Hazardous Hobbies & Extreme Sports Life Insurance

Extreme sport insurance – what you need to know

From skiing to diving, base jumping to motorsports, millions of people get an adrenaline rush from participating in extreme sports.

If you consider these activities “high risk” then you may think that there’s no way an insurance company would cover you. However, many insurers offer life insurance and other types of protection to customer who engage in extreme activities.

Making sure you have the right protection in place:

• Gives you peace of mind that your family will receive financial support if anything happens to you
• Ensures you’ll receive a tax-free lump sum if you have a serious stroke or heart attack, or are diagnosed with a serious condition
• Means you’ll continue to receive an income if you have to take time off due to an accident or illness.

In some cases, taking part in extreme sports won’t even affect the cost of your cover. So, you can still benefit from cheap life insurance, even if you do enjoy a hobby that’s out of the ordinary.

Does life insurance cover extreme sports?

Yes. Many insurers will offer cover – but remember that you do need to be honest and disclose the type of activities you engage in on your application form.

The types of sport and hobbies that insurers do want to know about include:

• Scuba diving
• Mountaineering or rock climbing
• Caving and potholing
• Motorsports
• Skydiving or base jumping
• Sailing or powerboat racing
• Private flying (including hang gliding or paragliding)

In these instances, an insurer might increase the cost of your cover to represent the additional risk in you participating in these activities.

What is the safest extreme sport?

From a life insurance perspective, there are certain hobbies which you may consider “high risk” that are unlikely to affect your chances of getting cover. 

These include:

• Skiing
• Martial arts
• Horse riding (if it’s mainly recreational)
• One-off experiences such as a bungee jump or white-water rafting.

It’s rare that taking part in these sports would increase the cost of your cover. 

Are extreme sports worth the risk?

From an insurance point of view, you may pay more for your cover if you regularly take part in a hazardous activity. The cost of cover will depend on:

• The activity itself
• The level of your participation
• The severity of the risk.

The increase to your premium (called “loading”) can be minor to significant, depending on these factors.

When it comes to Critical Illness cover, if you do participate in a high-risk hobby, there will very often be an exclusion put in place that no claim can be made for anything arising from participation or injury relating to that activity.

Are extreme sports good for your health?

As far as insurers go, there are many extreme sports that won’t affect the cost of life insurance. A common example is skiing, where insurers rarely even ask about this!

Of course, certain extreme sports are likely to be more dangerous than others. This will be reflected in the cost of your life insurance, Critical Illness cover, or income protection.

It's worth noting there is no need to inform the insurer if you do decide to take up or participate in any of these activities in the future.

Getting the right cover

If you’re looking for extreme sport life insurance, we can help. We have wide experience helping customers with a range of hazardous hobbies to obtain the cover they need.

Speak to one of our consultants to find out more or compare life insurance quotes online.