NMA Introduces Affordable Insurance for Mountain Guides
Kathmandu – The Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has announced a new insurance plan aimed at providing its resource members, including mountain guides, sirdars, and climbers, with affordable coverage. This initiative will reduce the financial burden on trekking agencies and comply with the insurance requirements set by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA).
Under the new plan, the NMA will offer accidental insurance of Rs 1,500,000, medical insurance of Rs 400,000, and helicopter rescue insurance worth USD 10,000. Previously, trekking agencies were paying up to Rs 20,000 for accidental insurance alone. However, the new plan, effective from March 1, 2025, will provide full coverage for just Rs 10,500, which includes an insurance fee of Rs 8,500 and a service charge of Rs 2,000 for three months.
This arrangement was made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NMA and Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance Company Limited, signed by NMA President Nima Nuru Sherpa and Sagarmatha Lumbini CEO Chunky Chhetry.
NMA President Sherpa stated that this initiative is designed to ease the financial burden on trekking agencies while ensuring guides have adequate coverage. However, the insurance plan is optional, and agencies are free to obtain coverage from other providers as long as it meets the mandatory requirements for medical, accidental, and helicopter rescue insurance.
The introduction of this plan also ends the previous system requiring commitment letters for medical and helicopter rescue insurance, streamlining the process for obtaining climbing permits for the 27 NMA-listed peaks.