If you are an adrenaline junkie that loves to plan your holidays around adventure sports and high-risk activities, the insurance industry in India won’t really cover you  due to the high risk of injuries and loss of life.   While a few travel insurance plans do provide coverage for adventure sports , very few have an in-built cover in the overseas travel insurance plans.

In 2018, a South Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum dismissed an application against an insurance company, filed by a man who had sustained injuries in a hot air balloon crash, describing it as a “hazardous activity”. The company said that the person going for the ride knew that he/she is taking a “high risk of life”.  Since then adventure tourism has exploded not just in India, but around the world, and the latest Titanic incident once again brings to light the risks associated with extreme tourism.

Insurance companies offering travel insurance in India generally provide coverage for a range of risks, including medical emergencies, trip cancellations, lost baggage, and personal accidents.  When it comes to adventure tourism or high-risk activities, the coverage provided by travel insurance policies may vary. Some insurance policies may include coverage for activities like trekking, mountaineering, river rafting, or other adventure sports.

“Normally a travel insurance plan covers hospitalisation, medical evacuation, or a payout in case of death or disability. But claims can also be void if you’ve participated in a hazardous activity. If you’re in the market for such a cover, carefully read through the terms and conditions especially around exclusions,” said Adhil Shetty, CEO of BankBazaar.

Most insurers do not cover adventures activities including bungee jumping, paragliding, mountain climbing. Only a few companies, including Go Digit General Insurance and Bajaj Allianze cover adventure activities as a part of their basic policy but at a relatively higher premium.

 “High-risk expedition of any kind is a permanent exclusion in travel insurance due to its hazardous nature. Many travel insurance policies have the benefit of adventure sports coverage which can be either built-in or opted for as an add-on. Insurers like Digit and Reliance already provide in-built coverage for adventure sports while some give it as an add-on, ” said Manas Kapoor, Product Head – Travel Insurance, Policybazaar.com. Such plans pay for the medical expenses that may occur in case you get injured while participating in adventure sports during your trip.

“In India, there is no specific category of insurance called “high-risk tourism insurance. However, various insurance policies may cover certain risks associated with adventure tourism or high-risk activities. These policies may fall under categories such as travel insurance, health insurance, or personal accident insurance.  Bajaj Allianz is the only major insurer in India which provides an insurance policy specifically for adventure sports. The Bajaj Allianz insurance cover allows customers to pick a variety of covers including accident hospitalization and air ambulance evacuation,” said Abhinay Sharma, Managing Partner, ASL Partners.

What Bajaj Allianz’s Adventure Sports Add-on is all about

With Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, an individual has the option of an ‘add-on’ adventure sports cover along with the Global Personal Accident Plan. The primary objective behind introducing the policy was aimed at covering new-age risks associated with the changing lifestyle of Indian consumers. The policy is available for overseas trip considering the sports cover is aligned with the Global Personal Accident Plan.

“The add-on of adventure sports was introduced as a lump-sum policy to cover the risks associated with adventure sports. The cover plan was upto Rs  1 Crore  to insure the death of the individual or any permanent disability that may occur while taking part in the adventure sport(s). Significantly, in addition to the ordinary life insurance cover, the adventure sports cover was primarily covering any permanent disability,” said Suvigya Awasthy, Associate Partner, PSL Advocates & Solicitors.

 However, there are a few caveats to this plan –

a)It does not offer coverage for partial disability or temporary injury, meaning losing a toe or a finger would not be covered by it. Even hospital bills do not come under the ambit of this policy. Coverage is only for total permanent disability.

b) The coverage is strictly for non-professional activities, i.e wherein the policyholder participates only for leisure.

c)The activities must be performed under the supervision of a professional, otherwise the claim will be rejected.

d)It must be insured that adequate safety measures must be taken before a claim can be initiated.

e)It must be noted that this policy is strictly restricted to adventure sports activities undertaken domestically and does not include overseas adventure sports activities.

Payment & Limitations

There are 3 options for the payouts available and according to the payout required, they vary as follows –

1.25 % – Rs 4,300

2.50% – Rs 8,600

3.100% – Rs 17,200

“The conundrum that arises here is that this amount is to be paid above and beyond the existing insurance plan. Put in simple terms, this means that if the policy holder has a Rs 1 crore sum insured where the base cover is for death, these amounts need to be paid above and beyond the existing premium. Another limitation is that even if the policy holder insures Rs 3 crores under a base policy, the maximum sum that can be availed in an adventure sport accident would be Rs 1 crore. Again, this plan does not give any coverage for temporary or partial disability,” said Sharma.

 
Option 2 just provides a one day adventure activity cover

Apart from Bajaj, Prem Watsa-backed Digit Insurance has an international travel insurance which provides a  one-day adventure activity Cover. Under that, any hospitalisation or OPD treatment that occurs on account of ones participation in any recreational activities as a part of the tour will be covered, provided the duration of such activity does not exceed one day per activity. For E.g., Activities such as horseback riding, skydiving, scuba diving, surfing, skiing, bungee jumping, rock climbing, trekking, paragliding, etc are covered.

When purchasing your policy, you can specify particular adventure activities to check if it is covered.

“For claims, one must be careful that adequate safety measures are undertaken before any mishap, and you have sufficient documents to prove that. Additionally, you should remember to check that the policy has a high enough coverage limit to protect you financially in the event of an accident. Before you purchase a policy, be sure to read the fine print so that you understand what is and is not covered,” said Shetty.  

“Whilst viewing the case of the Titan submersible through a microscopic lens, the intrinsic factors such as speed, height, specialized gear and high level of physical exertion appeared to absent that would lead to complications whilst availing the adventure sports insurance cover. However, in such cases, claiming the amounts through life insurance policies would still be available considering the death of the individuals that were onboard the Titan submersible,” said Awasthy.