If you’re planning a fun-filled holiday, you might want to check if your travel insurance policy covers everything you want to do.
While booking flights, choosing the right travel cards, and sorting out your travel money might be at the forefront of your mind when planning a trip, it’s important to ensure you’ve got travel insurance before you travel.
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We explain what activities aren’t always covered.
Which activities are not covered by travel insurance?
Activities that you might think of as low risk, such as horse riding or snorkelling, are not always covered as standard in some single-trip policies.
Research by Go.Compare looked at 932 travel insurance policies to see which ones cover leisure activities. Of the 932, 10% of single-trip policies didn’t cover horse rides – that figure drops to 2% for snorkelling.
Moreover, only 5% of single-trip policies included quad biking as standard, while just 21% automatically covered white water rafting.
Rhys Jones, travel insurance expert at Go.Compare, said: “While it’s no big surprise that high-risk activities like white water rafting or quad biking aren’t covered by most policies as standard, travellers might be shocked to find that horse riding, sea kayaking and snorkelling aren’t always included. That’s why it’s also crucial to check your policy documents if you plan to do some water sports or other adventurous activities on holiday. What may seem low risk to you, might not be seen that way by your insurer.”
If you’re planning a sports-focused break, such as windsurfing, paddleboarding, alpine hiking, or a long-distance cycling tour, you should carefully read the small print of your travel insurance policy.
“Look out for things like altitude limits, competitive sports exclusions or clauses in your insurance cover about using appropriate safety gear,” Jones said.
“You might even consider taking out specialist travel insurance to cover you for this kind of trip.”
We look at how various activities are – or aren’t – covered under single-trip travel insurance policies.
Activity | No cover | Standard cover | Additional premium cover |
|---|---|---|---|
Quad bike | 74% | 5% | 21% |
White water rafting | 41% | 21% | 38% |
Jet ski | 34% | 55% | 11% |
Sea kayaking | 23% | 55% | 22% |
Bungee | 19% | 66% | 15% |
Horse riding | 10% | 76% | 14% |
Parasailing | 5% | 91% | 4% |
Banana boat | 3% | 96% | 1% |
Hot air balloon | 3% | 84% | 14% |
Snorkelling | 2% | 98% | 0% |
Cycling | 0% | 98% | 2% |
Scuba diving | 0% | 97% | 3% |
Source: Go.Compare
How to find out what your travel insurance covers you for
Your insurance policy documents will list exactly what is covered, and the instructions you need to follow to be eligible to make a claim.
This could mean that you’re only covered in a group activity with a qualified instructor or guide, or with recommended safety equipment.
According to Go.Compare, most providers tend to cover less injury-prone activities, such as cycling, swimming or trekking, but the golden rule is to not assume a particular activity is covered without checking it first.
For swimming, a standard policy may cover you to dive up to a depth of around 18 metres. If you’re planning to go any deeper, you may need an extreme sports policy add-on that will cover you for up to 30 metres.
Similarly, with mountain climbing, policies have restrictions on the altitude you can trek to before needing specialist cover. For activities like bungee jumping or skydiving, your insurer may only cover you for two or three jumps per trip.
Factors that could result in your claim getting rejected include:
- not wearing the appropriate gear required for your chosen sport
- behaving recklessly
- not following the rules set out by an instructor
- being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Some policies also have age restrictions. We explain how to get travel insurance for over 70s in a separate guide.
How to choose your travel insurance
Comparison sites are a good way to find insurance that suits your specific needs, allowing you to plug in your requirements and search from a pool of providers.
But remember not to simply pick the cheapest cover, as it tends to include several exclusions like age, medical history, and how long you’ll be covered for.
Some packaged bank accounts also provide travel insurance as one of the benefits, so it’s worth checking if you’re already covered before shelling out for a new travel insurance policy.
Make sure you’re covered for the locations you plan to visit. Some policies have European or Worldwide cover, but it doesn’t always mean each and every country you plan to visit is included. For instance, some policies don’t include Turkey in European cover but count Morocco, Tunisia, or Egypt.
It might also be worth getting annual cover if you’re a frequent traveller, as it tends to be cheaper than a single-trip policy.
Ultimately, you want to have peace of mind when you’re on holiday, so having valid travel insurance should give you one less thing to worry about when travelling.
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