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  5. Adventure Sports And Activities

Travel Insurance for 150+ Adventure Sports and Activities

Travel insurance designed for adventures while travelling.

    As featured in:

  • As featured in:

Whether you’re planning on going to Brazil, Spain, Thailand or the USA, make sure you’re prepared for any adventure activities you plan to do while abroad. Our plans offer coverage for more than 150 adventure sports and activities, from hiking, snowboarding, scuba diving, hot-air ballooning, skiing, and more. Before you go, be sure you understand the sports cover that is included with your selected World Nomads travel insurance policy, check your itinerary and the weather, and bring the correct gear to ensure you have a safe experience.

What adventure sports activities are covered by travel insurance?

During your trip, you may want to try activities and sports that aren’t commonly done in Canada. You are automatically covered to participate in various activities under both the Standard Plan and Explorer Plan, however you must add any adventure, sports, work or volunteer activities that you think you’ll be doing while on your trip, at the time you purchase your policy, to make sure you are covered. Check the selected policy before you complete your purchase for the selected limits, as an upgrade for certain sports may be required and terms and conditions, limitations and exclusions apply.

As long as the activity is listed on your policy, if something goes wrong, your coverage may include benefits for:

World Nomads provides travel insurance for more than 150 activities, sports and experiences but it doesn’t cover everything so don’t assume every activity is included and covered.

If you’re planning on doing a specific sport or activity that isn’t listed as Level 1, then you may need to upgrade your policy. Sports and activities listed as Level 2 or Level 3 require an upgrade and an additional premium. Upgrades must be purchased when you buy your policy. Some activities have special conditions and special exclusions. You can contact us if you have any questions around coverage for any activities you plan to do.

a couple snorkelling
A couple snorkelling. Photo credit: Getty images / isitsharp

What benefits are available for adventure activities?

World Nomads plans offer a variety of benefits that can help when doing adventure sports while overseas, and your coverage benefit limit will vary depending on whether you choose our Standard Plan or our Explorer plan. Read your policy for details on terms and conditions, maximum benefit limits, and any exclusions:

Emergency medical expenses while outside Canada: Our plans offer cover for expenses incurred resulting from injury, sickness or death while on your trip. If at any time during your holiday, you or any of your traveling companions become sick or injured, you’ll need to contact our 24/7 Emergency Assistance team as soon as possible. Our team can assist to locate the nearest hospital or medical facility and may transport you back to Canada if a treating doctor determines this to be medically necessary.

Trip cancellation: If you must cancel your trip due to a covered risk, we cover up to the maximum limit under the policy for your non-refundable prepaid trip costs of your unused travel arrangements. For example, if you or any of your travel companions get sick or injured and you need to cancel your holiday, we may cover prepaid and non-refundable expenses. Please note that you’ll need to submit documents when filing a trip cancellation claim for a covered reason. Depending on your case, you'll need copies of:

  • Receipts
  • Itineraries
  • Doctors/death certificates
  • Medical history
  • Written documentation from your travel provider outlining any refund you received and their cancellation penalties

Coverage for baggage and personal belongings: The policy provides coverage if your baggage or personal belongings becomes lost or damaged by your Common Carrier or stolen. You’ll need to have receipts, along with reports from the authorities or an incident report from your airline or other carrier (if your belongings were lost in transit) in order to submit a claim.

A couple backpacking in the mountains
A couple backpacking in the mountains. Photo credit: Getty images / Jordan Siemens

What’s not covered?

Here are some examples of what is not covered under our plans. Please refer to your policy for the complete list:

  • Pre-existing medical conditions (Please refer to the Exclusions for Emergency Medical and Dental Coverage section of the policy wording for more information on coverage for pre-existing medical conditions).
  • If you do not use a professional qualified and licensed guide or operator where required.
  • Any search or rescue operations to find or rescue you from a life-threatening situation.
  • If you refuse to be repatriated or evacuated.
  • Damage to any sports or activity equipment while in use.
  • Unattended baggage or personal items.
  • If you participate in any sport or engage in any activity on a professional basis.

This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms and conditions of the policy. It is important you read and understand your policy as it contains benefits, conditions, exclusions and pre-existing condition exclusions. If you do not understand your coverage, or if you have questions about your coverage, just ask us.

FAQs

What questions should I ask when choosing a plan?

When purchasing your travel insurance policy you may be tempted to take the most cost-effective option without reading the policy first. Whilst reading the policy document can be a time-consuming task, it’s best to familiarize yourself with all the benefits, policy limits and exclusions before you buy your policy.

World Nomads offer two travel insurance plans, the Standard Plan and the Explorer Plan. Both plans offer levels of protection for many of the same types of risks and offer cover for, hospitalization, repatriation, lost, stolen or damaged baggage, and other unexpected costs.

However, the Explorer Plan offers higher policy benefit limits. For example, the Standard Plan offers a maximum benefit limit for emergency medical expenses of $5M, whereas the Explorer Plan offers a maximum benefit limit of $10M.

When choosing which policy is best matched to your needs you should ask yourself:

  • How much trip cancellation coverage do I need? (Our Standard Plan covers a maximum limit of $2,500 and our Explorer Plan covers a maximum limit of $5,000)
  • How much emergency medical coverage do I need?
  • What kind of activities will I be doing on holiday?
  • What activities is my travel party planning?
  • What coverage do the two different plans offer for these activities?
  • What exclusions might apply?

Note: choose your policy carefully as you can’t upgrade from a Standard Plan to an Explorer Plan mid-trip.

Can I buy travel insurance? I’ve already started traveling.

If you forgot to buy travel insurance before you left home, you can still purchase while you’re travelling. Note that a waiting period may apply for some benefits.

Can I extend my policy?

Your policy may be extended up to a maximum 12 months (365 days) from your original policy start date. To qualify and apply for a policy extension:

  • You must not have made a claim, or have a reason to claim, on your original policy.
  • The request for an extension must be made through, and approved by, World Nomads prior to your original scheduled return date.

You may qualify for a policy extension if you have sought emergency medical treatment or filed a claim for emergency medical treatment prior to extending your trip, however any subsequent medical treatment related to your emergency will not be covered under the extension of coverage.

You must have been eligible for the insurance that you seek to extend at the time of your original booking of your trip and at the time of the request for the extension.

Please note that:

  • Policy extensions are not eligible to be refunded.
  • The 10-day ‘Right to Examine’ period does not apply.

If you are travelling and want to extend your trip, you can purchase a policy extension by logging into your World Nomads membership account. Select your current policy and follow the prompts to extend your policy.

This is only a summary of coverage and does not include the full terms and conditions of the policy. It is important you read and understand your policy as it contains benefits, conditions, exclusions and pre-existing condition exclusions. If you do not understand your coverage, or if you have questions, just ask us.

World Nomads covers more than 150 activities and sports, and if it’s not on the list you can contact us and we’ll let you know if we’ll cover it.

You can read more about coverage for some specific activities, or select your Country Of Residence and click here to see the activities covered by the plans available to you.

We offer cover for:

  • 24/7 Emergency Assistance
  • Overseas medical assistance
  • Cancellation
  • Baggage

I bit on something hard

A bone chipped my front tooth, on the top row, and cracked it. Blood started to run down so I had an emergency visit to the dentist to repair it.
Claim paid: USD $82.33
B.P. U.S Resident in South Africa.

Travel Insurance Benefits: how we can take care of you

Trip Cancellation

Protect your hard earned vacation from unexpected cancellation.

  • Explorer Plan: $5,000
  • Standard Plan: $2,500
Trip Protection
  • Unexpectedly hospitalised?
  • Travel buddy unfit to travel?
  • Close relative suddenly dies?

We’ve got your back.

Emergency Medical Insurance

Take the pain out of medical or dental costs.

  • Explorer Plan: $10 million
  • Standard Plan: $5 million
Emergency Medical Insurance
  • Need meds quick?
  • Accidentally injured?
  • Suddenly sick?

We’ve got your back.

Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation

We’ll get you to hospital or home quickly.

  • Explorer Plan: $500,000
  • Standard Plan: $500,000
Emergency Evacuation & Repatriation
  • Banged up abroad?
  • Need a hospital urgently?
  • Medivac home?

Help starts here.

Protect your gear

Covers the theft, damage or delay of your bags, tech and sports gear.

  • Explorer Plan: $3,000
  • Standard Plan: $1,000
Protect your gear
  • Passport or tech stolen?
  • Airline lost your gear?
  • Bags delayed?

Help starts here.

  • Emergency Medical Expenses
  • Emergency Dental for Injury or Sickness
  • Bedside Companion Travel and Subsistence
  • Emergency Professional Services
  • Emergency Evacuation and Repatriation
  • Return of Travel Companion/Dependent Children
  • Return to Your Trip Destination
  • Return of Remains
  • Travel Accident
  • Flight Accident
  • Trip Cancellation
  • Trip Interruption
  • Trip Delay
  • Baggage and Personal Effects Theft or Damage
  • Baggage and Sporting Equipment Delay
  • Travel Documents Theft or Damage
  • Sporting Equipment Theft or Loss by a Common Carrier
  • Covered Adventure Sports listed in Policy
Assistance Services Included
  • LiveTravelTM Emergency Assistance
  • Worldwide Travel Assistance
  • Adventure Travel Hotline
  • 24/7 Security
  • Travel Medical Assistance
  • Bag Trak
This is a general summary for Canadian residents only. It does not include all terms, conditions, limitations, exclusions and termination provisions of the travel insurance plans described. Coverage may not be available for residents of all provinces. Check the Travel Insurance Policy for full details.

24/7 emergency assistance

Whether you need medical or dental assistance or advice, emergency evacuation or travel assistance, our team are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year before and during your trip.

Are you in need of emergency assistance right now?

Telephone +1 866 878 0192 (toll-free from Canada and the Continental U.S.) or +1 416 646 3723 (collect from anywhere else in the world)

Contact the team

FAQ

Here are our most frequently asked questions about overseas medical insurance. You can also find the answers to other questions in our Helpdesk or you can ask our customer service team.