November 28 , 2013

Expedition organizers will need to hike insurance coverage for mountain guides, high-altitude workers and porters, liaison officers and workers of mountain base camps effective from January 1, 2014.

A ministry-level meeting had revised the insurance coverage on May 29.

As per the revised policy, accident insurance coverage for liaison officers, who accompany mountaineering teams to the base camp of the concerned peaks, will have to be increased from existing Rs 600,000 to Rs 800,000. Similarly, accident insurance coverage for Sardar and mountain guides will have to be doubled to one million rupees. Insurance cover for high altitude workers will also have to be raised to Rs 1 million from existing Rs 400,000.

Likewise, personal accident insurance for workers in base camp areas will have to increase to Rs 800,000 from existing Rs 350,000. Similarly, personal insurance cover of Rs 500,000 has to be bought for workers in lower altitude.

Medical insurance for liaison officers and workers have to be raised to Rs 300,000 from existing Rs 50,000.

Insurance for emergency rescue, increasing airlifting of dead bodies, has also been increased to US $10,000 from existing $4,000.