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If you're planning on doing an unusual activity, that isn't directly prohibited (e.g. "no off-piste skiing"), or indirectly prohibited (e.g. roof riding in India under "illegal activities"), should you check whether it's excluded anyway?

Can a travel insurance company say something like "We don't cover underwater ironing, but it's so obscure that we couldn't fit it into the product disclosure statement"?

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    My travel insurance has a list of activities it 'allows' everything else you need to call for. Ie 4x4 on sand dunes wasn't listed but it was for regular 4x4, turns out no extra cost. Shark diving in a cage wasn't listed when I called I was told it was 2 pounds a day. they sent out an addendum to my policy to cover me for both. In my experience insurance companies are great at not paying, best to make sure its covered, or don't get hurt ;)
    – Stuart
    Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 16:31
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    Underwater ironing...what is this I don't even...
    – Ankur Banerjee
    Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 22:09
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    @AnkurBanerjee: I wanted to use a hypothetical example, so that people wouldn't be answering about a specific activity (ski jumping in my case).
    – Golden Cuy
    Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 22:10
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    I was more surprised to find out something as insane as 'underwater ironing' exists. o.O
    – Ankur Banerjee
    Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 22:14
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    @AnkurBanerjee i just checked my email £2.72 per day, and grade 5+ white water wrafting was £3.06. Walking with lions not covered under any circumstance and Elephant trek free up to 1 day.
    – Stuart
    Commented Jan 30, 2012 at 23:45

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I used to get insurance when traveling but don't anymore. And if I remember correctly, insurance conditions stated what they cover not what they don't cover.

One of the most important notes (since I was a student then) was that even "the listed insurance covered situations are not approved for insurance if a person was intoxicated in any way or was actively involved in any illegal activity" (freely translated from Croatian).

I really doubt any insurance company has different policies that the one mentioned as an example. But if you know what exactly you are going to be doing during your travels, you can ask for additional insurance and will almost always get one no matter how obscure you think that activity might be but be prepared to pay a hefty sum depending on what you propose to them since they will sometimes create an additional coverage especially for you... Or they'll just tell you that they won't cover that in any way if it's too risky.

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    many travel agents now demand travel and cancellation insurance (I know mine does). If nothing else, it covers medical repatriation in case you need an air ambulance in some remote location, so the travel agent doesn't get to pay the bill if it turns out you can't pay for it yourself.
    – jwenting
    Commented Jan 31, 2012 at 6:34
  • I don't understand the part "so the travel agent doesn't get to pay the bill if it turns out you can't pay for it yourself". Could you please elaborate?
    – rlab
    Commented Jan 31, 2012 at 13:54
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    simple. If you need medevac someone needs to pay. The travel organiser/agent isn't going to let you rot on some mountainside if you don't have insurance, it's bad PR. So they'd have to pay for your medevac if your insurance doesn't, which is why they demand you get insurance with the correct coverage.
    – jwenting
    Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 7:00
  • Oh, I got it now...
    – rlab
    Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 14:38

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