Sports Travel Insurances: The Definitive Guide
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You are crazy about sports and you are about to plan sports holidays to practice your favorite sport? You would like to find travel insurance that is tailored for your activity in case something goes wrong?
You’ve come at the right place.
In the below guide, we will tell you everything you need to know about sports travel insurance: what does it cover exactly, which policy you should go for, how much does it cost and other tips.
Stay tuned!
What is sports travel insurance?
You are about to leave UK for an exciting trip somewhere in Europe. You should definitely get sports travel insurance.
Sports travel insurance will cover you for both your trip and anything that may occur whilst your doing sport.
There are two ways to get covered for sports activities:
- either by paying an add on to get your specific sport covered on top of your standard insurance policy
- or by purchasing a policy including many sports acticities as standard (very usual).
Please note that all sports have a different level of risk depending on the insurer. Your insurance policy will not cost you the same price depending on whether you plan to climb Everest, or go fishing in Italy.
Why do you need travel insurance for sports?
Getting travel insurance for your sports trip is vital.
Just to show you how important applying for travel insurance is, here are a few examples of what an unfortunate and unexpected event might cost you during your sports travel:
| What you will need to pay without sports travel insurance | What you will need to pay with sports travel insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| My sport equipment has been damaged during transit | £2000 | £0 |
| I need to cancel my sport trip | £5,000 - £10,000 (real cost of trip) | £0 until trip cancellation limit is reached (check carefully cancellation reasons allowed) |
| I need air rescue | £4000 | £0 (if planned in policy) |
| I got severely injured whilst training and need surgery abroad | £30,000 (if not covered by European Health Insurance Card) | £0 until medical expense limit is reached |
Good to know
Depending on your destination, you may already have some financial assistance either with European Health Insurance Card (if your sports trip is in Europe) or with healthcare cooperation systems between countries for example UK and Australia or New-Zealand. Note that your EHIC will only cover medical treatment in public hospital (you won't be covered for any air ambulance, surgery in private hospitals etc.). It can't be seen as a substitute for travel insurance.
Compare best sports holiday insurance
To find the right cover for your sports travel, you will need to explore the different options you have. You’ll have to answer a series of questions such as:
- what exactly you’d like to get covered for
- the length of your stay
- the destination
- how much are you planning to practice sport etc.
We’ve came up with a non-exhaustive list of travel insurers that cover sports breaks abroad as standard or as option:
| Insurer | Price | Our reviews |
|---|---|---|
 | £18,37 |
|
 | £18,67 |
|
 | £18,95 |
|
 | £22,14 |
|
 | 24.12 |
|
Prices above are for a 7 days single trip to Europe with sports cover for a 30 years old people.
What does sports travel insurance cover?
Travel insurance for sports holidays should include:
- specific cover for your sport activity
- must-have features you need in any travel insurance.
Good to know
If sports is included as standard in your travel insurance policy, carefully check limits and excess amounts that you will get / need to pay in case of claim.
Specific sports cover that you could get
Travel insurances for athletics usually include:
| Sports cover options | Average amount |
|---|---|
| Sport equipment damaged | Depends on personal belongings cover (standard or specific sport cover) |
| Any injuries made to yourself while practicing sports | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions (standard or specific sport cover) |
| Sport trip cancellation | Depends on trip cancellation cover terms and conditions (standard or specific sport cover) |
| Medical evacuation whilst practicing sport | Depends on medical expense cover terms and conditions (standard or specific sport cover) |
| Non-refundable sportive lessons | Depends on trip interruption cover terms and conditions (standard or specific sport cover) |
Watch out!
Note that if you injure someone else during your sport practice, you may not be covered unless it is clearly mentioned in your policy booklet.
Must-have features your sports travel insurance should cover
| Compensation | Average amount | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Medical expenses | From £5M to £10M (depending on your medical situation and your destination) |
|
| Repatriation | Real fees |
|
| Trip cancellation / curtailment | £5000 – £10000 (depending on your destination) |
|
| Baggage or personal belongings | Minimum of £1500 limit |
|
| Missed departure, delay | Minimum £500 limit (minimum £200 limit for delay) |
|
| Personal liability | Average £2 million limit |
|
| Legal expenses | Average £15000 limit |
|
Watch out!
Always carefully check the age limit and compensation amounts as well as deductibles you’ll have to pay in case you need to make a claim. For medical expenses, always get your insurer to accept them before paying if you need to advance fees.
As nice-to-have features, you may want to get in addition to your sports travel insurance included features:
- business trip insurance
- emergency dental treatment
- loss of passport or documentation
- gadget cover
- Schedule Airline Failure (at least £1500)
- money and cash cover.
Can I get sports travel cover if I have pre-existing medical conditions?
Of course you can.
The best option would be to purchase a pre-existing medical condition travel insurance tailored for your holidays, and add a sports cover option if not included as standard.
Watch out!
If you purchase sports travel insurance or any other insurance without disclosing your medical condition, that is called “fronting”. Your claim can be invalidated by your insurer, such as your entire travel insurance policy.
Can sports travel insurance be included if I purchase an annual multi-trip or a single trip policy?
Short answer: yes, it can be.
Sports, as many other sports, can be included as standard or purchase as extras on both single and annual multi-trip travel insurance policies.
You will need to specifically dig into insurers policy booklets to see which activities are covered as standard.
As a reminder:
| Travel insurance type | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Single trip insurance | These travel insurance policies are for one-off holidays. You will be covered from the start of the journey until the end. You can decide the number of days you want to be covered for. |
| Annual multi-trip insurance | These policies are made for frequent athletics going away for sports holidays several times a year. You would need to check whether it is more competitive to buy two or three single trip insurance policies or an annual multi-trip policy. |
Do I need to buy specific sports travel insurance?
It depends on the travel insurance policy you purchased. This will be clearly outlined in your policy booklet.
If you haven’t bought your sports travel cover yet, we would advise you to go for an insurer providing specific cover for sports equipment, competition etc. either as standard or as full option for an extra fee.
How much does sports travel insurance cost?
You will find below indicate travel insurance price including sports cover:
| Age range | Single trip to Europe* | Annual multi-trip to Europe |
|---|---|---|
| 18 - 35 | £11,01 | £31,24 |
| 36 - 54 | £16,72 | £16,72 |
| 55+ | £21,13 | £21,13 |
*Quotes above are for a 7 days sports holidays.
It is, however, quite difficult to give precise ranges of how much a travel insurance will cost for you as prices are based on a wide range of criteria. It will mainly depend on:
- How often will you practice sport
- If you are going on single sports trip or annual multi_trips
- If you purchase other upgrades in addition to your sports cover such as gadget cover
- If your teen has pre-existing medical conditions
- The duration and destination of your stay
- The financial limits you’d like to get in case of a claim
- The excess amount you’re willing to pay.
What else should I check before purchasing my sports travel cover?
While shopping around for sport_name holiday insurance, always pay attention to:
- The compensation amounts you will get for each claim (especially personal belongings compensation limit if sports is included as standard in your policy)
- The deductible amounts you’ll have to pay in case of claim (don't forget that extreme sports or hazardous activities lovers often need to pay extra medical excess if they got injured whilst practicing their sport) - opt for excess waiver cover if you are practicing adventurous sports
- The exclusions you may have in your policy
- The claim process (100% online? How many days do you have to make a claim?)
- The maximum duration of each trip included as standard (at least 31 days)
- The upper age limit (if you are a senior travelling).
