Best adventure travel insurance of 2025

CNBC

16 hours ago

Travel insurance can be a huge help, even if you plan to just lounge by the pool. But if you've signed up for mountain biking, rock climbing or a jungle safari, you'll want adventure travel coverage.
An adventure travel add-on to your standard travel insurance policy extends coverage to activities that are usually excluded. That includes medical coverage for injuries sustained in high-risk activities and reimbursement for the damage or loss of any specialty gear.
CNBC Select reviewed more than 20 travel insurance carriers with adventure travel benefits and picked the best for cost, coverage, availability, claims filing and more. (See our methodology for more on how we made our selections.)
Faye has one single-trip plan with optional add-ons for pet care, adventure sports and damage to vacation rentals.
Emergency medical: $250,000Medical evacuation: $500,000Personal effects: $150 per item (up to $2,000 total)
Up to 75% reimbursement of nonrefundable trip costs if purchased within 14 days of initial trip deposit.
Available if policy is purchased within 14 days of initial trip deposit.
Who's this for? Starting at just over $5 a day, Faye's plans automatically cover dozens of activities like white water rafting, skiing, horseback riding, kayaking and mountain climbing.
Standout benefits: Feeling more daring? The Adventure & Extreme Sports endorsement adds parachuting, bullriding and other daredevil activities. Faye will also cover up to $2,500 in emergency veterinary expenses or up to $250 in additional kenneling costs.
Silver, Gold and Platinum plans with add-ons including a collision damage waiver (for Gold and Platinum), lost ski days or golf rounds and CFAR insurance (for Platinum plan)
Emergency medical: $250,000 for Platinum PlanMedical evacuation: $1 million for Platinum PlanPersonal effects: $500 per item, up to $3,000 total
Add-on with Platinum plan that reimburses 75% of nonrefundable trip costs if you purchase within 14 days of booking ($50,000 maximum).
Available with Gold and Platinum plans if purchased within 14 days of trip deposit.
Who's this for? AXA Assistance USA's Platinum Plan reimbursers you for missed ski days, prepaid lessons and lift tickets if your ski trip gets derailed by closed trails, inclement weather or insufficient snow.
Standout benefits: The Platinum Plan also offers a collision damage waiver, which can be helpful if you're planning to rent a car to get to the slopes.
Standard, Explorer, Epic single-trip plans and annual/multi-trip plan, with CFAR available for top-tier policiesEmergency medical: $125,000 for Standard Plan, $150,000 for Explorer Plan, $250,000 for Epic PlanMedical evacuation: $400,000 for Standard Plan, $500,000 for Explorer Plan, $700,000 for Epic PlanPersonal effects: $1,000 for Standard Plan, $2,000 for Explorer Plan, $3,000 for Epic Plan
Add-on for Explorer and Epic plans that covers 75% of nonrefundable costs if purchased seven days before initial deposit. (Not available in New York.)
Available with Explorer and Epic plans purchased seven days before first deposit.
Who's this for? World Nomads' Explorer Plan covers more than 200 thrill-seeking activities, including free-style skiing, ice climbing, hang gliding and shark-cage diving. The top-tier Epic Plan is aimed at bucket-list adventures like glacier walking and deep-sea diving.
Standout benefits: World Nomads lets you buy a policy even after you've started your trip, with coverage starting the very next day.
Single-trip and multi-trip/annual policies and cruise insurance. Add-ons include Cancel for Any Reason coverage and a travel inconvenience benefit
Emergency medical: $50,000 for Essential Plan, $250,000 for Deluxe Plan, $500,000 for Platinum PlanMedical evacuation: $200,000 for Essential Plan, $500,000 for Deluxe Plan, $1 million for Platinum PlanPersonal effects: $750 for Essential Plan, $1,500 for Deluxe Plan, $2,500 for Platinum Plan ($250 per item)
Add-on to Worldwide Trip Protector Deluxe or Platinum plan that reimburses 75% of nonrefundable costs when purchased within 21 days of initial trip payment
Available if policy is purchased within 21 days of initial trip deposit.
Who's this for? Travel Insured International's plans offer up to $500,000 for medical expenses and $1 million for evacuation, higher than most competitors. While most travel insurance excludes dental care, Travel Insured International covers up to $750 worth of emergency treatment.
Standout benefits: The Worldwide Trip Protector Platinum plan comes with an optional extreme sports medical upgrade that lifts the exclusion if you ride or drive in any races or participate in speed or endurance competitions.
Basic, mid-level and top-tier plans, plus policies just for flights, cruises and adventure travel. There are no add-ons but the LuxuryCare plan includes an option to upgrade to CFAR coverage.
Add-on to LuxuryCare plan that reimburses 50% of nonrefundable trip costs if purchased within 15 days of booking
Available with any plan purchased within 14 days of trip deposit.
Who's this for? Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection's AdrenalineCare plan reimburses up to $500 if your golf or other sporting gear is delayed more than six hours. If your equipment is lost, you can get reimbursed up to $1,500.
Standout benefits: AdrenalineCare covers $50,000 in emergency medical coverage and $750,000 in evacuation coverage. A pre-existing condition waiver is available if purchased within 14 days of the initial trip deposit.
Travel insurance typically covers common inconveniences like canceled, interrupted and delayed trips, as well as delayed or lost luggage, unexpected medical expenses and emergency evacuations. Most standard policies exclude losses or injuries resulting from high-risk activities, but you may be able to add an adventure travel rider or upgrade your plan and get covered for things like:
The list of activities varies by carrier and there may be limits on certain approved activities, like coverage for scuba diving that is limited to a certain depth.
Even the most generous insurance policy will exclude certain activities. Again, these will vary by carrier, but often include:
Travel to certain destinations may also be excluded, including active war zones, sites of natural disasters and destinations the U.S. has issued travel advisories against, like North Korea and Cuba.
Your insurance company is assuming more risk, so whether you choose add-on coverage or an upgraded plan, covering adventure travel is more expensive than a standard policy.
According to travel insurance comparison site Squaremouth, the average adventure travel insurance policy costs about $27 per day. For a 15-day trip, that works out to be about $408.
However, your exact cost will vary based on the activities you need to cover, your age, and how much coverage you're getting.
Below, we compared the cost of a standard policy with one including adventure travel coverage for a 30-year-old visiting the United Kingdom for a week.
Adventure travel insurance covers high-risk activities most standard policies exclude, like sky diving and rock climbing. It can be obtained as an add-on to a traditional plan or as a specialty policy.
Skiing is covered by most travel insurance companies, although some include it with a basic plan and others require policyholders to purchase an add-on. Read your policy documents to see if it's included automatically by your provider.
Each provider has its own list of excluded activities and approved activities may be restricted to certain elevations or depths. In addition, participation in professional athletics and injuries resulting from drug or alcohol use or from intentional self-harm are almost never covered.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every travel insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of travel insurance products. To research the best travel insurance companies, we compiled over 50 data points on more than 10 travel insurance companies. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
To determine the best adventure travel insurance companies, CNBC Select analyzed more than 10 top providers based on cost, coverage options, add-ons, customer service, and the variety of activities and sports they cover.
We looked for companies that included adventure activities in their offerings, prioritizing those that included them in base policies. We also considered gear or equipment coverage policies and prioritized brands that offered high medical limits.
We also considered CNBC Select audience data when available, such as general demographics and engagement with our content and tools.
Based on these criteria, our picks for the best adventure travel insurance are: