STRAIGHT UP, EXPEDITIONS TO PLACES LIKE TIBET & THE NORTH SIDE OF THE KARAKORUM DESERVE GOOD INSURANCE. THESE ARE RELATIVELY EXPENSIVE THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ADD UP THE GEAR, FLIGHTS & GENERAL COSTS, SO ARE WORTH COVERING.
WE LOOKED HARD FOR PROVIDERS THAT CAN COVER THE UNIQUE DEMANDS OF OUR TRIPS, WITH A LIST OF QUESTIONS WE NEEDED SATISFIED BEFORE WE COULD CONFIDENTLY RECOMMEND. NOT ALL PROVIDERS REALLY GET WHAT 8000m EXPEDITIONS ENTAIL, AND OF THOSE THAT DO ALMOST NONE REALLY GETS WHAT IT ENTAILS IN CHINA.
THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED TO KNOW;
HOW DOES IT WORK IN CHINA?
MOST INSURANCE COMPANIES THINK OF THE BIG COASTAL CITIES WHEN THEY THINK OF TRAVEL TO CHINA. THEY DON’T FACTOR IN THINGS LIKE GOVERNMENT ASSISTENCE WITH LONG RESCUES INTO THE MOUNTAINS, THE AMBIGUITY OF HELICOPTER RESCUE OR PAYING COSTS IN OBSCURE PLACES. WHEN RESEARCHING MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY WESTERN CHINA, AND AS ALWAYS, READ THE SMALL PRINT. DETAILS LIKE ‘SHORTEST DIRECT ROUTE HOME’ FOR REPATRIATION CAN HAVE VERY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES BETWEEN SHANGHAI AND URUMQI.
HOW DOES IT COVER RESCUE, MEDICAL & REPATRIATION?
ALL THESE THINGS ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT IN CHINA THAN IN NEPAL & PAKISTAN.
CHINA DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME PRIVATE COMPANIES OR GOVERNMENT AGREEMENTS TO PUT HELICOPTERS IN THE AIR FOR RESCUING CLIMBERS, SO POLICIES THAT COVER THAT OPTION NEED CLARIFYING. ON THE OTHER HAND MEDICAL FACILITIES IN CHINA ARE FAR BETTER THAN SOUTH OF THE KARAKORUM, REQUIRING FEWER STEPS BETWEEN RESCUE AND ADEQUATE CARE. REPATRIATION FROM EVEN THE WESTERN-MOST REACHES OF CHINA IS USUALLY MORE DIRECT THAN FROM KATHMANDU OR ISLAMABAD, WITH BOTH KASHGAR AND HOTAN HAVE DIRECT FLIGHTS TO INTERNATIONAL AIR HUBS.
HOW DOES IT DEFINE ‘CLIMBING’, ‘TREKKING’ & ‘MOUNTAINEERING’?
ALL THESE THINGS ARE DEFINED DIFFERENTLY WITH EACH PROVIDER AND COMPANIES UNFAMILIAR WITH 8000m CLIMBING CAN HAVE DEFINITIONS THAT SEEM COMICAL WHEN COMPARED. MAKE SURE TREKKING ISN’T DEFINED BY ALTITUDE. THAT CLIMBING INVOLVES ROPES & THAT MOUNTAINEERING INCLUDES ABOVE 4000m.
ARE SPECIAL RIDERS REQUIRED FOR WESTERN CHINA?
DESPITE WESTERN CHINA BEING SAFE FOR VISITORS, MEDIA COVERAGE AND POLITICS CAN CAST THE REGION AS VOLATILE. THIS MAY MEAN A PLAN REQUIRES ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS. WHEN RESEARCHING, MAKE SURE YOU SPECIFY XINJIANG PROVINCE TO AVOID ANY NASTY SURPRISES LATER.
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IN THE END THE ONLY COMPANY THAT COULD ANSWER ALL THESE QUERIES WAS GLOBAL RESCUE.
OF COURSE WE’D HEARD ABOUT THEM BEFORE, AND KNEW OF THINGS THEY’D DONE, AND THROUGH EXTENSIVE COMMUNICATION WE GOT THE DETAILS ON HOW THINGS CAN WORK FOR THE TRIPS WE RUN AND DECIDED TO PARTNER. THIS MEANS WE CAN OFFER GLOBAL RESCUE SERVICES & THE IMG SIGNATURE TRAVEL INSURANCE THAT CAN BE PAIRED WITH DIRECT TO OUR TEAM MEMBERS, HAVING ALREADY ASKED ALL THE QUESTIONS. WE KNOW, THAT SEEING GLOBAL RESCUE MEMBERSHIP ON A CLIMBERS DETAILS MEANS WE DON’T HAVE TO DO THE TO-AND-FRO OF QUESTIONS TO ASCERTAIN IF THEIR RESCUE AND INSURANCE COVER REALLY WILL COVER THE COSTS AND INTRICACIES OF HAVING TO USE IT.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON GLOBAL RESCUE MEMBERSHIP CONTACT US WITH YOUR QUESTIONS
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