So you’re about to go off on an adventure break, and you’re just sorting out your travel insurance. But wait! Does skiing count under normal travel insurance? If you’re going to try out new extreme sports will you need to add on extra insurance? Rather than spending your time reading through the small print terms and conditions of travel insurance, or spending hours on hold with customer service, have a quick read over our helpful hints to see if we can help send you off in the right direction.
It might be the elephant in the room, but of course the major issue with extreme sports is the word extreme… you have more chance of getting injured if you’re throwing yourself off a cliff than if you’re lying on a beach topping up your tan! So it’s safe to assume that you’ll need a different type of insurance for this. Standard travel insurance will often cover less extreme sports such as hiking and cycling. However, for anything more than this you’ll need to double check. While some will either include or exclude different sports, others might be more specific. For example, you may find some insurers who include skiing as long as it isn’t off-piste. The reason for this is not only because the slopes aren’t maintained, but also because you’re likely to be going without an instructor which often a stipulation in travel insurance for the more extreme sports.
It’s often important to be able to provide your travel insurance company with as specific details as possible when you’re applying. This not only helps them to cover you, but also prevents any nasty surprises should you get injured at a level that they turn out to not be covering you for! While on the holiday, it’s also important to know your insurance policy as sometimes your cover will become invalid if you fail to use the correct equipment, e.g. cycling without a helmet. Furthermore, if you have annual travel insurance, then don’t just naturally assume that this will include any activity you might want to sample – be sure to read the finer details of this policy.
As is standard in the modern day, we have more choice than ever so don’t be lured in by your typical insurance company’s quote because of familiarity. It’s always best to shop around and with comparison websites, it’s now a lot easier to compare the different quotes and whether they’ll cover everything you’ll need for your adventure break, without the need to make a huge Excel file (although some of us still love a good old spreadsheet!). If you’re super keen to get the best deal, then we recommend checking for price promises or even phoning their customer service to haggle.
So now you’ve got the travel insurance sorted, how can you do your best to prevent injury during your adventure break? If you’ve had injuries before that have been related to sports or movement, then it might be a wise idea to get a sports massage before travelling. Although this will hurt at the time, it’s a great short-term option for helping to prevent injury. As well as this, doing some light fitness before going will always help you feel less exhausted during your adventure break. So if you’re going to go on an active holiday, then even a few walks in the weeks before travelling will have benefits for you. If you’re going on a ski holiday as a total newbie to the sport, then take it from us, doing leg exercises will definitely reduce the surprise of how physically tiring on your legs a day on the slopes can be! You don’t need to be signed up to a fancy gym either as routines at home using just your body weight, such as squats and lunges, can be a good preparation. As well as this, it’s always important when you’re on your break to do some stretching before any physical activity.
So now you’ve taken that all in, and done all the ground work before planning an adventure break, then why not check out our multi activity packages for the summer with zorbing, adventure parks, and white water rafting just waiting to be discovered!