Nowadays, being more active in any sport is encouraged by many authorities in the field of maintaining well-being. The more active you are in sports, the healthier you may seem in the eyes of lifestyle gurus. However, being active in sports does not always mean that you are on the right track to maximizing your human potential.
Sometimes, sport itself may cause significant and unexpected damage to your body.
This is why having a sport insurance especially if you’re a student athlete is a must.
According to a study conducted by Safe Kids Worldwide, there is at least one athlete being rushed to emergency room in every 25 seconds. If that worries you already, the rest of facts and statistics below would startle you:
There are 1.35 million kids rushed in the hospital in 2012 due to sports related injuries. The total hospitalization for sports related injury every year costs $935 million.
You’re more likely to get injured in Football since it has the highest number of sport related injuries in 2012. (USA Today)
Common bodily injuries include face, ankle, head, knee, and finger. Safe (Kids Worldwide)
It may take you at least three weeks to recover after a sport related concussion.
The older you are, the higher the risk of suffering from any sport related injury. (Children’s Hospital Wisconsin)
Bicycling accounts for at least 200,000 injuries between ages 5 to 14. (University of Ronchester Medical Center)
62% of sports injuries happen during the practice. (Stop Sports Injuries)
Brain damage is the leading cause of death in sports related injury. (Children’s Hospital Wisconsin)
20% of total active sport participants suffer in sports injury each year. (Children’s Hospital Wisconsin)
From 1996 to 2010 there has been an increase of head injury by 210% of snow relates sport. (New York Times)
There are other numbers which may discourage you from engaging to a more physically active lifestyle. The truth is, you shouldn’t be. The figures above only represent the fact that people are not being careful enough when it comes to sport safety. Truth is 50% of all sports related injuries are preventable.
How about student-athletes?
Aside from the injuries suffered by these individuals, financial problem may also is another aspect to worry about. This is where insurance policy should step in. As mentioned, 62% of injuries happen during the practice and most of them are student athlete.
Every prudent athlete should be aware that these type of injuries may end their career anytime. An article on Al.com effectively demonstrates the importance on insurance to every athlete. Insuring an athlete protects them from potential financial problem. There is no telling of the amount that they may loss in an injury. Athletes should be more decisive in insuring themselves since sport is a very shaky career.
Student athletes should also be aware of the insurance policy provided by their school. They should know if they would be provided with secondary policy which will take care of expenses in case the injury persist after the initial medical remedy.
National Collegiate Athletic Association provides supplemental insurance of $90,000 to student athletes who would accumulate at least $90,000 of medical expense.
The problem
There have been debates on the “rightful†insurance premiums for students athletes. The argument is athletes should be given higher coverage since they face more hazardous work situations. The problem is there are universities that do not provide their student-athletes enough insurance coverage. More likely they are being treated as ordinary students which are given the normal range of insurance coverage. NCAA supplemental coverage does not also help much since it only activates if the injury costs more than $90,000.
Before signing an athletic scholarship, sponsoring university should also mention, disclose, and orient the athlete on insurance coverage that they may be entitled to in times of need.
If this is something that you don’t fully understand either as a student-athlete or a sports enthusiast, you can consult an insurance agency that can enlighten you with this matter.
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