Kitesurfing travel insurance: what to check before you go

Kitesurfing travel insurance is worth sorting out for every trip, even a short break. Some policies cover kitesurfing as standard, some want an add-on, and some cover it only as long as it isn't the reason you're travelling.

I'd sort out insurance when planning a kitesurfing holiday, well before packing. Finding the sport on the covered list doesn't tell you whether the policy also pays for damage you cause to someone else.

Find kitesurfing in the policy by name

There is no single list of sports that every insurer uses. Each one sorts activities its own way, so "covers sports" on a sales page tells you very little.

In a searchable PDF, try searching for "kit". That catches kitesurfing, kiting, kiteboarding and "kite surfing"; it won't work on scanned pages without a text layer. If kiting is on the list of covered activities, that's the first box ticked. If it isn't, and the wording excludes something vague like "adventure sports", I wouldn't assume kiting slips through. Email the insurer and get the answer in writing.

Then check the things you'll actually do on the trip:

• Main purpose of the trip. InsureandGo lists kitesurfing among included activities but excludes it if it is the main purpose of your trip. Its Gold/Silver wording also excludes personal liability while kitesurfing. On a kite safari there's no doubt what the main purpose is, so look for that exclusion first.
• Land kiting. The same insurer puts kitesurfing on land in its adventure sports category, which needs extra cover. Others treat it differently: World Nomads lists kite boarding on land or water for all its US plans.
• Wing and foil. If you want to try a wing or a foil, look for them separately. World Nomads' US list names hydrofoiling, for example; if wing or foil isn't on your insurer's list, ask.
• Competitions. Leisure cover assumes you ride for fun. If you plan to race, ask the insurer first.

Medical cover and getting off an island

Egypt sits outside the GHIC scheme. The NHS lists where the UK GHIC works (the EEA, Switzerland for some nationalities, Montenegro, Australia and a few others) and says plainly that the card is not a replacement for travel insurance. EU residents with an EHIC are in the same position in Egypt.

GOV.UK advises having insurance that covers local treatment and unexpected medical evacuation, and warns that some hotel doctors have overcharged. The Czech foreign ministry adds that Egypt has no health insurance scheme for foreigners and recommends private hospitals, where a bed is expensive. Hurghada and El Gouna both have private hospitals that it rates as close to Czech standards.

On a kite safari you live on the boat for a week and move between islands depending on the wind. The crew has a rescue boat on the water and will help you if something goes wrong while you ride. Getting from a remote island to a hospital in Hurghada is a separate job, and that's what your policy needs to cover. Look for transport to the nearest medical facility, medical evacuation and repatriation in the wording.

In a medical emergency, get help immediately and don't delay urgent treatment to phone your insurer. In Egypt, dial 123 for an ambulance. Contact your assistance company as soon as possible, or ask your travelling companion to do it for you. For care that can wait, agree the next steps with the assistance team first: the mBank 1/2025 wording requires approval of treatment and procedures in advance. Save the assistance number in your phone and give it to the friend you're travelling with.

Third-party liability: when your kite hurts someone else

A kite in the air pulls hard and the lines are long. A messy launch on a busy beach or a rider you don't dodge in time can end with someone injured or their gear destroyed. That's what third-party liability cover is for. On a kite trip I'd take it as seriously as medical cover, even though the best protection for you and everyone around you is still riding sensibly and keeping your distance.

First check that liability while kitesurfing is covered; medical cover for the sport alone isn't enough. Then check the limit and the exclusions. The Czech mBank card policy (conditions 1/2025) excludes close persons and "fellow travellers", defined broadly as anyone you share the trip or the stay with. Your friend on the trip is clearly in that group, and the other guests on the boat could be too.

If you're a current RYA member permanently resident in the UK, you can activate free third-party liability cover for kitesurfing and wingsurfing, including while the gear is in use. Select the relevant policy in your MyRYA preferences, then check the confirmation and policy wording before travelling. It works abroad for up to 30 days per trip, with limit restrictions in the USA and an excess on every claim.

How to avoid the most common injuries on the water is in the guide to common kitesurfing injuries and how to avoid them.

Your gear and baggage cover

Don't read the baggage section of a travel policy as kite insurance. The mBank wording says outright that its baggage cover is "not all-risk" and pays only for damage while the airline has your bag, in left luggage, in a natural disaster or through theft. A kite torn on coral or a board that cracks mid-session doesn't fit any of those.

• Per-item limits. Check these against the value of your kit, but read the exclusions too. InsureandGo's Gold/Silver valuables upgrade offers up to £1,000 per item, yet excludes sports gear while in use and valuables in checked baggage. Sports equipment counts as valuables, so that higher limit won't cover your kite during a session or in an airline's hold.
• Rented gear. Some policies exclude items you don't own; the mBank one does. Full kite gear on the safari costs €300 for 6 days; if you rent, ask beforehand who pays if it gets damaged. Whether renting beats bringing your own is a separate question, covered in rent or bring your own kite gear?
• Delayed kite bag. Check how delay cover works: the mBank one pays a one-off sum after a 5-hour delay, and only on the way out. For packing and airline fees, see flying with kite gear.

Diving, drinks and cancellation

• Diving. You can dive on the safari for an extra €50 per dive. Depth limits vary a lot: World Nomads' US plans cover scuba to 165 feet (50 m), while the mBank card policy stops at 10 m and requires both an instructor and the necessary qualification. Before diving, check that you meet all the conditions in your policy.
• Drinks. Alcoholic drinks are included on the boat, and a beer at lunch before the afternoon session is exactly the combination an insurer would look at. The mBank wording, for example, won't pay medical costs for an injury under the influence of alcohol above the local driving limit.
• Cancellation. The mBank 1/2025 policy has a 20,000 CZK limit and a 15% excess, waived for hospitalisation and death; you need to buy cover within 30 days of paying for the trip. The safari costs €1,250 per person, so compare the limit with what you've actually paid, flights included.

Pre-departure checklist

Insurance for a kite safari

On the kite safari in Egypt travel insurance isn't included, and the organiser recommends individual cover that includes kiting as a risk sport. The programme has a morning and an afternoon session and video coaching in the evening, so you spend a lot of hours on the water in a week. I'd sort the policy out right after booking, if only because of cancellation deadlines.

Keep a photo of your passport and policy on your phone, next to the assistance number. The rest of the kit is in the kite safari packing list.