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rocketsocks
02-25-2012, 13:55
Can you buy,or more over do Insurance companies sell "Trip Insurance" for a Extended hiking trip?

rocketsocks
02-25-2012, 14:17
Ok so i just googled trip insurance and came to "Travel Guard" who gave me a quote $1298 for trip as follows leave 3/1/2012 return 10/15/2012 destination Maine.Very Interesting.See what you come up with?Oh and I listed trip as costing $2500 dollars.Only took about 2 minutes.

Monkeywrench
02-25-2012, 17:34
Are you talking about medical insurance, or trip insurance?

blackbird04217
02-25-2012, 19:26
What are they insuring you of exactly?

rocketsocks
02-25-2012, 19:52
They would be Insuring you not being able to complete your trip do to whatever ,say Illness.Not really sure just throwing it out there.Don't really know much about trip Insurance.But it has been my impression that there are many things that are insurable.

rocketsocks
02-25-2012, 19:56
Are you talking about medical insurance, or trip insurance?No trip Insurance only.It should also be noted that I am not taking a trip,just asking the question.

moongoddess
02-25-2012, 21:20
I can't see trip insurance being very useful for a thru-hike, since (possibly apart from airline tickets) you don't generally have large prepaid expenses which you'll lose if you can't go on the trip. People usually take out trip insurance to cover cruises or guided tours where not showing up for the trip means losing thousands of dollars. Medical evacuation insurance, though, might be a good idea, and I could see getting a policy which would provide that and perhaps also cover the cost of any nonrefundable/nonchangable airline tickets as well.

4eyedbuzzard
02-25-2012, 21:23
Typically trip insurance is for cruises, itinerary type vacations, hotel stays, airfare, etc. interupted by medical or weather reasons and may also include medical evacuation costs, such as if you need to get airlifted from a ship or remote location. There are some that will insure if your employer cancels your vacation, but you pay more for that kind of coverage. You must almost always produce receipts etc. to prove a claim and there is a limited window to purchase after "booking a trip". So in relation to an unguided AT hike, beyond perhaps medivac insurance, there is little value to the trip that would be compensatory. A guided Nepal trek or similar might be different as there is significant airfare, lodging, meals, guide fees etc involved. High risk trips are generally not insurable beyond the travel only portions (mountaineering and such).

moongoddess
02-25-2012, 21:48
Ok so i just googled trip insurance and came to "Travel Guard" who gave me a quote $1298 for trip as follows leave 3/1/2012 return 10/15/2012 destination Maine.Very Interesting.See what you come up with?Oh and I listed trip as costing $2500 dollars.Only took about 2 minutes.

But you see, from the standpoint of the travel insurance company all those figures are incorrect. You don't really have a fixed return date (like you'd have on a cruise, for instance), and you don't really have a fixed start date, either. If you show up at the trailhead a week late, your trip isn't ruined; you're just starting your hike a week late. Compare that to showing up for your Mediterranean cruise a week late: the ship's long gone, and your vacation's wrecked. And from the insurance company's standpoint, your trip has cost you nothing in advance except possibly the cost of any bus tickets or airfare you may have purchased to get to the trailhead. The purchase of your hiking gear isn't considered a trip expense and isn't reimbursable, and the money you were planning to spend along the way at grocery stores, hostels, etc, is still safely in your wallet.

All you'd really need (from an insurance standpoint) is medical evacuation coverage, and (if you bought pricy airline tickets) coverage for the cost of changing your flight date or reimbursement for the total ticket cost if you couldn't go, and maybe the cost of a day or two's stay in a hotel while you make your new travel arrangements if you had to unexpectedly leave the trail mid-hike due to personal illness or a family emergency. Nothing else on a thru-hike would likely qualify for coverage. The good news is, such a policy would be very low-cost, since the actual insurable cost of your trip is so minimal.

rocketsocks
02-25-2012, 22:23
But you see, from the standpoint of the travel insurance company all those figures are incorrect. You don't really have a fixed return date (like you'd have on a cruise, for instance), and you don't really have a fixed start date, either. If you show up at the trailhead a week late, your trip isn't ruined; you're just starting your hike a week late. Compare that to showing up for your Mediterranean cruise a week late: the ship's long gone, and your vacation's wrecked. And from the insurance company's standpoint, your trip has cost you nothing in advance except possibly the cost of any bus tickets or airfare you may have purchased to get to the trailhead. The purchase of your hiking gear isn't considered a trip expense and isn't reimbursable, and the money you were planning to spend along the way at grocery stores, hostels, etc, is still safely in your wallet.

All you'd really need (from an insurance standpoint) is medical evacuation coverage, and (if you bought price airline tickets) coverage for the cost of changing your flight date or reimbursement for the total ticket cost if you couldn't go, and maybe the cost of a day or two's stay in a hotel while you make your new travel arrangements if you had to unexpectedly leave the trail mid-hike due to personal illness or a family emergency. Nothing else on a thru-hike would likely qualify for coverage. The good news is, such a policy would be very low-cost, since the actual insurable cost of your trip is so minimal.Hey I hear what your saying.I listed my hypothetical trip as $2500 If I would have listed it for more then obv the premium would go up ,Try it.Just thought it made for interesting fun thought.

BigHodag
02-25-2012, 23:41
WorldNomads.com shows $291 for their standard insurance for 6 months. $387 for their adventure travel insurance for 6 months.

Both offer $300k med-evac, $100k medical, and $1k personal loss.

Graygen
02-25-2012, 23:49
You can pick up Accident Insurance from http://www.adventureadvocates.com for a reasonable monthly rate. As low as $15 to a high of $48 a month. Not too bad a deductible and re-bills each month until cancelled. Only good for accidents - the "Gold" plan includes airlift services. I haven't looked into it too deeply but initial thought was it might be worth a closer look.

rocketsocks
02-26-2012, 00:24
Hey, Thanks for the leg(finger)work,I kinda thought this might be of some interest.