For thrill seekers, there is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush of nailing a perfect cliff dive. In equal measure, cliff diving is as exhilarating as it is dangerous. Classified as an extremely risky sport, cliff diving involves diving over cliffs or varying heights. Olivier Favre who jumped off Villers-le-Lac in France at the height of 53.9m did the highest cliff dive ever recorded. Generally, cliff diving at heights of 20 to 30 meters is considered normal.
Now, you may be interested to try jumping off a cliff during your next vacation. You have made all your bookings, engaged a top cliff diving trainer, and you are all ready to embark on the adventure of your life. Then, you wonder if your single trip travel insurance covers it? This is certainly an interesting question.
A basic travel insurance policy provides coverage for loss of luggage, trip cancellation, medical expenses, and other normal travel risks. Cliff diving is considered an extreme sport that is not even covered under Grade 4 Activity Insurance. Some of the other activities include hang gliding, parasailing, rock climbing under 2,000m, kite surfing, and amateur high diving under 5m. The closest activity to cliff diving is amateur high diving under 5m. In most travel insurance companies, there is no coverage for the sport of cliff diving. To qualify for Grade 4 Activity Insurance, you will have to pay a much higher premium but cliff diving is specifically excluded on the list.
In this activity, the risk of injury or even death is extremely high. Performed in a natural environment in which you have little or no control over such elements like the height of the cliff, the wind conditions, and the strength of the waves, the dangers are obvious. Considering these hazards, you can understand why travel insurance companies are reluctant to provide coverage for this activity. It is unlikely that you will be covered for this by any form of basic travel insurance.
Just because most travel insurance companies would not cover cliff diving does not mean that you will not find insurance for this sport. There are specialized extreme sports insurance companies that offer travel insurance for dangerous sports, but you will have to be prepared to pay a much higher premium. In any case, the best thing to do is to talk to your travel insurance agent to find out if there’s any travel insurance policy that provides exclusive coverage for cliff diving.
