- The FCDO states that some activities are not usually included in standard policies and may need specialist insurance or an add-on.
- A UK GHIC does not cover ski or mountain rescue, private treatment, or medical repatriation, and is not a replacement for travel insurance.
- British Mountaineering Council Trek cover lists hill walking, trekking and backpacking up to 5,000m, with 10 million pounds emergency medical cover and 100,000 pounds search, rescue and recovery insurance.
- Snowcard Insurance Services Limited (FCA firm reference 964643) lists 10 million pounds emergency medical including rescue and repatriation as standard, and states all policies include search and rescue.
- ABI members paid 472 million pounds across more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, with one member paying over 1 million pounds for a single USA hospitalisation and repatriation.
How trekking cover differs from a standard policy
A standard annual or single-trip travel policy is built around a beach holiday or a city break. It covers cancellation, lost baggage and emergency medical treatment for ordinary travel, but the activity schedule frequently caps walking at low altitude and excludes anything that involves remote terrain or technical equipment. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is direct about this: travellers should make sure their cover includes all activities they may undertake, and notes that for some activities you may need specialist insurance or an add-on.
Trekking sits in an awkward middle ground. A guided walk along a marked trail at 1,500m may fall inside a standard policy, while the same route continuing above a set altitude threshold can fall outside it. The dividing line is rarely the difficulty of the path. It is the altitude band written into the activity schedule, the remoteness of the location, and whether emergency help would arrive by road or by helicopter. A policy that looks adequate on paper can leave a claim unpaid if the trek crosses an altitude or geographic limit the buyer never checked.
What to look for
Three features separate trekking-ready cover from a general policy, and each is a figure you can confirm before buying.
Altitude limit. This is the single most important number. Specialist trekking products state the maximum height at which you remain covered. The British Mountaineering Council lists its Trek tier as covering hill walking, trekking and backpacking up to 5,000m, with higher tiers extending further: Alpine and Ski up to 6,500m and a separate High Altitude and Remote category. Snowcard lists trekking up to 6,000m and trekking peaks up to 7,000m across its cover levels. If a route reaches Everest Base Camp at around 5,360m, a 5,000m cap is not enough, so the altitude figure must be matched to the specific itinerary rather than the country.
Search and rescue. Mountain rescue and helicopter evacuation are expensive and are not provided free in most trekking destinations. The British Mountaineering Council lists 100,000 pounds of search, rescue and recovery insurance within its policy. Snowcard states that all policies include search and rescue and that it does not charge a higher fixed excess for heli-rescue. A general travel policy that mentions only emergency medical expenses may not extend to the cost of locating and recovering a missing or injured trekker.
Emergency medical and repatriation. The FCDO advises that cover should include treatment in state or private hospitals, emergency transport such as an ambulance, and repatriation costs. Specialist trekking policies tend to carry high medical limits: both the British Mountaineering Council and Snowcard list 10 million pounds of emergency medical cover, with Snowcard describing that figure as including rescue and repatriation. The scale matters because a serious incident abroad can be costly. ABI members paid 472 million pounds across more than 500,000 travel claims in 2024, and one member paid over 1 million pounds for a single hospitalisation and repatriation from the USA.
Cover limits and exclusions
Beyond the headline figures, the schedule defines exactly what counts as covered trekking. Buyers should read the activity list rather than the marketing summary. Common boundaries include whether the trek is independent or must use a professional guide, whether trekking peaks and roped sections are included, and whether the policy distinguishes hill walking from mountaineering. Snowcard, for example, notes that certain higher-altitude categories require professional guides or commercial operators.
The GHIC is a frequent source of confusion. A UK GHIC provides access to state healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until return to the UK, and it is free and lasts for up to five years. The NHS is explicit that it does not cover being flown back to the UK, treatment in a private medical facility, or ski or mountain rescue, and that it is not a replacement for travel insurance. For a trekker, the exclusions are precisely the scenarios most likely to arise at altitude, so the GHIC should be treated as a supplement and never as cover.
Pre-existing conditions are the other recurring exclusion. The FCDO warns that failing to declare existing conditions, pending treatment or tests may invalidate a policy. Altitude can aggravate cardiac and respiratory conditions, so an undeclared condition that contributes to an incident on a trek is a realistic route to a refused claim.
Providers offering trekking cover
Several UK providers offer cover designed specifically for trekking at altitude, with regulatory detail available on their own sites.
The British Mountaineering Council offers tiered policies (Travel, Trek, Rock, Alpine and Ski, and High Altitude and Remote) with the Trek tier listing cover up to 5,000m, 10 million pounds emergency medical cover and 100,000 pounds search, rescue and recovery insurance. The scheme is administered through Howden.
Snowcard offers cover levels spanning trekking up to 6,000m and trekking peaks up to 7,000m, listing 10 million pounds emergency medical including rescue and repatriation as standard with search and rescue on all policies. Snowcard Insurance Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm reference number 964643, with its scheme placed via Crispin Speers and Partners Ltd.
Staysure, a trading name of TICORP Limited (FCA firm reference 663617), markets mainstream and over-60s travel cover with adventure activity options and no upper age limit, which can suit lower-altitude walking holidays, though buyers should confirm the altitude and activity schedule against the specific trek.
Where a provider cannot be matched to a route, the safer approach is to compare the named features above rather than the brand. Any policy under consideration should state its altitude limit in metres, the search and rescue sum insured, and the emergency medical and repatriation limit in plain figures.
Common pitfalls
The most frequent error is assuming a country name describes the risk. Trekking in Nepal can mean a 1,500m foothill walk or a 5,500m pass, and the policy responds to the altitude reached, not the destination. The second is treating a GHIC as cover for the mountains, when it specifically excludes mountain rescue and repatriation. The third is buying on the emergency medical figure alone while overlooking the search and rescue limit, which is the part most likely to be triggered before any hospital is reached. The fourth is failing to declare a condition that altitude can worsen. Each of these is checkable before departure by reading the activity schedule and the exclusions, and matching the altitude band to the highest point of the planned route.
