Life's a beach?

Travellers risking their lives on the Kokoda Track pay no more insurance than if they were lying on the beach in Fiji, but that could Change if death and injury rates on the gruelling trek continue to climb, industry insiders say...

At present, travel insurers charge premiums based only on the destination of travel, with exclusions for prescribed activities, however walking the Kokoda Track is not one of them.

On Sunday, Townsville father Paul Bradfield, 38,  became the third Australian to die on a Kokoda tour this year. Nine others were killed in a plane crash en route to the 96-kilometre trail on August 11. Mr Bradfield's body will be returned to Queensland today.

Yesterday, the Kokoda Track Authority flagged stricter controls on tour operators, after politicians and Australia's peak medical body called for mandatory health checks for trekkers.

Information provided to insurers to secure travel cover vary between providers, but most do not require specific health or even destination information.

Corporate affairs manager with AAMI, Yves Noldus, said customers travelling to Kokoda were under no obligation to declare it and would be charged the same premium as someone planning a beach holiday in Tahiti.

"Do you need to tell us you're going to do Kokoda? No. There are certain exclusions, but Kokoda is not one of them," Mr Noldus said.

"To us, it's like lying on a beach in Fiji, it's not treated any differently.

"The premium is based on the region. It's just not efficient for us to price every policy individually; it would cost us more to question people about exactly where they were going and what they were planning to do when they got there than we would make back in extra premiums. We're not that granular about it."

Specialist travel insurer iTrek Australia Operations Manager Douglas Hayes said certain activities listed in its policy were not covered by insurance, including motorcycling, hunting, parachuting, open water sailing and climbing with ropes - but walking the trail was fine.

However, he said smaller insurers would "definitely" consider charging higher premiums - or even withdrawing cover altogether - if people continued to die or get hurt walking Kokoda.

"You only have to look at the number of companies taking away insurance for people aged over 80 for example. Lots of companies won't offer it now because we'd been paying out too much," Mr Hayes told brisbanetimes.com.au

"[With Kokoda] insurance companies will look at their books and say 'no, it's costing us too much'.

"There are some things we're not prepared to take a gamble on and we don't want to encourage people to do something risky."

About 5,500 people walk the trail each year, however permit numbers are down about 22 per cent on 2008, according to Kokoda Track Authority figures.

Kokoda tour operators were reluctant to comment yesterday amid renewed focus on the safety of their industry in the wake of Mr Bradfield's death.

However, a spokeswoman for Sunshine Coast-based tour company Kokoda Spirit said trekkers were well warned about the dangers and difficulties of walking the track.

"The track is very difficult and you do need to be prepared both physically and mentally for it, no doubt about it," she said.

"We guide people through the process but it is up to the individual to take responsibility for themselves. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink."

Mr Bradfield had trained for months before taking part in the Kokoda walk with Australian cancer charity Camp Quality.

He had been part way through the trail when he died in his sleep from a suspected heart attack.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president-elect Dr Gino Pecoraro said mandatory health checks for trekkers would go a long way to minimising the risks to people taking on the arduous hike.

"There are some conditions that may not necessarily just come out in a simple consultation, but certainly that has to be the starting point," Dr Pecoraro said.

"It's believed part of the reason there are deaths is that people may be ill prepared, they may not be drinking enough water, they may not be acclimatised to exercising in extreme heat and humidity."

Brad Bailey, who runs medical evacuation service Medevac Pacific Services out of Port Moresby, has been involved in medical air rescue since 1989.

He said more trekkers were ending up injured, sick or dead.

"Health testing has to be more rigorous," he said.

"Doctors just can't go rubber-stamping people for the adventure. It's got to be serious; lives are at risk."

But AAMI's Mr Noldus said there would have to be a major spike in injuries or deaths on Kokoda for the insurance giant to consider raising premiums for travellers to Papua New Guinea.

"Unless we have strong statistical evidence proving it was a lot more dangerous to walk Kokoda we wouldn't look at repricing it."

Source: www.theage.com.au