Sure, you’ve got your gear, your safety buddy, and your travel plans. You may even have an awesome satellite phone that can get GPS or call for help no matter where you wind up. But what happens if you need that phone? What happens if your parachute lands several miles off-course in a jungle ravine? Or your white-water raft veers off into a side-stream carrying you far down a river swell into unknown territory? What happens if you wind up being that one hardcore hiker who holes up in a mountainside cave until the search and rescue (SAR) chopper comes to find you?

Naturally, you want to have a plan for that, too. And chances are that your homeowners insurance or even your vacation travel insurance are not going to cover the cost of an emergency helicopter ride. That is what Rescue and Evacuation insurance is for.

In the past, it’s been assumed that the National Park Service (NPS) or the Coast Guard will foot the bill for search and rescue operations. However, the true extreme outdoor enthusiasts may not be in areas where the NPC or the coast guard may not be available. Nor the NASAR (volunteer rescue org). In some cases, you might not even be in America where search and rescue is a mostly-complimentary service.

In this case, the cost of rescue can be devastating should your extreme outdoor activities go awry. Rescue and Evacuation insurance goes above and beyond travel insurance which ensures your hotel and flight availability. Rescue and Evacuation insurance can cover whatever limit you need for your trip rescue costs no matter what you were up to, where you found yourself, or what the medical or life-threatening circumstances of rescue might be.

Much like travel insurance, coverage is specifically for scheduled operations, individuals, and activities in your travel plans when you purchase the policy. Coverage begins at the trailhead when your adventure begins. A covered rescue is one called for medical or safety purposes.

If your rescue bill isn’t footed by the US government, then the cost of a single wilderness rescue could completely wreck your savings. Did you know that it costs $1,600 per hour just to keep a helicopter in the air? Not to mention the cost of pilot time, the rescue team, and any inflated tourist fees for commercial rescue services.

Even inside the US, some states are beginning to pass laws allowing them to charge rescuees for the cost of rescuing them. Particularly if the person is deemed to need rescue due to their own reckless or negligent behaviors.  Because recklessness in relation to extreme outdoor recreation is in the eye of the beholder, this could quickly land US eco-tourists in hot water after an outdoor vacation gone wrong.

Then there’s the possibility that you will need to be rescued from a situation that you have zero control over, like extreme weather or a civil uprising in the country where you are vacationing. It’s not uncommon for US tourists to find themselves stranded, unable to reach the airport due to hurricane winds or a local occupation in the more politically tumultuous parts of the world. Because you don’t have to have a great government to have great mountains or jungles to explore.

In these cases, there are likely to be no tax-funded rescue teams jumping at the chance to get you out of trouble, and you’re going to need some funds to carefully extract yourself from a politically sticky or flash-flooding situation.

If you’re about to take on a big adventure, consider the possible risks. If there’s a chance you can be stranded on a mountainside, find yourself adrift at sea, or in a potentially war-torn part of the world, consider investing in rescue and evacuation insurance. Just knowing that there is rescue coverage waiting to help you out of a bind can help you make the right decisions, and to call for help when you really need it without worrying about the bottom line.