Surfing Travel Insurances: The Definitive Guide
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You are crazy about surfing and you are about to plan surfing holidays to practice your favorite sport? You would like to find travel insurance that is tailored for your activity in case something goes wrong?
You’ve come at the right place.
In the below guide, we will tell you everything you need to know about surfing travel insurance: what does it cover exactly, which policy you should go for, how much does it cost and other tips.
Stay tuned!
What is surfing travel insurance?
You are planning a super fancy surf trip in California or in Hawaï? You should definitely get surf travel cover.
Surf holiday insurance will provide you with cover tailored for your surf needs.
You must know that in Europe only, around 15 000 injuries are registered each year and are due to water sport activities.
There are two ways to purchase surf travel insurance:
- you apply for a standard single or annual multi-trip policy and pay for a surf cover add-on
- you purchase your travel insurance policy with surfing activity included as standard.
Your surf travel insurance should cover your for:
- any medical expense you may face if you get injured surfing
- your surf equipment and other personal belongings
- repatriation if needed etc.
Why do you need travel insurance for surfing?
Getting travel insurance for your surfing trip is vital.
Just to show you how important applying for travel insurance is, here are a few examples of what an unfortunate and unexpected event might cost you during your surfing travel:
| What you will need to pay without surfing travel insurance | What you will need to pay with surfing travel insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| My surf board has been damaged during the flight | £500 | £0 |
| I need to cancel my surf trip because of medical condition | £5,000 - £10,000 (real cost of trip) | £0 until trip cancellation limit is reached (check carefully cancellation reasons allowed) |
| I am in danger at sea and need air rescue | £3700 | £0 (if planned in policy) |
| I got swept away by a wave and hit a rock while surfing, I need medical treatment and surgery | £30,000 (if not covered by European Health Insurance Card) | £0 until medical expense limit is reached |
Good to know
Depending on your destination, you may already have some financial assistance either with European Health Insurance Card (if your surfing trip is in Europe) or with healthcare cooperation systems between countries for example UK and Australia or New-Zealand. Note that your EHIC will only cover medical treatment in public hospital (you won't be covered for any air ambulance, surgery in private hospitals etc.). It can't be seen as a substitute for travel insurance.
Compare best surfing holiday insurance
To find the right cover for your surfing travel, you will need to explore the different options you have. You’ll have to answer a series of questions such as:
- what exactly you’d like to get covered for
- the length of your stay
- the destination
- how much are you planning to surf etc.
We’ve came up with a non-exhaustive list of travel insurers that cover surfing breaks abroad as standard or as option:
| Insurer | Price | Our reviews |
|---|---|---|
 | £18,37 |
|
 | £18,67 |
|
 | £18,95 |
|
 | £22,14 |
|
 | 24.12 |
|
Prices above are for a 7 days single trip to Europe with surfing cover for a 30 years old people.
What does surfing travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance for surfing holidays should include:
- specific cover for your sport activity
- must-have features you need in any travel insurance.
Good to know
If surfing is included as standard in your travel insurance policy, carefully check limits and excess amounts that you will get / need to pay in case of claim.
Specific surfing cover that you could get
Travel insurances for surfer usually include:
| Surfing cover options | Average amount |
|---|---|
| Surf board and wet suit damaged, lost or stolen | Depends on personal belongings cover |
| Any injuries made to yourself surfing | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions |
| Surfing trip cancellation | Depends on trip cancellation cover terms and conditions |
| Medical evacuation at see | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions |
| Non-refundable surfing course fees | Depends on trip interruption cover terms and conditions |
Watch out!
Note that if you injure someone else during your sport practice, you may not be covered unless it is clearly mentioned in your policy booklet.
Must-have features your surfing travel insurance should cover
| Compensation | Average amount | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | From £5M to £10M (depending on your medical situation and your destination) |
|
| Repatriation | Real fees |
|
| Trip cancellation / curtailment | £5000 – £10000 (depending on your destination) |
|
| Baggage or personal belongings | Minimum of £1500 limit |
|
| Missed departure, delay | Minimum £500 limit (minimum £200 limit for delay) |
|
| Personal liability | Average £2 million limit |
|
| Legal expenses | Average £15000 limit |
|
Watch out!
Always carefully check the age limit and compensation amounts as well as deductibles you’ll have to pay in case you need to make a claim. For medical expenses, always get your insurer to accept them before paying if you need to advance fees.
As nice-to-have features, you may want to get in addition to your surfing travel insurance included features:
- business trip insurance
- emergency dental treatment
- loss of passport or documentation
- gadget cover
- Schedule Airline Failure (at least £1500)
- money and cash cover.
Can I get surfing travel cover if I have pre-existing medical conditions?
Of course you can.
The best option would be to purchase a pre-existing medical condition travel insurance tailored for your holidays, and add a surfing cover option if not included as standard.
Watch out!
If you purchase surfing travel insurance or any other insurance without disclosing your medical condition, that is called “fronting”. Your claim can be invalidated by your insurer, such as your entire travel insurance policy.
Can surfing travel insurance be included if I purchase an annual multi-trip or a single trip policy?
Short answer: yes, it can be.
Surfing, as many other sports, can be included as standard or purchase as extras on both single and annual multi-trip travel insurance policies.
You will need to specifically dig into insurers policy booklets to see which activities are covered as standard.
As a reminder:
| Travel insurance type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Single trip insurance | These travel insurance policies are for one-off holidays. You will be covered from the start of the journey until the end. You can decide the number of days you want to be covered for. |
| Annual multi-trip insurance | These policies are made for frequent surfer going away for surfing holidays several times a year. You would need to check whether it is more competitive to buy two or three single trip insurance policies or an annual multi-trip policy. |
Do I need to buy specific surfing travel insurance?
It depends on the travel insurance policy you purchased. This will be clearly outlined in your policy booklet.
If you haven’t bought your surfing travel cover yet, we would advise you to go for an insurer providing specific cover for surfing equipment, competition etc. either as standard or as full option for an extra fee.
How much does surfing travel insurance cost?
You will find below indicate travel insurance price including surfing cover:
| Age range | Single trip to Europe* | Annual multi-trip to Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 18 - 35 | £13,96 | £38,91 |
| 36 - 54 | £19,12 | £19,12 |
| 55+ | £23,82 | £23,82 |
*Quotes above are for a 7 days surfing holidays.
It is, however, quite difficult to give precise ranges of how much a travel insurance will cost for you as prices are based on a wide range of criteria. It will mainly depend on:
- How often will you surf
- If you are going on single surfing trip or annual multi_trips
- If you purchase other upgrades in addition to your surfing cover such as gadget cover
- If your teen has pre-existing medical conditions
- The duration and destination of your stay
- The financial limits you’d like to get in case of a claim
- The excess amount you’re willing to pay.
What else should I check before purchasing my surfing travel cover?
While shopping around for sport_name holiday insurance, always pay attention to:
- The compensation amounts you will get for each claim (especially personal belongings compensation limit if surfing is included as standard in your policy)
- The deductible amounts you’ll have to pay in case of claim (don't forget that extreme sports or hazardous activities lovers often need to pay extra medical excess if they got injured whilst practicing their sport) - opt for excess waiver cover if you are practicing adventurous sports
- The exclusions you may have in your policy
- The claim process (100% online? How many days do you have to make a claim?)
- The maximum duration of each trip included as standard (at least 31 days)
- The upper age limit (if you are a senior travelling).
