Most policies exclude kitesurfing unless you upgrade, and gear lost by an airline is the airline's problem, not the insurer's.
This is the dullest article on this site and possibly the most valuable one, because the failure mode is expensive and entirely avoidable.
Most standard travel insurance does not cover kitesurfing. Many policies do not cover surfing beyond the most casual interpretation either. People find this out after the accident.
The three ways a policy fails you
1. The sport is excluded outright
Kitesurfing appears on the "hazardous activities" list of most mainstream policies. It is either excluded entirely or requires an adventure sports upgrade — usually a modest extra premium, and usually a separate tick box you have to find.
Do not assume "watersports covered" includes it. Look for kitesurfing by name.
2. The sport is the purpose of the trip
This one catches experienced riders. Some insurers cover incidental participation — you were on holiday and had a go — but exclude cover when the activity is the main reason for travelling.
If you are flying to Dakhla for a kite camp, that is unambiguously the purpose of the trip. Check the wording, and if it is ambiguous, ask the insurer in writing.
3. It covers you but not your gear
Medical cover and equipment cover are different things. If you travel with your own kit, check the per-item limit — it is often far below what a kite quiver is worth — and whether you need to declare high-value items individually. Proof of purchase matters when you claim.
The airline problem
Worth knowing before you pack: if an airline loses or damages your gear, you claim from the airline, not from your travel insurer. Most policies explicitly exclude loss in the care of a carrier.
Board bags are also a common candidate for delayed baggage — they get bumped to a later flight more often than a suitcase does. Policies that cover delayed baggage will contribute to replacing essentials in the meantime, which on a kite trip is worth having.
Two practical habits: photograph your gear before you fly, and keep the receipts somewhere you can reach from abroad.
What to actually look for
- Kitesurfing (or surfing) named in the covered activities
- Cover valid when the sport is the purpose of the trip
- Medical repatriation — the number that matters, and the reason to have insurance at all
- Third-party liability, which matters in kitesurfing more than most sports since a kite can injure someone else
- Equipment cover with a realistic per-item limit if you travel with gear
- Delayed and lost baggage
Do you actually need it?
No licence or insurance is legally required to take lessons in Morocco. Our instruction is certified and our safety equipment is provided, and that covers you during your sessions.
But medical repatriation from Dakhla is not something you want to be arranging on a credit card, and it is the reason to be insured wherever you are going. It is a small cost against a large downside.
The five-minute version
Read the activity list. Find kitesurfing or surfing by name. Check the "purpose of trip" wording. Upgrade if you need to. Photograph your gear.
Then forget about it and go ride the lagoon.