Scuba Diving Travel Insurances: The Definitive Guide
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Discover the methodologyYou are crazy about scuba diving and you are about to plan scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving travel insurance?
You are planning a super fancy scuba-diving trip in Ecuador exploring coast reefs, wrecks and drifts. You should definitely get scuba diving travel cover.
Scuba diving will provide you with cover tailored for your water activities.
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 scuba-diving travel insurance:
- you apply for a standard single or annual multi-trip policy and pay for a scuba-diving cover add-on
- you purchase your travel insurance policy with scuba-diving included as standard.
Note that most insurers will include amateur scuba-diving up to 30 meters and under the supervision of a licenced instructor as a low risk activity and therefore include it as standard in their travel insurance policies (providing you have valid PADI). If you’d like to dive deeper, or alone, you will need to pay extra fees.
Why do you need travel insurance for scuba diving?
Getting travel insurance for your scuba diving 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 scuba diving travel:
| What you will need to pay without scuba diving travel insurance | What you will need to pay with scuba diving travel insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| My scuba gear and dive equipment has been lost during the flight | £800 | £0 |
| I need to cancel my diving 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 | £3600 | £0 (if planned in policy) |
| I got injured whilde diving and need to stay at the hospital | £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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving holiday insurance
To find the right cover for your scuba diving 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 dive etc.
We’ve came up with a non-exhaustive list of travel insurers that cover scuba diving 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 scuba diving cover for a 30 years old people.
What does scuba diving travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance for scuba diving holidays should include:
- specific cover for your sport activity
- must-have features you need in any travel insurance.
Good to know
If scuba diving 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 scuba diving cover that you could get
Travel insurances for scuba-diver usually include:
| Scuba diving cover options | Average amount |
|---|---|
| Scuba gear and dive equipment (dive reserves, wet suits etc.) | Depends on personal belongings cover |
| Any injuries made to yourself diving | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions |
| Scuba diving trip cancellation | Depends on trip cancellation cover terms and conditions |
| Medical evacuation at see | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions |
| Non-refundable diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving cover option if not included as standard.
Watch out!
If you purchase scuba diving 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 scuba diving travel insurance be included if I purchase an annual multi-trip or a single trip policy?
Short answer: yes, it can be.
Scuba diving, 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 scuba-diver going away for scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving travel cover yet, we would advise you to go for an insurer providing specific cover for scuba diving equipment, competition etc. either as standard or as full option for an extra fee.
How much does scuba diving travel insurance cost?
You will find below indicate travel insurance price including scuba diving cover:
| Age range | Single trip to Europe* | Annual multi-trip to Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 18 - 35 | £13,87 | £38,64 |
| 36 - 54 | £18,99 | £18,99 |
| 55+ | £23,66 | £23,66 |
*Quotes above are for a 7 days scuba diving 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 dive
- If you are going on single scuba diving trip or annual multi_trips
- If you purchase other upgrades in addition to your scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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 scuba diving 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).
