Extreme Sports Insurance: Categories
Extreme sports insurance policies have varying coverage options and premium prices, based on the inherent danger in the sporting activity. For this purpose, insurance companies have classified sports into four categories, where Level 1 refers to minimum risk and Level 4 means extreme risk. The sports included at different levels are:
Level 1: The most common activities in this list are aerobics, skating, volleyball, water polo, football, cricket, golf, baseball, basketball, tennis, badminton, archery and athletics.
Level 2: Some of the sports included in this list are adventure racing, airsoft, alpine skiing, canoeing, swimming, rugby, scuba diving, gymnastics and kayaking.
Level 3: This includes wrestling, motor sports, boxing, bungee jumping, climbing, horse riding, hunting, ice hockey, martial arts, karate, mountain biking, mountaineering, water rafting and ski acrobatics.
Level 4: The most dangerous sports are included in this list, such as hang gliding, parachuting, paramotoring, skydiving, kitewing usage, etc.
Different insurance companies might have slight variations to this list. One must remember that the higher the level or risk, the more will be the policy premium.
While indulging in an adrenaline rush, make sure that you have adequate extreme sports insurance coverage. An ideal extreme sports insurance policy should provide following cover for:
Personal injury
Accidental death benefit
Permanent total disability
Temporary disability
Personal indemnity or liability
Loss of earnings cover
Legal expenses or advice cover
Dependent financial cover
Physiotherapy fees
Emergency medical fees
Hospitalization expenses
Travel expenses
Rescue operations fees
Dental treatment
Principal exclusions in an extreme sports insurance policy include:
Individuals above a certain age are not covered under any policy. This age limit varies from company to company.
Pre-existing medical conditions
Injury incurred due to drug abuse during the sporting activity
Performing sports in areas that are not qualified for that particular activity or in danger zones.
Many insurance companies exclude extreme sports from their insurance products. Hence, make sure that the insurance company offers policy cover for the sporting activity you engage in.