UKC

For context, a lot of companies (not BMC) seem have the following activity levels hierarchy:

trad/sport/multi pitch/aid climbing + bouldering in one category

sea cliff / ice in a higher category

and soloing and "big wall climbing" uninsurable. 

There is no wording to be found defining the difference between multi pitch trad /aid climbing vs big wall climbing. 

Has anyone had this discussion after the fact with an insurer? 

Is a 14 pitch route in Red Rocks / Zion / Black Canyon multi pitch trad climbing or big walling? What if you sleep overnight on the wall? What about 5/20/30 pitches? 2/3/4/5 nights on the wall? 

For an up to date post on costs of (£10 million) medical insurance inc. USA cover and helicopter SAR for a single 90 day trip:

BMC: £1030

Sportscoverdirect: £1060

truetraveller: £230

old post:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/climbing_insurance_usa_-_altern...

Thats useful stuff. Just in the middle of a claim with Sportscover Direct, and less than impressed so far.

They use a claim management company and the sole director is also has company called Fight Club Uk, and I suspect thats the way its going to go.  

Never heard of Truetraveller before, be interesting to get feedback on them

It comes back at just over £600 for an annual (90 day max) BMC rock policy (Inc bigwalling) for me so there must be some weighting for age/medical.

The monthly average for normal healthcare in the USA is $500, so whilst outrageous by European standards our holiday cover isn't too bad.

I get a quote of £582 for annual cover with a 90 day single trip limit including big wall climbing from Snowcard.

It would be cheaper if I wa younger than 55 but it seems pretty fair for 90 days of cover in the US and I couldn't fault them when I had to make a claim some years ago.

Just had a look at terms and conditions of the AAC insurance. Interestingly, they explicitely mention that you are insured as a soloists, and of course, they don't mention big walls ... you might be caught out at our alpine walls. So I'm quite sure, the Zion example would be covered.

The problem with AAC which I already have is the medical cover is only 10k or so which won't get you much in the US. 

I'm not sure you know what medical insurance costs in Europe.

Compared to European travel insurance cover.

As per other posts, that seems expensive compared to annual policies from BMC or Snowcard when I’ve checked (a few months back), including Alpine and big walling I believe.

How is 'Big Wall' defined in the policy?

It's not a term that a layman would understand so it needs a clear definition to have any legal weight in terms of insurance exclusion endorsement 

Not answering your question, but last year I used World Nomad for a trip including big walling. Didn't have to call on them but all the policy wording suggested it would be fine and it was the cheapest option by a decent way.