Adventure Tribes

Harvey McEwan asked:


lth Insurance and Sports Injuries

Being the early part of the year, many people are still sticking to their New Year’s resolutions – new gym memberships, taking up a new sport and generally getting fitter and healthier than they ended the previous year. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to hear that the UK sees anything up to 50,000 sports injuries every single day.

Untreated sports injuries can result in weakness, an unstable platform and infections, possibly manifesting in more problems further down the line. So swift treatment is essential to ensure you’re fit and health, able to continue your new regime and (in some cases) ensure you can continue to work and go about your normal life.

Where Does Health Insurance Come Into Play?

Each injury could require a diagnosis, specialist treatment, physiotherapy and a rehabilitation program before a return to action. The quicker you can get through this and the higher the quality of your treatment, the better. That’s precisely where a health insurance policy plays an important role. Giving you quick and easy access to specialists to get you back into shape, avoiding NHS waiting lists, crowded wards and higher risks of infection.

But be warned that a dirt cheap health insurance policy is likely to be cheap for a reason – it’s unlikely to provide you with cover for every eventuality (such as sports injuries). Some health insurance policies (and travel insurance for that matter) will contain exclusions in the small print explaining that they will not pay out on a claim if the medical costs were required as a result of an “extreme” sport. This may include skateboarding, hand-gliding, sky diving or motor-cross as examples.

The key to finding cheap health insurance is not to simply buy the policy with the lowest price. You need to make sure the policy you buy is providing you with the cover you’re likely to need. If you’re a keen sportsperson, you should be including this type of cover in your private medical plan. So don’t be misled by cheap quotes.

Whatever protection you need, help is on hand from a number of health insurance comparison websites which cover the UK market. They can find your best health insurer in a matter of seconds and even put you through to speak to someone over the phone to get into the detail more easily. It’ll save you tons of form filling time, leaving you more time for your favourite activities.

Iain Mackintosh asked:


Sport and activity holidays are hugely popular nowadays, as people look to practice their skills in a new environment or even learn an entirely new sport as part of their holiday. Many sports and activities, like skydiving and scuba diving, can be much cheaper to do abroad than in the UK. But despite all the dangers associated with extreme sports, insurance for dangerous activities abroad usually isn’t researched as carefully as it should be. Many people assume that their cheap travel insurance covers any and every sport or activity that they may decide to try while on holiday. This is not so – you have to read the small print!

The sports and activities covered by your insurance will vary from policy to policy, but specialised sports travel insurance will undoubtedly be necessary to cover the higher risk activities. For these more dangerous activities, you are likely to face higher costs for the insurance itself and larger premiums if you do make a claim. For many of the riskier activities, Personal Accident and Personal Liability cover is not included.

Every sports travel insurance provider will have a different way of grading various activities; I’ve always split sports into two main categories…

Moderate Risk

Moderate risk activities include many common sports, such as basketball, football, baseball, squash, tennis and cricket. It also includes activities like mountain biking, amateur marathon running, cycling and low altitude trekking.

High Risk

Obviously enough, this kind of sports insurance covers activities that present a much higher risk of injury. This includes contact sports like American Football and Rugby, as well as horse riding, motorcycling, bungee jumping, kite surfing, and other risky activities.

Be aware that activities may change categories depending on the conditions. For example, inland kayaking is often classed as moderate risk, whereas coastal kayaking can be considered high risk. Many sports insurance policies will only cover scuba diving down to a certain depth, for example, or trekking up to a certain altitude. Even if your activity of choice is mentioned in your insurance, make sure you double check the details of what you are doing to be certain that you will be covered.

Of course, there are plenty of activities that companies like mine won’t cover at all. For very high risk sports and activities, such as BASE jumping or high altitude mountaineering, you’ll have contact a specialist insurance provider to sort you out with some extreme sports insurance! Additionally, any normal sports travel insurance policy isn’t likely to cover the playing of professional sports or competitions – you’ll need to contact a specialist in order to be covered for these kinds of activities. Amateur level is covered by most standard insurers, but if you intend to compete you’ll need something a little more comprehensive.

Whatever sport or activity you intend to try while on holiday, the best thing to do is to talk to make sure you talk to your travel insurance company to be certain of getting the right kind of sports insurance. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time, and could save you a lot of money in the long run. Uninsured sporting accidents abroad will probably hurt your wallet even more than they hurt you!