I do not provide medical or rescue insurance for participants. I strongly recommend that all participants on any type of trip make sure they have adequate coverage. Short term coverage is usually quite affordable and well worth the small investment.

Please check your existing policies for limitations. Many policies exclude international travel, most do not cover travel problems such as airlines etc going bankrupt, and most will not cover actual rescue costs (although air ambulance service may be covered).

Travel Medical

I usually purchase the Patriot Travel Medical Insurance policy. They have an additional optional rider you can select to cover "hazardous sports". You can purchase a policy online within a few minutes, even at the last minute before you leave. Figure about $40 for a 15 day policy, with quite a bit of variation depending on your age and the deductible.

Rescue Insurance

American Alpine Club membership includes international rescue insurance. You can find other sources as well, but as a climber/skier the overall cost/benefit ratio of the AAC makes it a good deal.

Update on AAC insurance: They now contract with some service and this service coordinates the logistics and the response. It is not clear how well this works yet, although trying to contact some distance agency in the midst of an emergency seems awkward. It is probably still best to get a local initial response underway immediately, and maybe even give the authorities that oversee this the contact number for the rescue insurance. The AAC was touting one successful rescue where this coordinating organization was able to get advanced resources, such as medical specialists, into the picture quickly by phone consultations.

Many people seem to prefer the Austrian Alpine Club, which also offers rescue insurance to members. They supposedly have an english language site, probably targeted at the UK. Their coverage is global also, and is supposed to be very comprehensive.for a reasonable membership fee.