Mountain Rescue Insurance

In nearly thirty years of guiding we have only had three evacuations from the field for minor injuries or illness.

Read on to decide whether you need mountain rescue insurance. Or purchase rescue insurance here. 

CONSIDER OBTAINING THREE TYPES OF INSURANCE

CANCELLATION AND TRIP INTERRUPTION INSURANCE

  • This type of insurance protects you in case the trip is cancelled beforehand or interrupted during the trip. Most of these policies DO NOT cover mountain rescue costs.

  • If we cancel a trip for anything other than weather, conditions, a natural event, or actions of other persons and/or companies supplying goods and/or services we will refund your payments in full.

  • If you cancel one of our trips all payments are non-refundable. Please see the Terms of Service for more information.

Please see the Cancellation and Medical Insurance page for cancellation insurance options.

MEDICAL INSURANCE

  • Out of country visitors require medical insurance for injuries or illness as health care is not free in Canada.

  • Canadians may need additional medical coverage if traveling outside their home province. This is especially true for Quebec residents. Research this before your trip.

  • Most of these policies DO NOT cover mountain rescue costs.

Protect yourself against unexpected illnesses or injuries while you’re away from home with emergency medical insurance. Please see the Cancellation and Medical Insurance page for medical insurance options.

MOUNTAIN RESCUE INSURANCE

Mountain rescue insurance may or not be required, depending on where your trip is being held:

  • Mountain rescue insurance is not required for trips based in National Parks (EG Banff, Yoho, Kootenay, Jasper, or Glacier).

  • Mountain rescue insurance is not required for trips on Alberta provincial lands (EG Kananaskis).

  • You may consider mountain rescue insurance for trips on BC provincial lands (EG backcountry ski lodges, Bugaboos, etc).

  • Mountain rescue is recommended for all foreign trips (EG Japan, Europe).

Please see below for more information to help you decide whether you should buy mountain rescue insurance. If you decide to purchase this insurance there are several options listed here.

COMPREHENSIVE OPTIONS

Please see below for an option for comprehensive cancellation/medical/mountain rescue insurance from Global Rescue and Tugo.

Do you need mountain rescue insurance?

CANADIAN NATIONAL PARKS

Mountain rescue in Canadian National Parks is free if you have paid the park admission fee. A professional rescue crew is constantly on stand-by. You may buy the park admission at the gate when you enter the park or at any park information centre. It is your responsibility to obtain this pass.

No mountain rescue insurance is required for trips in these national parks:

  • Banff

  • Yoho

  • Kootenay

  • Jasper

  • Glacier (Rogers Pass)

ALBERTA PROVINCIAL LANDS

Mountain Rescue on Alberta provincial lands is free and performed by professional rescue crews who are constantly on stand-by. No rescue insurance is required for trips in these areas:

  • Canmore

  • Kananaskis

  • David Thompson Highway

BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCIAL LANDS

Mountain rescue on British Columbia provincial lands, including provincial parks, may or may not be free.

Rescue may be initiated in the following ways:

  • The guide calls outside resources directly for help. These resources may be a helicopter company or an adjacent guiding operation. This type of call-out is often the fastest way to get help in an emergency situation, such as an avalanche accident. If this occurs the group is responsible for all costs. These costs would be many thousands of dollars.

  • The guide calls for help from the local volunteer search and rescue team. This type of call-out takes longer to get a response, but may be used for non-life threatening evacuations such as an injured knee. As a general rule this type of call-out (helicopter expenses etc.) is paid for by the provincial government but that may not always be the case. Whether a party is charged for the cost of a rescue is decided on a case by case basis by the provincial government (Emergency Management British Columbia). Unfortunately it has not been made clear to me what parameters they consider when making this decision. Costs may run into many thousands of dollars.

  • Evacuations from a lodge or camp for issues that do not require immediate emergency medical attention, such as a minor injury or illness, may not be paid for by the government even if a search and rescue team is involved. Costs may run into many thousands of dollars.

You need to decide for yourself whether to buy rescue insurance for the small chance that we require a call out for outside resources and that you will be charged if those services are required. It may be appropriate to purchase mountain rescue insurance for trips to these areas:

  • All Backcountry Lodge ski trips (Sorcerer, Sol, Icefall Traverse, etc)

  • Golden-based ski touring trips

  • Assiniboine

  • Bugaboos

  • Summer mountaineering camps

  • Whistler area

Japan

It is highly recommended to purchase mountain rescue insurance for trips to Japan. The Global Rescue, InReach, and SPOT options shown below will help with the logistical difficulties that come with navigating the language and logistics in a foreign country.

Europe

The alpine countries will all have other options for insurance. Consider joining the alpine club of the country our trip is in as most of them will have insurance coverage for their members. Do some research and if you still have questions let me know.

PURCHASE MOUNTAIN RESCUE INSURANCE

Here are some options for coverage. Research these carefully to make sure they are appropriate for your situation:

  • If you own a satellite messenger there is an option to purchase insurance through your device. Investigate coverage carefully. Here is information for SPOT and InReach devices. The rescue needs to be initiated from your device for the insurance to be in effect. This option may be the least expensive, I use the InReach insurance which costs about $60/year. They will organize your rescue with local resources. They are able to organize a rescue even if there are language barriers (EG in Japan). Travel medical insurance options are not available in conjunction with these so you need to investigate medical insurance separately: Medical Insurance.

  • American Alpine Club Global Rescue package. For the cost of a membership in the AAC (US$80) you get US$7,500 mountain rescue insurance. This would probably cover most (perhaps not all) of the cost for many incidents. They will organize your rescue with local resources. They are able to organize a rescue even if there are language barriers (EG in Japan). Travel health insurance options are not available in conjunction with this so you need to investigate health insurance separately: Medical Insurance.

  • Global Rescue. US$500,000 coverage. This probably the most expensive option. You need to be more than 100 miles from your home for this to kick in so it is not appropriate for clients on Canadian trips who live in proximity to Alberta or British Columbia. They will organize your rescue with local resources. They are able to organize a rescue even if there are language barriers (EG in Japan). If purchasing Global Rescue insurance you can buy the IMG TRAVEL INSURANCE option at the same time in the “ADDITIONS” section (not the “Total Care” option), this covers medical bills after the rescue and includes translation services.

  • Tugo. This may be less expensive and may be appropriate for trips in Canada where your guides are familiar with call out procedures and language is not an issue. You will need the optional adventure sport coverage. Travel medical insurance options are also available. Maximum $6000 coverage, which may not cover the entire cost of a complex rescue.

  • For trips to alpine countries in Europe, becoming a member of the local alpine club may be your best option. Please contact me for info if you are booked on a trip to the Alps.

PURCHASE comprehensive MOUNTAIN RESCUE/medical/cancellation INSURANCE

Two options exist for comprehensive insurance coverage.

For trips in Canada

Tugo. This may be appropriate for trips in Canada where your guides are familiar with call out procedures and language is not an issue. You will need the optional adventure sport coverage. Maximum $6000 coverage for mountain rescue, which may not cover the entire cost of a complex rescue.

For foreign trips

Global Rescue offers comprehensive insurance with US$500,000 coverage. You need to be more than 100 miles from your home for this to kick in so it is not appropriate for clients on Canadian trips who live in proximity to Alberta or British Columbia. For comprehensive coverage buy the IMG TRAVEL INSURANCE option in the “ADDITIONS” section (not the “Total Care” option), this covers medical bills after the rescue and includes translation services.

 

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