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Insurance and rescues in packrafting

By Packrafting.cat

December 5^th, 2025

IMPORTANT: I believe it is important to have insurance, but be careful! I also believe it is very important to review your insurance conditions often so that, as far as possible, you are not caught out by the small print – if that is possible to ensure 100% even if you read all the conditions. This article is simply an explanation of the combination of insurance policies that I have, with the simple idea of sharing information. Obviously, I am not responsible for this information, nor am I an insurance expert. It is simply information that I am sharing, and everyone should use it as they see fit, applying their own criteria and personal risk assessment.

Emergencies, accidents, devices, and insurance

I will never forget that day in Montenegro. In a silly fall – while scouting a river we wanted to descend the next day – I broke my ankle, and suddenly found myself in the middle of an incredible landscape... but completely unable to continue. The truth is that I was "lucky": everything turned out fine, I didn't need to be rescued, and two Chechens and an automatic van (but that's another story) allowed me to get to the hospital under my own steam.

But what would have happened if my two guardian angels hadn't appeared? What if I hadn't had mobile coverage?

I usually carry a GPS tracking device with me on my packrafting trips, but I didn't have it with me that day: I was just out on an excursion to inspect the river. And as you know... surprises, especially unpleasant ones, never come when you expect them.

I am often asked: what insurance do you use when you go rowing on wild rivers, especially in foreign countries and in areas with poor coverage? What happens if you have an accident? What coverage do you have on your adventures? What GPS devices do you use so that you can be located? Do you have medical coverage if you are abroad?

These questions are not coincidental: it is normal to have doubts when you consider embarking on packrafting adventures in remote landscapes... or even not so remote ones. The first time I thought I needed a GPS device capable of alerting someone in case of an emergency was during the Montañas Vacias route. I did it alone and, on more than one occasion, I thought: "If I injure myself right now on my bike, who will pass by to help me?"

In this post, I want to tell you what coverage I use, what tools I carry to stay located and how I manage safety and health when travelling abroad. I will also discuss the GPS devices and tracking services I use, how I combine them with insurance and rescue plans to minimise risks, and other options used by friends and fellow packrafters.

My aim is not to scare you, but to show you how to enjoy the adventure with a little more peace of mind, knowing that there is a plan and means to act if something happens. That said, I want to make it clear that 100% safety does not exist: it is impossible to foresee all contingencies. But we can make decisions to minimise risks and be better prepared.

What should you bear in mind?

When travelling around the world, and especially if you engage in risky activities, it is essential to ask yourself three questions:

What cover do I have if I have an accident or fall ill while playing sport away from home?
How do I report an accident?
What happens if a rescue is activated after an accident? How is it organised and who bears the costs?

Answering these questions will enable you, as it does many of us, to make the right decision for your safety and peace of mind.

Medical insurance. Regardless of whether you engage in risky sports activities or simply travel, there is always the possibility of falling ill or having an accident on any journey. In Europe, the European Health Insurance Card offers coverage in several countries, but outside this area the situation changes. There are specific travel insurance policies, but in my case I was looking for one that covered general health problems and, at the same time, sports activities. After reviewing many options, the alternative that suited me best was my own insurance company (home, car and other insurance): the RACC. Below, I explain in detail why, in my case, this is the best option.
Communication devices for raising the alarm. The most important device to always carry is a mobile phone, with sufficient battery life for at least the time we plan to be on the road. At least one person in the group should carry one, although my recommendation is that several people should have one. I know of many cases where people do not carry their mobile phone for fear of it getting wet, and I consider this to be a serious safety mistake. For those who are impatient, I will now answer the question: What happens if there is no mobile coverage? First, try to contact 112 or the emergency telephone number anyway; sometimes it is possible to make contact even if coverage is limited. But yes, it is very likely that during a packrafting activity, the need to raise the alarm will arise in areas without coverage, such as canyons or remote areas. In such cases, it is essential to have a GPS tracking device with satellite communication that allows you to send alerts, and to ensure that the service is activated and paid for, as I do.
Rescue insurance. Depending on the type of medical insurance you have, you may have a limit included to cover rescue costs. But beware: federation licence insurance, such as that offered by the FEEC, only covers you while practising sport. So what happens if you fall ill or have an accident without being practising sport? This is an important point to bear in mind. In my case, the lack of FEEC coverage for the specific activity I do (packrafting/whitewater kayaking) and the absence of general health coverage were some of the reasons why I decided to take out RACC Sport insurance. But beware, all that glitters is not gold. Some insurance policies have limits on the costs covered for rescues, and this is where specific rescue insurance, such as Overwatch X Rescue, can be a useful addition to minimise the risk of having to personally cover the costs of a rescue.

IMPORTANT!: In Spain, although there are many rumours to the contrary, you are not usually charged for rescues, but that may change, especially if it is due to recklessness or simply because you are not in Spain when the accident occurs.

DISCLAIMER

1) No rescue insurance, however comprehensive, can guarantee that a service will always be available. There are many factors that can prevent this, for example: the country or area may not have the service, the satellite alert system may not have coverage in that location, or the rescue service may be overloaded and arrive late.

2) At present, I do not receive any financial compensation for mentioning the services I have contracted. If this situation were ever to change, the first place I would announce it would be here.

RACC medical insurance. RACC SPORT

For many years, before practising packrafting, I had insurance associated with the FEEC Federation, which covers various mountain activities, but it is not clear, in fact the activity "packrafting" does not appear directly, nor do similar activities such as rafting or whitewater kayaking.

And although some colleagues assure me that other federations such as the Caving Federation include kayaking, it does not specify that it is whitewater kayaking, so who knows?

RACC SPORT insurance terms and conditions

The €6,000 limit on rescue costs is a significant limitation. There is a RACC SPORT PLUS option that includes up to €30,000, but the annual fee was much more expensive. This is where I decided that it would be a good idea to supplement the purchase and payment of my Spot device services with Overwatch x rescue insurance.

And how much does it cost? Well, you will find these prices on the website:

The cost of the RACC Sport option starts at approximately €126.
The minimum cost of the RACC Sport Plus option is from €246.

The truth is that, as I had almost all my insurance policies with RACC, they made me an offer of €65 for RACC Sport (there was no offer for the Plus package).

NOTE: A very important extra with RACC: it includes your children and wife, who, although they don't usually come on adventure trips, do tend to come on many of the trips, and having medical insurance abroad for the whole family is very interesting. Another advantage of having different types of insurance with the same company—such as car insurance and medical insurance—is that you only have to call one place to manage your insurance. This was very useful for me in Croatia when I had to be repatriated along with my van 😉.

Communication devices for raising the alarm. SPOT GEN IV

https://www.findmespot.com/es-es

The device I use is the SPOT GEN IV, a one-way communication option from the SPOT brand.

SPOT GEN IV service plans

Please note that it is not enough to purchase the device; you must also activate and pay for a service plan. In the case of SPOT GEN IV, there are two plans:

Basic
Basic Flex

Visit the website https://www.findmespot.com/es-es/products-services/spot-gen4

Basically, the Flex plan is more expensive each month, about €3 more per month (€18), but IT HAS NO MINIMUM CONTRACT TERM beyond one month. This option allows you to reduce costs if, for example, you only make shipments and use the device in summer or for a few months of the year. However, the penalty is that you have to pay an annual activation fee of around €35.

It should also be noted that the activation fee is free with the basic plan, but this fee is only paid once.

As I explain in detail in the Appendix. Comparison of Spot service plans (chatgpt), the Basic plan only pays for itself in the first year after 6 months of use and thereafter after 8 months of use.

Overwatch x rescue

As I mentioned earlier, the Racc Sport insurance policy from RACC provided very limited coverage of "only" €6,000 limit, which I felt could be insufficient in certain rescue situations, such as evacuation in a remote or technical environment or in a country where these services are very expensive.

That's when I decided to take out an additional plan: Overwatch x Rescue (OxR). This service offered me something that the standard RACC policy did not cover:

The OxR plan is advertised as an "SOS Subscription Service" that covers medical evacuation, rescue and return transport to hospital anywhere in the world, without the user having to pay any upfront costs.

I have provided ChatGPT with the conditions for bread, and this is a summary of what is included and what is not included:

✅ What is included

24/7/365 emergency coordination service (multilingual response centre) for incidents, accidents, evacuations, rescue, etc.
Financial coverage for: rescue operations, medical evacuation from the incident site, medical escort and commercial repatriation flight, emergency relocation to a safe haven in the event of a crisis.
Coverage for adventure or high-risk sports (emphasising that there is no monetary limit per claim). On the website: "no altitude or activity restrictions".
Compatible with a wide range of satellite devices such as one-way/two-way indicators, satellite phones, etc. Up to 3 devices can be linked per subscription.
Global coverage, i.e. valid for trips abroad, travel periods of up to 365 consecutive days (according to the terms) in "Period of Foreign Travel".
Additional benefits: repatriation of mortal remains, visits from family or friends during hospitalisation abroad, return of dependent children, accompanying transport, etc.
It is not traditional insurance: OxR organises and pays for the covered services directly (it does not reimburse you afterwards).

⚠️ Main conditions and limits

The subscriber must use a compatible device (satellite or smartphone with satellite functionality) to activate the SOS or emergency signal.
The service is subject to technical availability: there may be failures due to coverage, weather conditions, "no signal" terrain, satellite or administrative failures. In such cases, the service cannot be guaranteed.
The subscription is annual and recurring. To be eligible for the service, you must meet the eligibility requirements (age, natural person, device, legality in jurisdiction, etc.).
Exclusions and non-coverage:
OxR is not insurance, so it does not reimburse expenses that you have paid without authorisation.
It does not cover incidents related to "minor injuries or illnesses that can be treated locally without affecting your return" (for example, evacuations are not guaranteed if they do not prevent you from continuing your trip or returning home).
For certain specific crises ("Kidnap for Ransom", "Blackmail/Extortion", "Wrongful Detention"), payment of the ransom is not guaranteed; advisory services, location services, etc. are offered, but reimbursement of the ransom payment is not.
Limitations of "Foreign Travel Period": the covered foreign travel must be for up to 365 consecutive days, and the event must occur within that period.
FocusPoint (the company) has the final discretion to assess urgency, evacuation, means of transport, etc.
You must ensure that your device, account, and data are correctly linked, up to date, and active; if there is incorrect data or your device is not working, coverage may not apply.
Although the plan states "no monetary limit per claim" on the website for certain types of coverage, the PDF makes it clear that all actions are "subject to limitations" and that FocusPoint will pay "reasonable and customary" expenses that it deems necessary.

Service cost:

The annual price of £79.99 (approximately £80 per year) for the standard service is listed on their website.
However, if you have a compatible SPOT device (i.e., a SPOT satellite communicator), there is a "Global Overwatch & Rescue Plan" version available at a promotional price for SPOT users: £49.99/year.

IMPORTANT: The fact that the insurance associated with the rescue is that of the Spot device partner, although I have not used it yet (and I hope I will not need it), I think it can be a great advantage, as it is a service specialised in rescue, the bureaucratic process will surely be much simpler.

COMPARISON WITH OTHER PLANS

Extracted directly from the Global Overwatch & Rescue Plan website:

As can be seen on Spot's internal website, I find it very interesting that I can add an Overwatch X Rescue plan for travel companions at a discounted price of €50 per person.

TODO. STARLINK

Pending!

Summary

Therefore, in my case, having a SPOT device with my equipment (and combining it with the basic federative insurance I had from RACC), I decided that the best strategy was:

Maintain coverage under the RACC Sport insurance policy as medical insurance and insurance that also covers my family. Cost: €65 per year.
Always carry your mobile phone with you, protected from water and with sufficient battery power.
Purchase a SPOT GEN4 one-way communications device (the cheapest option, around €150, compared to €350 for two-way communications devices such as the Spot X).
Sign up for a service plan to activate the alert system on the Spot device. In my case, I chose the Basix Flex option with an activation fee of around €30 (paid once when purchasing the device), an annual activation fee of €35, and a monthly fee of €18.
Hire Overwatch x Rescue (OxR) as a priority rescue supplement in remote or high-risk environments where RACC Sport coverage may be insufficient. With my SPOT device active, I get the OxR service at a reduced price (£49.99/year) compared to the standard cost (~£80/year), which gives me excellent value for money given the potential magnitude of rescue costs if something goes wrong.

FINAL COSTS

✅ Conclusion

First year: ≈ €310 (total including activation and amortisation).
Subsequent years: ≈ €250/year.
If you use SPOT only 3 months/year, the Flex plan is still more cost-effective than the annual plan, even with the first year's activation fee.

As you can see in the comparison tables, if you are not going to use the Spot device for more than 8 months a year, the Flex plan is your best option.