Extreme travel is inspiring new types of insurance

26-06-23

Extreme travel inspires new types of insurance. Some offer evacuations and others provide accidental death cover to cater to the growing adventure tourism market.  

The tragic deaths of five people on an excursion to see the wreck of the Titanic have highlighted the risks of extreme travel. But despite the dangers, trips to unusual places such as the South Pole, remote mountain peaks, shark-infested waters and space are still on the rise.

Tourism is expected to generate more than $1 trillion in revenue by 2030, up from a projected $316.6 billion in 2022, according to market research firm Grand View Research.

The number of companies seeking to mitigate the danger and potential emergency costs of extreme travel is beginning to increase, with some offering rescue and medical evacuation from remote locations. Others offer insurance for activities such as space travel.

There are companies such as DealBook, which for an annual fee of 360 offers evacuation services to its members. Upgrades, including one that promises that "special military operations veterans" will rescue you from dangerous locations, such as war zones, can raise the fee to around $1,800.

Travel insurance also provides cover if you travel into space.

The space tourism market is expected to grow to around $3 billion by 2030, according to UBS estimates. The space travel insurance market is still small, but Lloyd's of London, which insures space companies, began writing space travel insurance in 2021, and last year the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance said they would jointly develop space insurance offerings.

But currently, it is taxpayers who end up footing the bill for some rescues. The cost of search and rescue is often borne by local agencies.