For most, getting insurance coverage of any kind (life, health, etc.) is not difficult. That is, until you mention to your agent that you spend your free time swimming with sharks or jumping off cliffs. It’s usually at this point during the conversation that your agent thanks you for your time and leaves you wondering what you said wrong.
Being an extreme sports enthusiast makes you a huge liability when it comes to insurance. If you’re a risk taker, companies either won’t insure you at all or they will charge you more than you pay for your house each month. So what do you do? It might just be time to look into some extreme sports insurance.
What is Extreme Sports Insurance?
Extreme sports insurance is insurance coverage specifically for those who enjoy extreme sports. Not only does it offer you the same basic coverage as other insurance policies, but other custom benefits as well.
Most companies offer their policies to extreme sports enthusiasts who are non-professional. Professional athletes generally have other avenues that they can take, while those who do it as leisure are left out. The general idea of extreme sports insurance is to cover personal accidents as well as public liability. This means that any accidents that you may have will be covered, and if you happen to hurt anyone else or damage property, that will be covered as well.
Along with these benefits, there are a few custom made plans that you can add on. Some of these include:
- Accidental Death
- Complete Disability
- Personal equipment
- 24 hour personal accident
Because companies know that extreme sports enthusiasts don’t always plan ahead, they also offer you the option of extending your plan to cover certain things 24 hours in advance. Traditional policies require a certain time period in order to make changes, and generally unless there is a life changing situation (usually a birth or death), you can only make changes once a year. With extreme sports insurance you can make changes any time.
It’s important to keep in mind that getting this kind of insurance does have some of the same requirements as traditional policies. They will want to check your medical history and no pre-existing conditions will be covered.
Another important thing to look at is which extreme sports certain companies cover. Most companies have a list of sports that they cover, and any incident that takes place outside of that list will not be covered.
Do I Need it?
If you love extreme sports and plan on thriving on adrenaline for a while, extreme sports insurance is definitely in your best interest; unless of course you are okay with the idea of selling your equipment on eBay to pay your medical bills, or leaving an unpaid personal debt for your grieving family if something happens to you.
One thing to keep in mind is that the sooner you get it, the better. Because companies check into your medical history, you don’t want a long list of hospital visits to hike your rate up higher and higher. Getting your extreme sports insurance policy early means getting a better rate as well as having the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll be taken care of.
The only reason you may not want to incur the cost of extreme sports insurance is if your current insurance provider is already willing to cover sports accidents, or if they can offer coverage at a competitive price.
