Travel Health Insurance That Covers Climbing?

I'm going to Canada for a bit and my plan provides zero coverage outside the USA, so I am looking for something else. So far I found a plan from International Medical Group. They seem to provide some pretty cheap coverage. About 50k in coverage that includes rock climbing for $20 for two weeks. The downside is it only covers $50k for climbing injuries, which wont extend much beyond a broken bone or two, and they require preauthorization for "emergency medical evacuation" which probably insint going to happen in a real emergency.

imglobal.com/en/img-insuran…

Other ideas?

Take a look here

Not sure what they're like for non-residents, but they are one of the few I found that doesn't exclude 'roped climbing activities' from coverage.

As of May 2016 Tugo has changed their policy. Now, rock climbing and mountaineering (and lots of other outdoor activities) are only covered if you pay for the Adventure Sports option. This costs $200 extra for an annual multi-trip plan - not sure what it would cost for a single trip. I expect that it would at least double the usual premium. See details here: tugo.com/en/travel-insuranc…

Wow, thanks for the information. I guess I won't be renewing that plan...

I ran through a quote for a single trip and adding the Adventure Sports Package took the price per person for a 7-day trip from $20 to $95.

Tried to sign up with Atlas Travel Insurance for an upcoming climbing trip to the Dacks. Unfortunately, it is not available to me: "Not available to individuals who are physically located in California, Washington, New York State or in Canada at the time of purchase."

Had to go with the much more expensive TUGO with "adventure sports" add-on.

I'm currently looking at World Nomads insurance. The Explorer class insurance covers hiking, rock climbing, mountaineering.

My quote was $800 for 8 months of coverage. I thought that was quite good for all the things it provided - health, but also stolen/lost luggage, etc. One bad loss could pay for the entire insurance cost.

I used Travelex for a trip to Nepal, and as I recall it wasn't that outrageous. You do have to pay an extra premium for mountaineering, but it wasn't much.

Tugo has "clarified" its policy on rock climbing. The bottom line is that cragging does not require their Adventure Sports rider. Earlier statements to the contrary were a result of some customer service agents' "misinterpretation" of the new Adventure Sports option.

My email to Tugo

Hello:

I had a conversation with a customer service agent, who assured me that an Adventure Sports rider is not required for roped rock climbing, either traditional or sport. While I was very happy to hear this, I would be more comfortable with a statement to that effect in writing. I am concerned that it would be possible to interpret your definition of "mountaineering" to include regular rock climbing at a crag, as the definition mentions the use of bolts, carabiners, anchors and lead or top rope anchoring systems, which are all commonly used in regular rock climbing.

The difficulty with verbal assurances from customer service agents is that there is no way to present them as evidence in any future discussions/disputes regarding eligibility of a claim.

Thank you for your attention in this matter.

Tugo's email to me:

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your email.

We’ve confirmed with our Product Development Team that Roped Rock Climbing does not require the Adventure Sports Rider.

However, if you have to climb a mountain (mountaineer) to get to the rock you will be climbing then you would need to purchase the Optional Sports Coverage to cover mountaineering.

Please keep in mind, we are unable to provide payment gurantees via email as all claims would be subject to the polices terms and conditions.

I think that this is as clear as it is going to get.
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Mike Grainger wrote: Tugo has "clarified" its policy on rock climbing. The bottom line is that cragging does not require their Adventure Sports rider. Earlier statements to the contrary were a result of some customer service agents' "misinterpretation" of the new Adventure Sports option. My email to Tugo Hello: I had a conversation with a customer service agent, who assured me that an Adventure Sports rider is not required for roped rock climbing, either traditional or sport. While I was very happy to hear this, I would be more comfortable with a statement to that effect in writing. I am concerned that it would be possible to interpret your definition of "mountaineering" to include regular rock climbing at a crag, as the definition mentions the use of bolts, carabiners, anchors and lead or top rope anchoring systems, which are all commonly used in regular rock climbing. The difficulty with verbal assurances from customer service agents is that there is no way to present them as evidence in any future discussions/disputes regarding eligibility of a claim. Thank you for your attention in this matter. Tugo's email to me: Hi Mike, Thank you for your email. We’ve confirmed with our Product Development Team that Roped Rock Climbing does not require the Adventure Sports Rider. However, if you have to climb a mountain (mountaineer) to get to the rock you will be climbing then you would need to purchase the Optional Sports Coverage to cover mountaineering. Please keep in mind, we are unable to provide payment gurantees via email as all claims would be subject to the polices terms and conditions. I think that this is as clear as it is going to get. Modify message

Hi Mike,

     I contacted Tugo  beginning March, and the guy on phone said  for rock climbing I need t get the Adventure options, which end up arounf 300$ CA !!!

I am really surprised of your information.

Tomorrow I will contat Tugo again !

Hi All,

Reviving this thread in case anyone has any good suggestions for people visiting the USA to climb? While I'm based out on Canada, TuGo doesnt cover non-residents (which they count as anyone without provincial healthcare, even if Canada considers me a temporary resident). FWIW, my passport says I'm Australian.

Cheers,

James

James Bull wrote:

Hi All,

Reviving this thread in case anyone has any good suggestions for people visiting the USA to climb? While I'm based out on Canada, TuGo doesnt cover non-residents (which they count as anyone without provincial healthcare, even if Canada considers me a temporary resident). FWIW, my passport says I'm Australian.

Cheers,

James

I've used this site before to find travel insurance that covers climbing.

https://www.squaremouth.com/travel-insurance-quotes

It has a section in the advanced search where you can check to only show policies that cover high risk sports. Once you find one you want, be sure to read the policy to ensure climbing is covered.

Since this has come up again, I figured I'd add my two cents. I've been getting advertised at on Instagram by a company called Spot. They seem like a new company that provides adventure sport insurance for $20/month, which I think is a pretty reasonable rate. They don't include every sport (like base jumping for instance) but climbing, skiing, mountaineering, etc. are all covered. I can't remember what the deal is with international travel, but I would think they have coverage for that since most climbers are going outside of the USA to climb pretty regularly. They're worth checking out

Nick Niebuhr wrote: Since this has come up again, I figured I'd add my two cents. I've been getting advertised at on Instagram by a company called Spot. They seem like a new company that provides adventure sport insurance for $20/month, which I think is a pretty reasonable rate. They don't include every sport (like base jumping for instance) but climbing, skiing, mountaineering, etc. are all covered. I can't remember what the deal is with international travel, but I would think they have coverage for that since most climbers are going outside of the USA to climb pretty regularly. They're worth checking out

I’m curious about this Spot thing as well. They’re hitting FB super heavy saying “from $25/ month”. Sounds too good to be real.

Just get a temporary accident policy. I use Buddy for all of my out of country adventures:

https://buddyinsurance.com/

curt86iroc wrote:

Just get a temporary accident policy. I use Buddy for all of my out of country adventures:

https://buddyinsurance.com/

Those benefits aren’t going to scratch the surface if you get hurt to the point that you need a hospital. 

Mike Schreiner wrote:

Those benefits aren’t going to scratch the surface if you get hurt to the point that you need a hospital. 

its not meant to be primary health insurance. it's meant to supplement...and for someone like me who has primary health insurance, this would help to cover the costs of any out of pocket expenses left over.