subject: A Simple Guide to Buying Extreme Sport Insurance [print this page] A Simple Guide to Buying Extreme Sport Insurance
Taking part in dangerous or extreme sports activities can pose risks which you wouldn't normally encounter in everyday life, or at least not to the same degree. Putting yourself in harm's way may mean you risk both injury and lost earnings, which can be particularly important if you have financial dependents. This may be important for people who normally would not consider it worthwhile to take out private medical insurance.
A Single Eevent or Annual Plan?
Annual sports cover may be more suitable and offer better value if you expect to compete in extreme sports regularly throughout any 12 month period. However, there are policies available which can be taken up by the day. Of course, an event organiser may also have some form of coverage, but you will need to check carefully to see what cover you receive from this: in some cases, these policies may be more about protecting the company providing the activity rather than the customers.
Sports Travel Cover
As we continue to demand more exciting options than just sunbathing by the pool, it's important to check travel policies carefully. This is because many specifically exclude dangerous sports. That's partly because of the inherent risk and partly because the safety standards may be lower in other countries, particularly for activities marketed to tourists.
It's important to note that the small print of some policies can exclude even seemingly minor-risk activities such as using a moped. You'll also usually find that any activity carried out while "under the influence" of alcohol or illegal drugs may automatically void your cover. An insurer may try to impose this exception even if you believe you haven't had enough to affect your judgment.
Don't Forget The Life Cover Element
Some dangerous sports are either specifically excluded from life insurance policies or subject to higher premiums. This means that if you die while engaged in the sport and are either not covered or have not declared the activity and paid the higher premium, your beneficiaries will not receive a payout.
The sports and activities most likely to be excluded or excepted in this way including climbing, diving, motorsports, flying and parachuting. In some cases they will be allowable but subject to restrictions. For example, a policy may allow you to pilot a plane but only for a certain number of hours each year and without any aerobatic stunts. Policies may also require you to have accreditation for the relevant bodies for a particular sport to show that you carry them out safely.
Do You Still Need Cover for Less Risky Sports?
from an insurance point of view, it's arguable that safer sports can pose more of a financial risk. People climbing mountains or diving the oceans are a lot more conscious of the risks and thus more likely to consider the consequences. But playing sports, at whatever level of competition, does increase the likelihood of suffering an injury. While the medical costs won't necessarily be a problem thanks to the National Health Service, the injury could affect your ability to work and pay the bills.
Another risk which could be covered by a specific sports insurance policy is if you cause injury to another player. This could lead to legal action which may be expensive to defend and lead to you having to pay compensation.
There are even specialist insurance policies for match officials which not only cover the risks of injury from the officiating itself, but also the danger of being assaulted by angry players!
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