Travel insurance for Nepal: the clause that actually matters

The four things to check

Maximum trekking altitude. Find the number in the policy wording, not the marketing page, and make sure it is above the highest point of your trek with room to spare. This is the clause that voids more claims in Nepal than anything else.

Helicopter evacuation and mountain rescue, explicitly named. 'Emergency medical repatriation' is not the same thing. In the Himalaya the flight off the hill is the expensive part.

Whether trekking with a guide is required for cover. Some policies exclude unguided trekking above a certain height entirely.

Cancellation and curtailment. Domestic flights in Nepal cancel routinely, passes close, and people come down early. A policy that only covers medical events will not help with a trek abandoned on day nine.

Why helicopters matter so much here

Above the road head there is no ambulance. If someone cannot walk down, the options are being carried — slow, difficult, sometimes not possible — or a helicopter.

A rescue flight in the Nepali Himalaya runs into thousands of US dollars, and operators generally want a guarantee of payment before they lift. That guarantee is your insurance. Without it, a family somewhere is being asked for a card number while somebody deteriorates at altitude. This is also why we ask for your policy details before a trek rather than after. When we are calling for a helicopter we would rather already have the number.

The thing insurers are now strict about

Nepal had a serious problem with fraudulent helicopter rescues — trekkers with mild complaints being flown out unnecessarily so that operators and clinics could bill insurers, sometimes several times for one flight. It was investigated and it made international news.

The consequence for honest travellers is that insurers scrutinise Nepali helicopter claims closely, and some require pre-authorisation except in immediate life threat.

What protects you is a documented reason for the evacuation. Our guides record symptoms, oximeter readings and the times of decisions, and that record is what an insurer wants to see. It is not bureaucracy for its own sake.

Declaring things

Pre-existing conditions, current medication, pregnancy and recent surgery all need declaring. An undeclared condition is the second most common reason a claim fails after the altitude cap.

Adventure activities are usually a separate schedule. Paragliding, bungee, zipline, rafting and mountain biking are frequently excluded from standard cover and need an add-on. If you are planning a Pokhara adrenaline day, check that specifically. Age bands matter. Some policies reduce altitude limits or exclude trekking entirely above a certain age, which is worth knowing before rather than at the claim stage.

What we need from you

Insurer name, policy number, and the 24-hour emergency assistance phone number. We keep them with the trip file and the guide carries them.

Any medical condition or medication that could matter at altitude. This is confidential and it changes how we plan, not whether we take you.

An emergency contact with a phone that will be answered in a different time zone at three in the morning.

Walk it with us

Private departures on your dates, guided by the people who wrote this page.

Questions we get asked

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