As the founder and editor of BLISTER, Jonathan Ellsworth has long been a trusted voice in the outdoor gear review world. Since 2011, BLISTER has analyzed gear, trends, and innovations across the industry. It seems fitting, then, that Ellsworth would eventually come up with an innovation of his own: an injury insurance for outdoor recreationists.
Ellsworth, like many of us, knows the frustrations of injury all too well. He and I spent the first 20 minutes of our call swapping stories about the injuries we’ve sustained over the years; all of his various mountain biking mishaps and backcountry ‘tomahawks’ led to eye-watering hospital bills or worsened injuries due to delayed treatment for fear of more medical costs.
“I had a huge mistrust of insurance,” he admitted. “Millions of people around the world participate in high-risk activities while being uninsured or, like me, underinsured. I just thought there had to be a better way.”
Launched early last year, BLISTER+ | Outdoor Injury Insurance is a custom insurance policy for outdoor recreation. With coverage that extends across a wide range of activities, Ellsworth says what distinguishes BLISTER+ from others like it is its lack of exceptions.
“We were able to cut out all the little loopholes and exceptions that end up rendering insurance worthless,” he says. “If you get hurt doing any of the activities listed, you are covered - Anywhere in the world. No age restrictions. Simple as that.”
Earlier this month, industry giant Atomic became the first brand to endorse Ellsworth’s program by committing to provide its international freeski athletes with BLISTER+ insurance—an industry-first for a brand to offer this level of coverage.
“In having all these different athletes on the pod [BLISTER Podcast], I started to learn that the vast majority of sponsored athletes are independent contractors, so they’re not getting health insurance,” Ellsworth explains.
Ellsworth confirms that Atomic is just the first of several brands now insuring their athletes with BLISTER+, and he is confident the program has the potential to set new standards for quality athlete care across the industry.
“The dominoes are falling,” he says. “Our number one goal is to change the culture of outdoor sports, where millions of people are doing these high-risk things without coverage. Part of that mission is creating new standards for what it means to be a sponsored athlete in the outdoor sports world.”
But BLISTER+ wasn’t developed solely for sponsored athletes or high-risk professionals. That’s the next focus for Ellsworth and his team.
“We really want to educate people that this isn’t just for extreme sports,” he says. “There’s coverage if you’re a newbie on a groomer or if you commute to work on your bike—those are the majority of the stories we hear. That’s ultimately the core of our mission.”
Much like the evolution of ski helmets, Ellsworth believes BLISTER+ has the potential to set a new safety standard in outdoor culture.
“We’ve seen it before. In the 1980s, no one was wearing helmets," he says. "Today, I’d argue 99% of skiers do. The same goes for carrying avi-gear in the backcountry. People recreate more responsibly now. BLISTER+ is another tool for responsible recreation. And I’m not trying to push this on anyone who doesn’t need it, but if you really look, the vast majority do.”
We interviewed Jonathan Ellsworth because we believe the BLISTER+ insurance program offers something valuable to the outdoor community. To be clear, we don’t have any financial ties to BLISTER+, and weren’t compensated for this interview. Our aim is to share resources that we feel could benefit our readers and enhance their outdoor experiences, as is always our mission.
Visit Blisterreview.com for more information.
