How to find the best travel insurance
If you want to buy adventure sports travel insurance
Participating in adventure sports or extreme activities can be thrilling but also riskier than the average traveler’s trip. Because of this, if you’re interested in purchasing travel insurance, you’ll want to be sure it provides coverage for your planned activities — whether you’re camping or cliff diving.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024, including those best for:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
