Is insurance really necessary for trekking in the High Altas mountains?

First of all everyone coming to the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains should realise that there are no formal mountain rescue services in the country. We've written about this before in earlier blogs. Any person that suffers an injury in the mountains that requires a rescue and evacuation to a hospital, will have a long ordeal getting mule transport (if the injury allows that) or a stretcher carry (if one is nearby!) down to where a 4x4 vehicle can pick them up and transport them to a hospital. Unfortunately even though the numbers of trekkers and climbers are increasing - particularly in the Imlil / Toubkal & Ait Bougmez / Mgoun regions, the Moroccan authorities have not seen fit to grant commercial rescue licenses, as that would require granting air / helicopter permits which they are often loath to grant ("security concerns").

So! Given all of that, is insurance really necessary? Well even though there are no formal rescue services, there will be costs associated with your evacuation (even if it's just paying the diesel costs of the 4x4)! On top of that, the hospital / private clinic will be reluctant to let you leave without being paid! Lastly if real tragedy strikes and you need an air ambulance back home to a European / US hospital, your credit card providers may balk at this "purchase"!

So the short answer is "yes" - never leave for the mountains (here, the Alps or any of the Greater Ranges) without first having arranged medical / rescue / repatriation insurance cover.

Buying such cover has now been made easier as TMG & NM have arranged a link with VentureGuard for clients and non-clients to purchase this on-line. The cover is excellent, the premiums are competitive and mountaineering is not excluded like it is with a lot of travel insurance providers! Depending on the level of cover you are looking for (e.g. whether you require baggage insurance or not) premiums start at GBP 64 for a 5 day trip. This gives you £5M medical; £15K search/rescue; cancellation, personal liability, legal expenses..... More details on the benefits here.