Outdoor Insurance In Japan

Last year, when we went on an overnight hike to Karamatsu, there was a female hiker who fell down and hit her head on her descend. It was near the hut so the staffs at the Karamatsu-dake Chojo-sanso are the ones who called emergency services to request for helicopter transport.

Do you know how much it cost for search and rescue or helicopter transport for emergencies in Japan? The average cost of helicopter rescue in Japan is ¥398,000 and it can go higher if they can’t find you immediately.

If the person is not found, in addition to the search costs, the family will have to bear the huge financial burden of hundreds of millions to tens of millions of yen for up to seven years, including dismissal from work and mortgage payments.

That is a lot if you have to pay out of pocket and Japan National health insurance does not cover helicopter rescue. This is why I advocate for getting a mountain or outdoor insurance. For me, this is also a way to practice safe alpinism.

A lot of people go hiking/trekking without insurance and you might think that accidents won’t happen, but the reality is that they do. You want to be prepared incase it happens to you.

I think it’s a good idea to enroll in an outdoor insurance on top of your life insurance because some insurance has limit on their outdoor activity coverage, especially if you do a lot of outdoor activities. Most insurance also don’t cover search and rescue/ helicopter rescue.

**Please note that even if you are enrolled in any insurance, you still would have to pay for the hospital bill first and then claim it to your insurance company. It is just like any other insurance like hospitalization or car insurance. There’s also a difference if you are lost and found, or lost and not found so you have to research which insurance works better for you and your needs.

Basic Insurance Types

1. Insurance Type / 保険型 (Hoken-gata)
   – Pay the fixed premium to the insurance company.
   
   Example : Montbell’s Yamaken Insurance, YAMAP Outdoor Insurance, ABC Small Amount and Short Term Insurance, Magokoro Small Amount and Short Term Insurance, PAYPAY Chokotto Insurance, Rakuten Outdoor Insurance, etc.
   
   
2. Mutual Aid Association Type / 共済組合型 (Kyousai kumiai-gata)
   -Form a union and pay membership fees etc.
   
   Example: Yamakifu Mutual Aid Association, Hizan Kyozango Mutual Aid Association
   
   
3. Service Agreement type / 役務提供型 (Ekimu Teikyō-gata)
   -The compensation for insurance is not money but services such as distress rescue.
   
   Example: Current Cocoheli, JRO
   

Things to consider when choosing a plan:

• Activity Type
  It can be overwhelming which company insurance to go for, but things you should consider is which kind of activities do you usually do and making sure that those activities are included in the insurance policy that you choose.

• Insurance coverage amount.
  -Personal Compensation
  (My YAMAP insurance covers rescue expenses up to 3 million yen and I think that is enough incase I need helicopter transport, hospitalization or surgery)
  
  -I didn’t think about this before but you also want to consider Liability Insurance for damage to other people including if you injure someone else during a hike.
  
  
• Gear Insurance
  -Incase something gets lost or damaged.
  

My personal choice for insurance:

I currently use YAMAP insurance called 外あそびレジャー保険 / Soto Asobi Reja-, this insurance covers injuries sustained not only during outdoor activities, but also in everyday life. Even for injuries that do not require hospitalization or surgery, a flat rate is paid according to the area and symptoms, so you can receive insurance money promptly once you receive a doctor’s diagnosis.

You can enroll for short-term for as little as ¥580/7 days or long-term like me for ¥5840/a year. (Please do check their website for their latest pricing.) I chose the long term one because I know I’m gonna be doing a lot of outdoor activities even on winter time. They also cover snowboarding and most outdoor activities so I think the yearly coverage is a good deal.

You can easily sign up from their app (It’s in Japanese) or use your browser from phone or laptop and sign up on YAMAP website then translate the whole page to English, really easy and quick.

I love that I am able to sign up for my whole group from my account so every time we go on a major hike, I enroll some of them who doesn’t have it yet. This is why I also turn on my YAMAP activities recording every time, because it helps the search and rescue team look for you in case you go missing. It’s the same as the hike plan/ forms you fill-up and submit at the trailhead post boxes. With YAMAP app, you can do all that from the app, very convenient!

I read and watch a lot of Japanese blogs and vlogs about Hiking in Japan and I learn a lot from them so now I’m also exploring/researching other companies too when I finally have to renew my one year plan next year.

Insurance Companies I’m considering..

• COCOHELI
  -I am considering this one because KOUJITSU SANSO (my favorite outdoor shop) is recommending them in their shops. They will send you a GPS transmitter device and that makes it easier for rescuers to find you.
  **If I understood correctly, incase they have to do search and rescue, you don’t have to pre-pay and claim afterwards unless they have tp use a third-party private rescuer?
  -They also have an outdoor equipment coverage which comes in handy because outdoor gears are not cheap.
  -They also have Permanent Disability Benefit if you suffer a permanent disability within 180 days from the date of the accident.
  -I am also interested in their Cocoheli Safe Mountaineering School that is exclusive for COCOHELI members.
  
  
• YAMAKIFU
  – They have 3 types of coverage and the most expensive one for ¥10,000 looks like a complete coverage for everything including domestic and overseas. It also includes a clause for natural disasters. They have death due to injury coverage but the hospitalization coverage is only ¥2,000/day only so I’m not sure if that’s good enough.
  
  
• MONTBELL
  

For Tourists who wants to enroll in Outdoor Insurance..

Sometimes there are tourists who joins our group for hiking and I wonder if how many people traveling to Japan knows how to call for emergency services? If you don’t know yet, now is the time to know this helpful informations. Go to Japan Travel Hotline and save the numbers.

I read a mixed articles about TOKIO OMOTENASHI POLICY , it does not explicitly state that it covers helicopter rescue; while it may include search and rescue costs for certain situations, the specific details regarding helicopter evacuation are not clearly outlined on the policy details, so it is best to confirm with the insurance company directly before relying on it for such scenarios. 

I enrolled in World Nomads Travel insurance before and it’s another option.

Insurance companies revises their policies sometimes so read yours again and again before finalizing it so you know what kind of accidents are you covered for. If you have any comments and suggestions please leave a comment:)

EAT, SLEEP, HIKE, REPEAT =)
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