Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our overseas challenges. Your policy must cover the activities you’ll be taking part in, the maximum altitude of your challenge (where applicable), emergency medical treatment, and emergency evacuation/repatriation where required.
We strongly recommend sorting your insurance as soon as you’ve signed up. This means you’re covered not just for the trip itself, but also if something unexpected happens before you travel.
The main thing we need from you is specialist insurance that covers your activity from a medical perspective. This includes emergency treatment and evacuation if needed. That part is essential. Everything else, like cover for luggage, delays, cancellations or personal items, is up to you. It depends on what you feel comfortable with and what fits your budget.
For international trekking challenges, you’ll need to submit your insurance for approval before you travel. For marathons and organised runs, we still strongly recommend getting the right cover, but we won’t review it. You’ll find more detail in your briefing pack, including information on what’s covered by things like a GHIC/EHIC card versus travel insurance.
Choose a Challenge work with two main insurance partners who offer specialist travel insurance and may be suitable for you to consider. They offer a range of policies and add ons and you should closely review your policy choice to ensure the policy is appropriate for your trip and personal circumstances.
Big Cat Travel Insurance’ policies allow you to select the appropriate altitude for your trip meaning you only pay for the level of cover you need and typically price competitive for many of our challenges. They also offer an optional ‘Missed Flight Connections’ add-on for participants looking for extra protection. They are a small family owned business and are happy to discuss your needs over the phone to help you decide on the appropriate cover.
Campbell Irvine Direct has over 50 years’ experience providing specialist travel insurance and offer policies suitable for trekking up to 7000m. Their policies tend to be price competitive especially on our higher altitude treks such as Kilimanjaro and EBC.
When looking for suitable insurance cover please ensure it will cover you for all the activities that are featured in your challenge. For example:
Trek Participants
You will need a specialist insurance to be covered for:
A) Trekking up to the maximum trekking altitude of your challenge (up to 6000m for our Everest Base Camp and Kilimanjaro treks; Up to 5000m for the Morocco High Atlas and Machu Picchu Treks.)
B) Medical evacuation (or repatriation), including helicopter evacuation.
For Everest Base Camp participants, please be aware that we do not mandate coverage for helicopter transport in the event of inclement weather grounding fixed-wing aircraft and many insurance providers do not cover this or have strict requirements around this. True Traveller is an example of this with requirements of 3-4+ extra nights requirement which is not met by our itinerary.
C) The total duration of your trip
Marathon Participants
We will not be reviewing your insurance, but you will want to be covered for:
A) Running a marathon
B) The total duration of your trip
It's worth checking whether you're already covered; some bank accounts and annual travel insurance policies include cover for organised sporting events. You might also be covered under a parents’ policy. Have a look at what you've already got before buying anything new.
Other Sections to Consider
And just some of the other things to pay special attention to when selecting your insurance provider and level of cover:
Does the policy you're considering provide you with sufficient cover for any electronic items you might want to bring?
What about loss, theft or damage to passports or other travel documentation?
And how about cancellation before your trip due to injury, illness or other reasons beyond your control?
Don’t forget to disclose any medical conditions for the screening with the insurance or you could find your policy void.
If you have any further queries about travel insurance please get in contact with us on +44 (0) 203 773 4140 or email team@chooseachallenge.com
