If your trip involves anything more adventurous than sightseeing – a day on the slopes, a scooter hire in Bali, a scuba course, a tandem skydive – it’s worth reading the fine print before you go rather than finding out the hard way after something goes wrong. Standard comprehensive travel insurance is built around everyday travel risk. The moment you add something genuinely physical to the itinerary, most insurers treat it as a separate, priced add-on rather than something that’s simply bundled in.
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Standard comprehensive cover usually treats anything physical or risky as a priced add-on, so declare the activity and add the right pack before you go. If you hire a scooter or motorbike, you also need the correct Australian licence for the engine size.
Built for adventure
World Nomads
200+ adventure activities covered, and you can extend your policy mid-trip.
Best for deeper dives
Cover-More
Scuba to 30m with an instructor or dive school, or 50m with Adventure Activities+.
Adventure Pack option
Fast Cover
Its Adventure Pack extends scuba cover from 10m to 30m.
This matters even more if you’re planning to pack a few risky activities into one long trip, which is pretty common if you’re backpacking through several countries, or if you travel often enough that an annual multi-trip policy makes more sense than buying a new policy every time you fly out.
We went through the public policy information for all providers we cover – AllClear, Butter, CoverMore, Fast Cover, Freely, Tick, Travel Protect, WAS, World Nomads and Zoom – to see how each one actually handles the activities travellers ask about most.
Snow Sports (Skiing, Snowboarding & Snowmobiling)
Every insurer we checked treats snow sports as an optional add-on rather than something that comes standard. If you’re heading to the slopes and haven’t specifically added snow cover, there’s a good chance a snow-related claim would be declined outright, no matter how comprehensive the rest of your policy looks on paper.
CoverMore and Freely, which share the same underwriter, offer a Snow Sports add-on with a step up to “Snow Sports+” if you’re planning to go off-piste, into the backcountry, or heli-skiing with a licensed guide. Fast Cover works in a similar way – its base Snow Sports tier covers on-piste skiing and boarding, while its Plus tier is what you’ll need for off-piste, backcountry or cat and heli-skiing. AllClear’s Winter Sports add-on goes a step further and also covers gear loss, damage and piste closure compensation, not just accidents. Zoom is upfront that snow sport claims are excluded entirely without its dedicated Snow Pack. Butter, Tick, Travel Protect and WAS each sell a named snow sports add-on at an additional cost, and none of them fold it into their base comprehensive tier.
The takeaway here is simple: if you’re planning to ski or board off-piste specifically, don’t assume a basic snow add-on has you covered. Check whether that terrain is priced as a separate, higher tier before you go.
Read our: Best Travel Insurance for Japan from Australia, particularly for skiing advice.
Motorbikes, Scooters & Mopeds
This is the category where things go wrong most often, particularly in Bali and Southeast Asia, where hiring a scooter is completely normal and the rental shop almost never checks whether you actually hold the right licence to ride one.
CoverMore and Freely split their cover by engine capacity – one tier up to 250cc, another for unlimited capacity – and both require a helmet regardless of local law. Fast Cover asks for an Australian driver’s licence for bikes up to 125cc, and a proper Australian motorcycle licence above that, with the same rule applied to passengers as well as riders. AllClear takes a harder line: it excludes any claim above 125cc if a helmet wasn’t worn, no matter the circumstances. Zoom caps its cover at 125cc with no higher tier available. Butter, Tick, Travel Protect and WAS all offer motorbike cover as an add-on, though none of them publish the exact engine-capacity cut-offs on their public sites – that detail sits in the PDS.
The one thing to check before you ride: if you don’t hold an Australian motorcycle licence covering the bike’s engine capacity, most insurers will decline the claim. That’s even if the local hire shop happily let you ride without one. Scooter accidents come up again and again as one of the most common real-world claims, so it’s worth reading our guide to making a successful claim before you travel, not after something happens.
Read: Riding a motorbike in Vietnam
Scuba Diving
Depth is really the deciding factor most insurers price around, and the limits vary more than most divers expect. CoverMore and Freely cover you automatically to 30 metres with an instructor or dive school, extending to 50 metres if you add Adventure Activities+. Fast Cover’s automatic limit is a shallower 10 metres, with its Adventure Pack needed to reach 30 metres. AllClear draws a firm line at 30 metres and excludes anything beyond that as a “dangerous pursuit.” Butter, Tick, Travel Protect, WAS and Zoom all mention scuba cover in their general marketing, but none of them publish exact depth tiers publicly – that’s another one worth confirming against the PDS if you’re planning a deeper dive.
| Provider | Automatic Depth Limit | Add-On Extends To | Quote |
|---|---|---|---|
| CoverMore / Freely | 30m (with instructor/dive school) | 50m with Adventure Activities+ | Cover-More quote Freely quote |
| Fast Cover | 10m | Up to 30m with Adventure Pack | Get a quote |
| AllClear | Excludes dives beyond 30m | – | Get a quote |
| World Nomads | You can dive to the depth that your license allows up to a maximum depth of 40 metres | – | Get a quote |
| Butter, Tick, Travel Protect, WAS, Zoom | Not published – check PDS | Not published – check PDS | Butter quote Tick quote Travel Protect quote WAS quote Zoom quote |
Skydiving
Every provider that covers skydiving at all limits it to a tandem jump with a licensed operator AND none of the insurers we checked cover a solo jump. CoverMore covers tandem skydiving under its Adventure Activities+ tier, and Fast Cover covers tandem jumps with a licensed instructor. AllClear, Butter, Tick, Travel Protect and WAS all list skydiving among their general adventure activities, with the same tandem-only condition attached.
General Adventure Activities
World Nomads is built specifically around this kind of travel, covering 200+ activities across its Standard and Explorer plans, with Explorer covering the broader range. Some higher-risk activities need to be selected when you buy, so list everything you plan to do at the quote stage.
Beyond the activities above, most insurers publish a broader list covering things like abseiling, white-water rafting, rock climbing and high-altitude trekking. CoverMore and Freely automatically include around 80 common activities, then offer two paid upgrade tiers for the riskier stuff – treks like Everest Base Camp or the Kokoda Track specifically need the top tier. Fast Cover runs a similarly detailed structure activity by activity: river rafting graded I–III is automatically covered, for example, while grade IV–V needs the Adventure Pack. AllClear, Butter, Tick, Travel Protect, WAS and Zoom each offer some form of Adventure or Sports Pack, though their published activity lists are shorter and less detailed than CoverMore’s or Fast Cover’s.
If you’re managing a pre-existing medical condition, it’s worth making sure both boxes are ticked before you book anything strenuous. An adventure activity add-on doesn’t override a separate pre-existing condition exclusion, and it works the other way around too.
TCM Spotlight Built for adventure travellers
Cover for the activities other policies leave out
- 200+ Adventure activities covered, from trekking to diving
- Extend Extend your policy while you’re still away
- Motorbikes Riding treated as a covered activity, with licence and helmet rules
What About Cruising?
Cruising sits in its own category, separate from the activities above. Most insurers require a dedicated Cruise add-on for any night spent at sea outside Australian coastal waters, and there’s a surprising gap where even a round-Australia cruise isn’t automatically treated as domestic cover. We’ve covered that in full in our travel insurance for cruises guide.
Bringing It All Together
The pattern across all providers is pretty consistent: the more physical the activity, the more likely it is to sit outside your base policy, and the more it pays to check the fine print before you leave rather than after you’re already on the mountain, in the water, or on a scooter. Snow sports, motorbikes, deeper scuba dives and skydiving all follow the same logic: cover exists, but it’s priced and structured as something you actively choose, not something that’s quietly bundled in because you ticked “comprehensive.”
If your trip is built around adventure rather than just including a bit of it, World Nomads is worth a look first. Activity cover is its core product rather than an add-on.
If there’s one activity worth double-checking above all the others, it’s motorbike hire. It’s the single most common way a straightforward trip turns into a declined claim, largely because the licence requirement catches people off guard rather than the accident itself. Whatever you’re planning – a ski trip, a dive course, a scooter around Bali, or a tandem jump to tick off the bucket list , you must match the right add-on to the right provider. Buying cover is a five-minute job that can save you a five-figure headache later.
Current offers from these insurers
More Travel Insurance Guides
Every trip, traveller and risk changes what you need from a policy. These guides go deeper on each situation, and it’s worth comparing providers before you buy. Browse all travel insurance guides.
Other Useful Links
For current government travel advisories, check Smartraveller – Australia’s official travel advisory service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does travel insurance automatically cover adventure activities?
Not usually. Across all providers we compare, higher-risk activities like snow sports, motorbike riding, scuba diving past a shallow depth and skydiving all sit outside the base comprehensive policy and need a specific add-on.
Will travel insurance cover me on a scooter in Bali?
Only if you hold an Australian motorcycle licence that covers the scooter’s engine capacity, and in most cases only if you’re wearing a helmet. Riding on a car licence alone is one of the most common reasons scooter accident claims get declined in Bali and across Southeast Asia.
Does travel insurance cover solo skydiving?
No. Every insurer we checked that covers skydiving at all limits it to a tandem jump with a licensed operator.
How deep can I scuba dive under travel insurance?
It varies quite a bit by insurer – anywhere from 10 metres automatically up to 30 or 50 metres with an add-on. It’s worth checking the specific depth limit before booking a dive trip that goes beyond recreational depths.
Are adventure activity add-ons harder to get for older travellers?
Not usually because of the activity itself, but age can affect the base policy you’re adding it to. Our guide to travel insurance for seniors covers how age limits and loadings work before you stack an activity pack on top.
Do I need an add-on to be covered for skiing or snowboarding?
Yes. Every insurer we checked treats snow sports as an optional add-on, so a snow-related claim is likely to be declined if you haven’t added it. If you plan to go off-piste, into the backcountry or heli-skiing, you’ll usually need a higher tier, such as Cover-More’s Snow Sports+ or Fast Cover’s Plus tier.
Is trekking to Everest Base Camp or the Kokoda Track covered?
Usually only with an upgrade. Cover-More and Freely automatically include around 80 common activities, but treks like Everest Base Camp or the Kokoda Track need their top paid upgrade tier. Whichever insurer you choose, list every activity you plan to do at the quote stage.
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Michael has been publishing deals and travel content for Australians for more than 10 years and runs the deals section of The Champagne Mile. With a Bachelor of Commerce and a background in commercial law, he reads the fine print so you don’t have to, from insurance PDSs to promo code terms. Every deal on the site is checked before it goes live and updated when offers change. When he’s not testing codes, he’s planning his next overseas trip or out on his dirt bike.
Last Updated on 3 November 2026
