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Do you need water sports cover on your travel insurance?
Most travel insurance policies will come with cover for certain water sports as standard.
Here’s a few water sports you might find on your policy:
- Jet skiing
- Snorkelling
- Banana boating
- Scuba diving
- Sailing a yacht or catamaran
- Parasailing
- Free diving
- Canyoning or coasteering
- Surfing
- Deep sea fishing
Some more extreme activities, like white water rafting might be offered as an optional add-on.
If you’re deep diving or cage diving with sharks, you might need a specialist water sports policy.
Sometimes you can buy cover as part of the experience on the day but read the terms and conditions carefully. If you sign a waiver, make sure that you’re still protected incase something goes wrong.
Surprisingly, sports like sea kayaking and stand up paddle boarding aren’t usually included in your policy. Check the details to see exactly which water sports are covered. If they're excluded, you might be able to add them for a fee.
Water sports and insurance exclusions
There are always limits and exclusions to cover, the same goes for water sports:
Age limits
Some insurers apply age limits. For example, you might need to be over 18 to be covered if you jet ski, while surfing cover might be limited to under 50s.
Alcohol
Every insurer has an exclusion around alcohol consumption. Some state a specific alcohol limit – for example, no more than four pints of beer – while others might say claims will be rejected if you’re found to have had your judgement impaired by drink or drugs.
Not following instructions
If you need to claim and it’s found you weren’t wearing the correct safety equipment or following instructions, you won’t be covered.
Sailing
Most policies that include sailing will only cover you if you’re sailing within 12 miles of the shore.
Paragliding
You'll usually only be covered if you're with an instructor. If you’re qualified to paraglide alone, you’ll have to search for a policy that covers this.
White water rafting
According to Defaqto, only 15% of annual travel insurance policies cover white water rafting as standard.[2] White water rafting is one of the riskier water sports, and is classified in six different levels. Insurers might restrict you to only white water rafting in rapids between grades one to three.
How to get cheaper travel insurance with water sports cover
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Types of insurance
If you’re going on several trips per year, annual cover will be more cost effective than multiple single-trip policies
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Consider the sports
Only get cover for the water sports you’ll be doing, otherwise you’ll be wasting money on cover you don’t need
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Cheaper doesn’t mean better
Don’t get a cheaper travel insurance policy if it means you’ll lose out on important aspects of cover you might need
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Compare
The easiest way to make sure you’re getting value for money is by comparing a range of travel insurance policies which include water sports cover
Travel insurance guides and tools
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[2]Last checked 12 April 2021