Income Protection for Sports Players

Do you play sport? If so, then getting income protection just makes sense. A 2017¹ study by finder found that half a million Australians have taken unpaid leave off work due to a sports injury. 178,000 have had to leave the workplace completely. As the numbers suggest, the risk of sports in relation to your ability to work is real.

Income protection insurance can replace some of your pay (in the event of a sports injury). Your also covered for most sports, as long as you don't play professionally.

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Name	Product	Maximum Monthly Benefit	Maximum % of Income Covered	Maximum Benefit Period	Waiting Period Options
AAMI Income Protection		$10,000	75%	5 years	14, 28, 60 or 90 days	AAMI customers save 5% on income protection.	Get quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Insuranceline Rate Saver Income Protection		$10,000	85%	5 years	14, 28, 60 or 90 days	Get a $100 bonus gift after 2 months. Plus, and get 12 months cover for the price of 11 if you pay annually. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
NobleOak Income Protection Finder Award		$25,000	75%	Up to 65	30 or 90 days	First month free for NobleOak Income Protection Insurance. T&Cs apply.	Get quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Suncorp Income Protection		$10,000	75%	5 years	14, 28, 60 or 90 days	Existing Suncorp customers can get a 5% discount.	Get quote View details	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

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Do sports injuries affect our ability to earn income?

As much as we love sports, the reality is that they can impact our work life because of the injuries risk that they pose. Our research discovered the following.

Based on a February 2017 finder.com.au survey

What is income protection?

Income protection insurance provides a monthly benefit of generally 75% of your average salary should you be unable to work due to a serious illness or injury. It provides the assistance you need to keep on top of your ongoing financial commitments, such as paying your rent or mortgage repayments, groceries, bills and other expenses. There are several factors you need to consider when choosing an income protection policy, one being the subject of this article – income protection for sports players.

Does income protection cover injuries sustained from sports?

Quick answer: Yes

It is important to note that your participation in certain types of sports and/or hazardous activities generally has an effect on your income protection application. If these activities increase your likelihood to claim, your insurance provider may place a special provision on your policy, in the form of a premium loading, exclusion or extended waiting period.

Will I need to pay more?

You may need to pay what's called a premium 'loading'. A premium loading is applied to reflect an increased risk of claim, which could either be a percentage of as much as 25% or a specified dollar amount for every thousand sum you wish to insure. So, if you participate in sporting activities that are considered to be high risk, you can expect to pay higher premiums rates.

Situations where you can't get cover

An exclusion is a restriction placed on a specific condition and/or event where a benefit will not be paid. If you have suffered an injury in the past from playing sport, your insurance provider takes into consideration the following:

If your insurer finds that it is likely you will suffer the same injury, an exclusion may be applied to your policy.

You may have an extended waiting period

Your insurance provider may apply an extended waiting period instead of excluding injuries that are the result of sporting activities. As an example, if you have selected a 30-day waiting period, your insurance provider may offer you cover but with a waiting period of 90 days for any injuries sustained whilst participating in a particular sport. It is important to note that not all applicants are offered a special provision on their income protection policy just because they play sport or have suffered a sporting injury. Your insurance provider may offer standard terms or ordinary rates on your cover if your sports injury was very minor and had occurred a long time ago.

Income protection or workers’ compensation?

Workers’ compensation does not cover any injuries that occur outside of work. So, if you are injured as a result of sporting or leisure activities that you partake outside of work hours, you will not be eligible for any benefit payment under workers’ compensation.

Which sports are the riskiest and most expensive to insure?

Generally, the chance of injury determines how much more it costs to insure you for participating in certain sports, as well as how severe injuries will tend to be. Motorsports, for example tend to have very severe injuries, although they may occur less frequently than in other sports, while football might have a significantly higher chance of injury, but they might generally be less severe. As such, there are different ways of defining "dangerous" in sports. To get an idea of how sports impact life insurance premiums, you might look at

1. The rate of hospitalisations that result from different sports.
2. The types of injuries that occur from a sport and how these will affect your ability to work.

The nature of the injury has a significant effect on how likely it is to result in you needing to make an income protection claim. Injuries that heal more quickly or tend not to result in disability will generally not lead to income protection claims, while those that do not affect your ability to work are generally not claimable either

The rate of injuries for sports in Australia

_{Source: Australian sports injury hospitalisations 2011–12 report, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.}

The most common type of injury in sports

In a 12 month period from 2011 to 2012, knee and lower leg injuries were the most common type of injury for most sports, with fractures generally being the most common. In the case of Rugby Union, skull fractures as a result of contact with another player were the most common cause of hospitalisation. Depending on your occupation, different types of injury will have different impacts on your ability to work. It can be worth considering this. For example, if your job specifically requires walking or running then knee or leg injuries may be a significant risk.

_{Source: Australian sports injury hospitalisations 2011–12 report, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.}

Amateur vs professional sports

The following table is a sample of the special acceptance terms that may be required for different sports. Rugby league, rugby union, Aussie rules, soccer and touch football will be used as points of reference.

• Rugby
• Soccer

_{Please note that this information is not indicative of an actual policy and is to be used as a rough guide. It's a good idea to get in touch with your insurer for specific details.}

What are my income protection insurance options as a professional athlete?

A professional sportsperson is someone who supports themselves or their family primarily by playing sports, or otherwise makes most of their income from playing sports.

Cover from your sporting institution

Your sporting institution will often have some form of insurance cover, but this may not include full income protection benefits for you.

Specialist cover

While standard income protection insurance policies might not cover you in the event of sports injuries. Here, specialist insurers might be able to offer cover where standard providers will not. Your cover can take the form of a personal accident policy, or a general combined life insurance policy that's specially tailored for professional athletes.

Standard income protection (with limitations and exclusions).

Most Australian insurance providers do not offer income protection cover for professional football players or professional sports players of any kind. However, a small number of providers may consider application for cover on an individual basis. It may be best to obtain more information from your sporting association and find out whether they have a national insurance scheme agreement in place that provides cover in case of an injury.

Securing an income protection plan to cover extreme sports

If you participate in sports that are considered to be hazardous, specific terms (loading or exclusion) may be applied to your policy or in some circumstances, your application for income protection cover may be denied altogether. The terms and conditions may also vary depending on whether your engagement in this sport is purely recreational or on a competitive basis. Some sporting activities that may be considered as high-risk include:

Do I have to tell my insurance provider about my sporting activities?

Yes, and it is crucial that you provide information to your insurance provider if you are playing a sport of any kind, either on a recreational or competitive basis. Almost all income protection application forms specifically ask on whether or not you currently participate or intend to participate in any sports, including those that are considered to be hazardous.

Are extreme sports covered by insurance in Australia?

Some sports are considered very high risk by insurance companies which can impact your ability to take out life insurance.

If you regularly participate in a sport considered extreme or high risk your insurer may apply one of the following to your policy.

• Some insurers will refuse to provide cover for extreme sports.
• Some insurers will include extreme sports cover, but at extra cost.
• Some insurers offer policies with inbuilt extreme sports cover.
• Some insurers will add an exclusion to your policy related to the extreme sport, meaning that if you injure yourself while participating in that sport, you will not be covered.

Conditions of your policy

Applicants that participate in sports that are considered to carry a certain degree of risk may be offered income protection cover with specific terms and conditions in place. The terms and conditions offered may vary depending on:

• The type of sport that you participate in
• Your age
• Frequency of your sporting activities
• Your level of involvement - recreational, competitive or semi-pro
• Other qualifying factors, such as depth, height, distance and speed, with some sports

It is important to have a clear understanding of any special terms that may be offered by your insurance provider in relation to your sporting activities, as this effects whether or not you can claim. If you provide inaccurate information, you are breaching your duty of disclosure and your provider may cancel your policy.

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References

1. https://www.finder.com.au/sports-injuries-in-australia

^{Photo by Ruben Leija on Unsplash}

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