Insurance on anvil for adventure tourism

The Centre has proposed mandatory insurance coverage for adventure tourists, tourism operators and hotels to safeguard them against any losses, including injury and death in a terror attacks like 26/11.

“In India, where no specific adventure insurance policy exists, the past is witness to many situations where such specialised insurance would have been useful and immensely helpful,” draft guidelines of the tourism ministry for adventure tourism in India has noted.

With the exponential increase in adventure tourism in the country, especially among domestic tourists, there is “an urgent” need for specific insurance products, to cover all parties in the adventure sports ecosystem, it stipulates.

An adventure tour operator should have one of the three insurance policies — a third-party liability insurance, a comprehensive general liability insurance or a tour-operator liability insurance.

“Adventure (tourism) operators must also consider having personal accident and group medical covers for their staff, as well as a directors and officers liability insurance,” the guidelines stipulate.

Their accidental insurance should provide coverage for death and disabilities, accidental hospitalisation, basic medical evacuation and repatriation covers.

The guidelines lay special emphasis on the need to have “360 degrees” insurance coverage for the tourists.

“A basic adventure policy (for tourists/clients) must have accidental protection or coverage for death and disabilities, accidental hospitalisation and basic medical evacuation. It should cover them on air, land and water, while on the mountains and ice,” the guidelines stipulate.