Adventure travel insurance

A two week break over the summer months is no longer seen as a chance to recharge our batteries on a Spanish beach or potter around the house doing nothing but watching bad television.

Rather, growing numbers of Brits are now choosing to spend their well-earned time off hurtling down a mountain, jumping out of a plane or strapping themselves to a raft and heading off to find the biggest rapids possible.

Significantly, this new breed of adventure travellers is no longer confined to those aged 18 to 24, letting their hair down before heading off to university or embarking on their chosen careers.

Instead, people are choosing to take breaks in their careers in their thirties, while pre and post-retirement 'gappers' are also a significant driving force behind a travel market expected to be worth around £11 billion by 2010.

However, with this growing sense of intrepid adventure comes added financial responsibilities, with travellers now having to factor in not only lost luggage and missed flights into their insurance policies, but also things such as mountain rescue by helicopter or decompression tank usage.

As a spokeswoman for STA Travel explains: "With any adventure holiday or long-haul trip there is more risk involved.

"These kinds of trips tend to be more expensive than a weekend jaunt to Europe, therefore more costly to cancel if necessary."

Given that it can cost tens of thousands of pounds to get a sick or injured passenger to the nearest medical facility – for example getting someone out of the jungles of Nicaragua to a top hospital in the US and then back home to the UK is likely to cost a small fortune – repatriation cover is undoubtedly the most important provision an adventure traveller needs to look out for when choosing an insurance policy.

In addition, it also pays to read the small print and tailor a policy to suit a trip perfectly.

Some policies, for example may cover skiing injuries but are unwilling to pay out for any harm caused by snowboarding or 'heli-skiing'.

Of course, the worst-case scenario is highly unlikely to materialise as most trips pass by without incident and travellers come away with nothing more than happy memories and tacky souvenirs.

However, a cover-all travel insurance policy can also bring peace of mind and reassurance to a traveller, with those fully covered often more likely to throw caution to the wind and try something new and more risky, while those who have neglected to spend that bit extra before setting off weigh up the risks and decide to stay back in the hotel.

Though sitting down with policy brochures or talking to a financial advisor may not be anywhere near as exhilarating as bungee jumping or even shopping for new gear, travel insurance is undoubtedly one of the most important purchases a traveller of any age can make before setting off for adventure.