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Liability Insurance
All students and experienced jumpers have to have third party liability
insurance, most parachute associations have this included in the membership,
if you are an experienced jumper then please make sure you bring your
membership or third party insurance with you, if you are a new student
you will need to make sure your travel insurance covers parachuting,
if not then we can enroll you into the parachute association of your
choice from as little as £24
BPA & FEADA members benefit from third party public liability insurance
cover, (within the limitations of the terms of the policy). For example,
if you accidentally landed on someone’s car the insurers would
be responsible for paying for repairs.
The
premium for this is included in the membership subscription, be it full,
provisional or temporary. But what the policy doesn't cover is medical
insurance, personal accident (compensation in the event of injury or
death), or cover for travel, equipment or baggage.
Ensure you insure
Although statistics prove skydiving to be nothing like as high risk
as some non-skydivers may perceive, it can never be entirely risk-free,
as with any action sport. The risk is reduced to an acceptable level
by strict operational procedures but can never be entirely eliminated.
Skydivers must therefore voluntarily accept an element of risk, which
is prudent to always insure against.
Medical and Repatriation
The cost and kerfuffle of getting a seriously injured person home to a UK
hospital is surely more than anyone would wish to impose on their partner,
family or friends (who will already be stressed enough!). We all pay
into the NHS but this won’t get you an air ambulance should you
need it. These cost thousands of pounds. The whole medical and repatriation
bill can be tens or even hundreds of thousands. Okay, this is a worst
possible scenario but it does happen.
Medical
insurance cover including repatriation is the absolute minimum that
any skydiver should have whilst parachuting abroad. This should include
cover for non skydiving medical emergencies too. See the leaflet Health
Advice for Travelers from Post Offices or telephone 0800 555 777.
Paying the Bills
There’s
also the compensation side of personal accident insurance for which
– you guessed – an additional premium is payable. This sort
of policy pays out for serious injury such as the loss of an eye or
limb or in some cases, death. Some policies may also make a contribution
to lost earnings – say you are a driver and your leg ends up in
plaster. Who is going to pay your bills and those of your dependents,
with no money coming in?
Travel, Equipment and Baggage
There’s
also travel, baggage and equipment insurance. If you have a household
policy, it may already give baggage cover or be extendable.
Single or Multiple Trip?
Typically,
insurance is available for single or multiple trip, in various parts
of the world such as Europe, USA or beyond. An annual multi-trip policy
may be better value compared with a separate policy for each holiday.
Note that most general insurance policies don’t cover skydiving.
Start with the skydiving and add personal accident, travel, equipment
and baggage cover as required. Be wary of any offer of free travel insurance,
eg, on a credit card as it is highly unlikely to include ‘high
risk’ activities such as skydiving.
Form E111
When traveling within Europe, it’s a good idea to get a Form E111 –
the passport to free or reduced cost emergency medical treatment in
most European countries. Pick up an application from the Post Office
– this gives further information on a country-by-country basis.
Remember that the E111 is intended to cover illness and emergency medical
treatment. It doesn't cover repatriation to the UK if you have a serious
skydiving accident and it doesn't give longer-term cover after the immediate
emergency is over – when things can get very pricey. An E111 is
good to have and can help you out but don’t depend on it to the
exclusion of a proper insurance policy, or you could end up seriously
out of pocket. An E111 form is valid for 3 months while in Spain.
Travel Insurance Brokers
Single
Trip, Multi
Trip and Gap
Year Travel Insurance. Harrison Beaumont specialise in providing leisure,
activity, adventure and sports travel insurance cover.
Activity
Equipment Insurance - Harrison Beaumont specialise in providing all
year round, worldwide insurance cover against any loss or damage to your
activity equipment. Click
here for a quote.
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