Hunting Travel Insurance; so you think you're covered? are you sure?

Going on an international hunting trip?

Think that your travel insurance has got you covered?

Are you sure?

The answer to that question is normally “yeah, I get travel insurance with my credit card” or “My travel agent sorted it out for me”.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you purchased your travel insurance in New Zealand or Australia and you’re hunting internationally or involved in hunting an ANY way, the reality is that your likely NOT covered, at all. If nothing else, I strongly suggest you ask!

In New Zealand, (I’m not as familiar with the situation in Aussie, but we did look) if you read the fine print of what you’re covered for, or more specifically what you’re not covered for, “big game hunting” is a very common exclusion. So what does that mean? Turns out it’s a very broad stroke of exclusions.

Because of what we do for a living and the fact we send upwards of 40+ young Kiwis'/Aussies into the mountains to work in the hunting industry annually we pushed the issue to establish what was covered and what was considered “big game hunting” and where then line existed.

The answer was a blanket one: if you’re hunting, working as a guide, working as a wrangler, just an observer, or even working as a bloody cook in a hunting camp - you’re NOT covered by any travel insurance policy you can buy in NZ (to the best of our knowledge, I’d be very excited to be proved wrong in this case!).

Yes, this seemed to defy all logic, surely if you're not actually hunting, i.e. don’t hold a hunting license in Canada for example, then technically/legally you’re not actually hunting? right? No, the explicit answer was if you’re around hunters or hunting at any point, the underwriter in all the cases we have explored in NZ, the universal answer was they would not cover any claim if they could prove that you were involved in big game hunting, in any way whatsoever.

To be honest, at the time, I was blown away. Especially given at that point I had been guiding/filming in some pretty dodgy spots around the world, all the while thinking I was covered. I always went with the “don’t give them to much info, and she’ll be right” idea. Turns out if I had got hurt, even while running a video camera on a hunt, I would have been up shit creek, big time. I was paying a shitload for medical travel insurance, and if I’d actually been injured at any point along the way, there would have been a bill that could have very quickly run into the hundreds of thousands of US dollars, not to mention could have ended up stranded in a dirt floor clinic in some poxy backwater with a bone poking out of my leg. In hindsight, I was a very lucky young man.

After talking to several companies I was put directly in touch with the representative from a large underwriter operating in NZ, turns out there are only two or three underwriters in NZ/Aussie who back the majority of the travel insurance providers, there are lots of different “brands” out there but they’re all backed/underwritten by the same big insurance companies in the background. The conversation went something like this:

Underwriter: “No, if your involved, associated with, or around big game hunting in any way, you wouldn’t be covered”

Me: “So I could rub myself down with Salmon juice, go ride a horse naked at night, swinging a running chainsaw around my head, right through Grizzly prime country, and I would be covered for any injuries or medical issues that would very likely occur… as long as I’m NOT hunting, carrying a firearm, or with someone who is hunting, carrying a firearm, involved in hunting, or outfitting?”

Underwriter: “Yes sir, that’s correct”

Me: “…why?”

Underwriter: “Big game hunting is considered high risk and is an exclusion for ALL policies underwritten by our NZ and Australian providers”

Me: “…right”

Here’s the thing about a lot of travel insurance providers; if you don’t specifically ask, they won’t tell you. When it comes to travel agents, I think in most cases they just don’t know. They will all provide you with the small print sure, but people often don’t bother reading it or consider the implications. Normally it’s not until you try to make a claim, especially a big one, suddenly the small print is spelled out for you and they will maneuver out of covering your claim.

One poor bloke recently broke his neck skiing and ended up paralyzed. A tragedy in itself but when the insurance company refused to pay the $650,000 medical bill and the family had to sell the farm to pay the bill, it really adds another whole dimension of shit to an already devastating scenario. He thought he was covered for skiing, he paid for “good” coverage, but the crux of it was he was 20 meters outside the resort boundary at the time of the fall. His policy didn’t cover him for “backcountry” skiing, thus no payout.

As a result, for the past decade, we have been advising our UOE cadets to do what we do while hunting/guiding internationally. It was a real pain in the ass; it involved a USA based provider for the backbone very basic nonresident coverage, supplemented by two or three additional policies from various providers to make sure we had sufficient coverage in what can be a high-risk environment. It did work; but it was ugly, high maintenance, and at times quite expensive.

Recently we have had somewhat of a breakthrough, after close of 8 years of trying we finally have a “one-stop-shop” solution for medical insurance, travel insurance, and medical evacuation available to Kiwis and Aussies (and anyone else for that matter). Our partners at Global Rescue are now offering all of the above. Everything from basic medical to full-on evacuation for the time spent in remote/extreme environments.

Although this service was developed with our Ultimate OE crew in mind, Kuran and I are of the opinion that all our listeners at the Educated hunter should A) be aware that most insurance won’t work and B) there is now an affordable and effective option to take.

Full disclosure - If you do use this link we get a small commission on the transaction should you buy medical insurance or membership through Global Rescue. To be clear this is not an article designed to sell anyone insurance, we genuinely don’t want to see hunters hurt and then get hammered with an astronomical medical or evacuation bill because they “thought” they were covered. But if you are traveling and hunting and you’re going to buy insurance anyway, it’s a great way that you can support the podcast going forward!

Catch you on the clearing,

Matt and Kuran