Climbing Mount Everest in Nepal, the highest mountain in the world, is a dangerous undertaking that fewer than 1,000 people attempt each year. A less life-threatening alternative is the hike to Mount Everest Base Camp. This 130-kilometer round trip takes just under two weeks and promises breathtaking landscapes along the Himalayas.
This fall, I’ll be trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp. As a novice trekker, travel insurance is one of the most important things on my checklist for this trip. Travel insurance is one of those things you hope you never have to need. It usually covers the basics: trip interruptions, cancellations, medical evacuations, and emergencies.
Choosing the right travel insurance starts with understanding your specific needs. Are you primarily concerned about emergency medical care? Or perhaps you’re afraid of losing your expensive gear? The more you can narrow down your priorities, the more tailored your insurance policy can be.
My essentials for travel insurance
Every travel insurance policy should cover certain essentials, even on a trip as challenging as trekking to Mount Everest Base Camp.
Luggage protection: Losing your gear before you even set off can throw your entire trip off track. Luggage insurance ensures you’re compensated for important items, allowing you to quickly replace lost gear so you can stay on schedule.
Cancellation/termination of trip: Unforeseen circumstances – like a sudden illness, a family emergency or even political unrest – could force you to cancel or abandon your trip. This coverage typically reimburses you for non-reimbursable expenses like flights, accommodations and permits, ensuring that a hiccup doesn’t turn into a financial disaster.
The additional features I need for this trip
When I need travel insurance, I usually buy AXA Assistance USA Platinum through Squaremouth. But for this trip, I knew I needed something more robust, especially in terms of emergency medical evacuation and altitude coverage. I had two main criteria: medical evacuation and primary emergency medical coverage.
While the hike to Mount Everest Base Camp doesn’t require excessive physical fitness, there is one tricky component: the altitude. Since I haven’t done many high-altitude hikes, one of my main concerns is how my body will react. For this reason, I wanted to find a policy that covered emergency medical evacuation for high-altitude hikes.
Most travel insurance policies only cover medical evacuations up to an altitude of 4,000 meters (about 13,000 feet), but Mount Everest Base Camp is at an incredible 17,598 feet. A sprained ankle or acute altitude sickness can quickly become a serious problem at that altitude.
Even though I’m hiking with a private guide, I wanted to make sure my insurance met or exceeded the requirements most tour operators have for their guests. Generally, they require coverage that covers medical care and emergency evacuations with a minimum value of $100,000.
For this trip, I had two main criteria: medical repatriation and primary coverage for medical emergencies. Primary coverage means that in the event of an emergency, my travel insurance will cover the costs before my regular medical insurance kicks in. Secondary coverage means that travel insurance only covers what’s left after your primary insurance has paid out.
How I found the right policy
To find the right policy, I started with Squaremouth, a platform I’ve used before. It’s user-friendly and the filters make it easy to prioritize your needs. For this trip, there was a specific filter for Everest Base Camp in the sports section that saved my life.
I also filtered for minimum medical evacuation and treatment coverage of $100,000 or more, as well as basic coverage, which narrowed my options to six policies from four providers: IMG, Travelex, Tin Leg and Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection.
From there, I compared the four best insurance options. I was still overwhelmed by the choices, so I called Squaremouth’s customer service line to talk through the options.
World Nomads was another company that kept coming up in my research. It is well respected among adventure travelers and its plan included adventure sports insurance for trekking and high altitude mountaineering up to 7,000 meters (just under 20,000 feet), which is more than enough for Mount Everest Base Camp.
The plan also offered $100,000 in health insurance and up to $500,000 in emergency evacuation coverage, including helicopter rescue. But at nearly $300, the quote I received from World Nomads was higher than the other plans I found at Squaremouth, and it didn’t seem to offer much more coverage, either.
In the end, I chose IMG’s iTravelInsured Travel LX Basic plan. It was priced comparable to Berkshire Hathaway and Tin Leg Adventure and covered trip cancellation, trip interruption, and up to $1,000,000 in emergency evacuation. The difference was that IMG offered basic medical coverage up to $500,000, which made me feel good.
