Travel Insurance - offroading

[AndyCook]

Does anyone take out travel insurance for overland trips abroad? and what company?
I am looking for cover in France/Italy this summer for a road and offroad trip on Trails in the Alps.
My wife found some places that cover you if with a guide, but not solo.

 

[Rob]

You will find it hard to find an insurer that will cover you "offroad". I went with Amex as they were the only insurance company that covered my collapsed lungs after having one a few years ago at a reasonable cost. When I asked about offroad cover they said that if its an acceptable method of getting from one place to another then its OK, even if the "road" is not on the map or the "road" is not what we would call a road (plenty of tracks in Mongolia are not on the map but are main routes). However if I were to drive straight up a mountain for fun then I would not be covered.

As you are going to France/Spain ask if you are covered for unpaved roads I don't think you will technically be offroading so be careful how you phrase the question

 

[fridayman]

I am busy looking into the ADAC plus breakdown insurance, which might cover offroad.

 

[Andrew Prince]

I went with Amex as they were the only insurance company that covered my collapsed lungs after having one a few years ago at a reasonable cost.

OT - is this a case of "DYAC" striking again?

 

[Rob]

Kinda, I only had one collapsed lung about 5-6 years ago and most insurance companies charge extortionate amounts to cover me now...

 

[Andrew Prince]

Your premium goes up because an insurance company had a big pay-out for your medical expenses or having a collapsed lung once upon a time makes you a bigger risk?

 

[Rob]

Your premium goes up because [strike:3utyofsn]an insurance company had a big pay-out for your medical expenses or[/strike:3utyofsn] having a collapsed lung once upon a time makes you a bigger risk?

Risk is negligible after all these years so its a pain paying for it.

Anyway you need to clarify if you are actually going "offroad", if you are going on the equivalent of UK Byways then it should not be classified as offroad.

 

[AndyCook]

thanks for ideas Rob, indeed the trails will be "equivalent of UK Byways"