Insurance
To join one of our trips you really should have comprehensive travel and medical insurance. We don't arrange or sell insurance.
Nepal trek and travel insurance
With the insurance scams over the last decade, insurance companies have upped their premiums for Nepal. Do check that trekking (hiking up to 5800m/6000m) in Nepal is covered.
Climbing only: for our treks that include a peak climb WITHOUT ropes you need insurance that includes "hiking" to 7000m. Do get the correct policy even if we are only climbing for a day or two. Note "winter sports" is skiing; not needed for a trek.
Do read the fine print to ensure you are covered for all our activities. In Nepal, we only hike on "recognised routes".
India trek and travel insurance
Ladakh is now a separate union territory (UT; akin to a small state but run by the central government) and so is administratively COMPLETELY separately from Jammu & Kashmir which is now also its own separate union territory and so makes getting insurance easier.
For trekking/climbing in India, in theory helicopter evacuation is possible, however in practice it usually doesn't happen as only the army can fly helicopters and they are often busy.
The next gotcha is the mandatory two way communication with your insurance provider. In the hills, we are not allowed to carry a satellite phone (and the army turns up if you do use one, from personal experience) and so if there is no mobile coverage then we must get you to a village or a road, which means likely on horse back, so again, no immediate evacuation. As of 2022, there are satellite phones or internet wifi points in nearly all villages, including the Markha Valley.
Similar to Nepal, for our treks with an unroped peak climb do get a policy that covers "hiking" up to 7000m (these are policies suitable for Aconcagua, and are also suitable for our non-roped peaks).
All our treks, except possibly the 2024 Zanskar GHT, are along recognised routes.
Travel advice/warnings
Do look up the relevant info, there are some useful titbits in there, although there is also a lot of detail that is of little relevance as they are covering all their legal bases:
India
Australian government smart travel advice
Nepal
US State Department alerts & warnings
Research first
First, understand the various options in this must read comprehensive Expedition Portal post.
Here is an adventure travel primer, with a handy link too.
First, consider your household insurer, your medical insurer (especially if you live in the USA or Canada) or your travel agent. Your household insurer or your medical insurer should be able to offer a cheaper policy than a travel agent, however ensure it covers the specific activities, such as "hiking" for treks.
Trekking is "Hiking", in insurance terms, and some policies cover up to 7000m, ie the summit of Aconcagua, which means you could also be covered for our non-roped climbs with crampons in Ladakh and Nepal.
UK citizens
UK companies will only cover residents of UK-Ireland.
Campbell Irvine Direct - arrange insurance for many trek operators and cover trekking/hiking to 7000m on “recognised routes” and in a discussion about this, ALL our treks and trek-climbs without ropes satisfy their conditions.
Snowcard - adventure specialists, check first.
JS Insurance - specifically tailored for trekking up to 6000m and they have a Nepal insurance policy as well.
BMC - (for members of the BMC): Alpine & Ski, covers trekking above 5000m (i.e. apparently up to 7000m), climbing of most peaks worldwide up to 6500m (but not in “remote” polar regions).
Austrian Alpine Club AACUK - (for UK members of the Austrian Alpine Club): rescue, repatriation and medical expense cover for all mountain activities up to 6000m.
US-Canada citizens:
Atlas Travel Medical - also for trekking and mountaineering up to 7000m.
IM Global - a broad range of options, including for expats.
Travel Insured - handled one of our trekkers well in an emergency.
Canadian citizens
TuGo - travel insurance for trekking and mountaineering.
Worldwide
Genki Explorer billed as health insurance for digital nomads, the Genki Explorer has a good monthly plan for travel and covers hiking on recognised routes (but is age-restricted). It does NOT cover technical mountaineering with ice axes and crampons but does cover hiking to any altitude.
Global Rescue - "Travel Membership" provides medical advisory and evacuation, field rescue. **This in not an insurance policy.** Evacuation is only due to illness/injury. Evacuation is to nearest local medical facility if injury/illness is life-threatening, or to “home hospital” if not. Medical expenses are not covered by membership, although comprehensive travel insurance is available at extra cost.
World Nomads have Nepal and India hiking-trekking policies up to 6000m.
The above should cover everything but it is also possible to get separate insurance deals, and if you are a frequent flier having lost luggage, trip cancellation insurance separate from medical insurance makes sense.
Customer comments
With Jamie as leader, we have had less than a handful of evacuations over the decades and well over a hundred treks and dozens of expeditions. So here are comments from a 2023 Facebook post initiated by Kim Bannister, Kamzang Journeys:
Global Rescue -- I bought a policy before Covid, and when Covid hit, they said they wouldn't cover anything pandemic related. The fine print was so fine it didn't even exist. At least they reimbursed the cost of the policy. Redpoint/Ripcord -- They covered my heli evac and other expenses, reimbursed the unused portion of my trek, so hats off to them. But they've gotten prohibitively expensive and I'm not sure they're writing policies for Nepal or for New Yorkers. World Nomads -- I haven't make any claims over 4 trips, but they've been very responsive to any questions/inquiries.
- Gary Goldenberg
We had positive experience with World Nomads for our groups - and yes we had to call them for heli evacs almost every spring
Judy Smith
Depends on the age of clients! No holds barred last time I was insured was with Austrian Alpine Club..
Ian W
Allianz has been a positive experience for most ...
Global Rescue is popular with our clients and does way more than provide reimbursement as they have a response team in Nepal.
Christophe N
World Nomad always worked for me. Got reimbursed for $900 for trip cancelation. As long as you read and understand the policy and have receipts they are great. I bought Ripcord once and then canceled it and their customer service was great and they gave me my money back which was a surprise but I’ve never had to file a claim with them.
Michelle DG
Had Global Rescue through AAC and it was good in Nepal and covered a heli trip back to Kathmandu, you must call or try to their Nepal office. I did not have time and they understood and I was reimbursed for the heli and most of my medical expenses. It used to come with the membership but now you must actually purchase the policy
Marcia M
Highly recommend Covermore for Australians for all travel insurance. They reimbursed us for unexpected but stunning heli flights to and from Dolpo
Rosemary H
Global Rescue did a fantastic job with an Everest expedition member, and so much more than a simple evacuation was covered.
Jamie M, 2019