Abseiling Insurance
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Emergency medical & repatriation
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Cover for abseiling equipment
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Trusted by 75,000+ customers
Exceptional-rated cover from thousands of active travellers.
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underwritten by a leading insurer.
What does abseiling insurance cover?
Our abseiling travel insurance supports individuals, families and groups travelling for a one-off experience, an adventure holiday abroad, a charity challenge, or multiple activity trips throughout the year. Whether you’re descending coastal cliffs, canyon walls, mountain faces or purpose-built towers, you can select the policy that suits your itinerary.
Comprehensive sports travel insurance including dedicated cover for abseiling activities. Protection includes emergency medical care and repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, specialist equipment, organised activity fees, search and rescue, and more — structured for rope-assisted descents and adventure travel.
Need one-off activity abseiling cover? This climbing activity add-on provides the necessary protection while you take part in supervised or recreational abseiling. It can even be added after your trip has begun.
Our policies provide three different types of cover: Sports travel insurance, Sports accident, and Activity Top-Up. Please ensure you select the most suitable cover for your activity, when you get a quote and always review your policy documents.
Sports equipment is excluded under our bolt‑on cover.
Only a summary of the policy’s coverage is presented on this page. Please refer to policy documents for full details of what is and what is not covered, when you get a quote.
Thousands rate how easy it is
We’ve refined our process to make buying sports insurance abroad simple but thorough, with cover designed around the activities you take part in, from training trips and competitions to active holidays overseas.
Our Claims Record
Average pay out for each insurance claim
£1,599.09*
How to make a claim
Choose your policy, find the forms you need
Download and complete forms
Submit your claims for review
A Recent Claim Example
“One of our policyholders became unwell while in South Africa to play Cricket. They sought medical treatment and were treated for suspected appendicitis, with symptoms of stomach cramps, high fever and nausea. Because they secured our Sports Travel Insurance, they were covered to seek medical treatment.”
Total Paid Out
£5,971.47
Claim Type
Medical Assistance
Policy Type
Sports Travel Insurance
Incident
Medical assistance
Policy Excess Applied
£90.00
Location
South Africa
Disclaimer
*Data relates to all SportsCover Direct Insurance claims from Jan to Dec 2025 inclusive. Claim example from 2025.
Medical cover explained
We provide cover that considers your medical circumstances. Complete a medical declaration to ensure you’re properly protected, as part of the quotation process.*
*Please note, just because you’ve declared a medical condition or injury doesn’t mean it is automatically covered. The insurer needs to assess it first and will inform you by email if any terms apply.
Medical conditions must be declared
All pre-existing conditions considered
Cover available up to age 74
We'll review your details
Most declarations don't mean exclusion
Any terms will be confirmed by email
Why choose us
SportsCover Direct is a specialist insurance provider focused entirely on sport. For over 30 years, we’ve helped athletes, teams and organisations get the protection they need, whether they’re travelling, competing, or training abroad or in the UK.
Covering 500+ sports
Fast online quotes
Established over 30 years
UK-based support team
FAQs
Yes, if you are ill or injured you can claim for unused activity fees.
If this is deemed part of the sport and you have taken reasonable precautions against risks, your cover is valid for the benefits listed.
Not specifically. If a knot failure occurs it could result in injury, which would be covered under medical expenses, if you required treatment abroad.
Yes, these would be covered with sports equipment if they were stolen or damaged.
Yes, these would be covered under sports equipment, if you want to make a claim.
Yes, our Abseiling Insurance can generally be taken out even if you have a medical condition. We can almost always offer cover at no extra cost, but occasionally our underwriters may apply special terms if you subsequently needed to make a claim relating to your condition.
Yes, this would be covered under medical expenses if you needed medical treatment.
No, not for this policy. However, if you are also climbing you will need to add these activities to your policy to ensure full coverage.
Yes, camera equipment is covered under personal effects covering theft, loss or damage.
Standard travel insurance policies do not always cover hazardous sports. Our Sports Travel Insurance is specifically designed to cover over 500 high risk activities such as bungee jumping, skateboarding, ski-acrobatics and many more.
An anchor point failure might lead to equipment damage and injuries, amongst other risks. This policy can cover you for sports equipment damage and medical expenses if you get injured.
There are no exclusions for abseiling in improvised harness emergencies, however it is up to you to take reasonable precautions when taking part in this activity to ensure your cover is valid.
There are no exclusions for abseiling in these scenarios, however it is up to you to take reasonable precautions when taking part in this activity to ensure your cover is valid.
Not specifically. If the ropes are deemed to be sports equipment, these will be covered under the sports equipment benefit.
Our policies will cover anyone up to the age of 74 at the time of purchase. An applicant aged 75 or over cannot be covered.
If a belay device malfunction occurs it could result in injury, which would be covered under medical expenses, if you required treatment abroad. Alternatively, you might be able to claim for damaged equipment, under sports equipment cover, depending on the level of cover you have purchased.
No, free hanging activities are not covered.
There are no exclusions for abseiling in these scenarios, however it is up to you to take reasonable precautions when taking part in this activity to ensure your cover is valid.
There are no exclusions to these scenarios, however it is up to you to take reasonable precautions when taking part in this activity to ensure your cover is valid. Be aware that abseiling through waterfalls could be done during canyoning. If you were canyoning you would need to list this as an activity on your policy for it to be valid.
If this is deemed part of the sport and you have taken reasonable precautions against risks, your cover is valid for the benefits listed.
Our Sports Travel Insurance policy provides up to £5,600 worth of equipment cover. This add-on not only protects your own equipment, but also any equipment you hire during your trip. It also covers your abseiling equipment in transit to and from your destination.
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Covering over 500 sports with quick online quotes and UK- based support, if you need it.
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