How Do Insurers View Sports and Hobbies When Applying for Life Insurance and Income Protection?

When you apply for life insurance or income protection, you will probably expect questions about your health, occupation, income and lifestyle.

But you may be surprised to find that insurers can also be very interested in your sports and hobbies.

You might not consider your hobby to be particularly risky. You may have been doing it safely for years without having an accident and you know all the steps that you take to make sure you are as safe as possible.

However, insurers can look at things differently. They are assessing the potential risk associated with the activity and how that could affect the likelihood of a claim. It’s not necessarily a comment on you, it’s the environment that you are in.

This means that something you consider to be a normal hobby could potentially affect your life insurance premium or the terms available on an income protection policy.

Which sports and hobbies do insurers ask about?

There are lots of different activities that insurers may want to know about.

Some examples include:

• Scuba diving

• Sailing

• Motorbike riding

• Horse riding

• Skiing

• Private flying

• Skydiving

• Mountain biking

• Rock Climbing

• Caving

• Martial arts

• Other extreme or hazardous sports

The important thing is that insurers do not all ask the same questions.

One insurer may not ask about a particular activity at all, while another may want detailed information about how often you do it, where you do it and the level at which you participate.

Why do insurers consider sports to be risky?

The insurer is looking at the potential risks associated with the activity.

For example, someone who occasionally goes skiing at a standard resort may present a very different risk to someone who regularly goes off-piste.

Similarly, someone who occasionally rides a horse for pleasure may be viewed differently from someone who regularly takes part in competitive events.

The details really matter.

Does doing a sport always mean my life insurance will cost more?

No.

In some cases, a sport or hobby may have no impact on your life insurance premium at all.

For example, a one-off circuit driving experience or scuba diving experience is unlikely to be an issue with most insurers.

However, regular participation can lead to further questions and potentially an increase in the premium.

Some insurers can apply what is known as a “per mille” loading. This means an additional amount is charged for every £1,000 of life insurance you take out.

This can make a significant difference where you are applying for a large amount of cover.

For example, an additional loading on £250,000 of life insurance can have a much bigger impact than the same loading on £50,000 of cover. This is because the insurer adds on 250 extras versus adding on 50 extras.

This is one of the reasons why it can be useful to establish whether your sports and hobbies could affect the price before choosing an insurer.

What about income protection?

Sports and hobbies can be particularly important when applying for income protection. This is because an insurer may decide that an activity presents a particular risk of injury.

In some circumstances, the insurer may offer cover but exclude injuries resulting from a particular sport or hobby. Horse riding is a really good example of this, as there are very insurers that will cover income protection claims relating to this.

In other cases, they may increase the price or, depending upon the activity, decide that they cannot offer cover.

This can be particularly important if the activity is something you regularly participate in. A really important thing is that some insurers include blanket exclusions for certain sports, so it is really essential that you check the key features documents carefully before you arrange income protection.

Horse riding, motorbikes and sailing

Some of the sports that can catch people out are activities that they may not immediately think of as “extreme”.

Horse riding – often missed as a disclosure when doing research! People don’t usually think that insurers want to know about this. Simply riding a horse for pleasure may not cause an issue with some insurers. However, competitive riding can result in additional questions and potentially different terms.

Motorbike riding can also be relevant. Insurers may consider factors such as the type of bike, how often you ride and how you use it.

Sailing can involve questions about the type and size of boat, how far you travel from the shore and whether you take part in competitions. Even little competitions close to land with your sailing club can count!

Scuba diving can involve lots of questions

Scuba diving is another activity where the details can make a significant difference.

An insurer may want to know:

• How frequently you dive

• The maximum depth you dive to

• Whether you dive in open water

• Whether you use mixed gas

• Whether you dive on wrecks

• Whether you enter wrecks

• Whether you take part in cave diving

• Whether you have sight of an exit

• What qualifications you hold

• Whether you dive as part of a group

This may sound like a lot of information, but it allows the insurer to understand the actual level of risk involved.

Someone who occasionally dives on holiday is potentially very different from someone who regularly undertakes technical or deep-water diving.

What does “extreme sport” actually mean?

This can be one of the more difficult areas when completing an application.
Some insurers will provide a specific list of sports and activities that they want to know about.

Others may include a question asking whether you take part in any other “extreme sports”.

But what exactly counts as an extreme sport?

For example, you may not know whether a particular type of mountain biking falls within the insurer’s definition.

This is where getting the question answered correctly is important. If you are unsure whether an activity needs to be disclosed, it is better to check with the insurer or an adviser rather than make an assumption.

Your occupation can make a difference too

Interestingly, insurers do not always view a sport in the same way when it is a hobby compared with when it forms part of someone’s occupation.

For example, private flying can receive a very different assessment from being a commercial airline pilot.

Similarly, someone who works professionally in an activity may have different safety procedures, qualifications and controls around them.

The insurer will take these circumstances into account when assessing the risk. This is another reason why simply searching for a generic answer about whether a particular sport is “covered” may not give you the full picture.

Don’t assume that all insurers will give you the same answer

One of the most important things to remember is that insurers have different underwriting approaches.

One insurer may increase the premium.

Another may offer standard rates.

Another may offer cover with an exclusion.

And another may decide that they cannot provide the cover at all.

This is particularly relevant when applying for income protection, where an exclusion relating to a sport or hobby could significantly affect the usefulness of the policy.

What should you do if you have a high-risk hobby?

Don’t stop doing something you enjoy just because you are considering life insurance or income protection.

Instead, make sure your adviser knows about your sports and hobbies from the beginning.

The more detail they have, the better they can understand your circumstances and identify insurers that may be suitable.

At Cura, we can look at the different questions insurers ask and consider how your particular sports and hobbies may affect the options available to you.

Sometimes the insurer may simply want more information. In other cases, there may be an additional premium or an exclusion.

The important thing is to know what the insurer is likely to do before you commit to a policy.

Speak to Us

Sports and hobbies are just one part of how insurers assess an application, but they can make a surprisingly big difference to the outcome.

Whether you enjoy horse riding, motorbikes, sailing, skiing, scuba diving or another activity, don’t assume that your hobby will automatically mean higher premiums or that you will be unable to get cover.

Different insurers assess risks in different ways.

If you want to know how your sports or hobbies could affect your life insurance or income protection, ask us. We can help you understand the options available and find cover that takes your individual circumstances into account.