Youth sports are an integral part of child development. It keeps kids active, healthy and can increase their cognitive skills, improving their grades.
However, although they’re having fun and getting better at their favorite sport, there’s also the risk of injury. Although no one likes to see injuries happen, they are a natural part of sports.
From an organizational standpoint, it’s important to have youth sports insurance if a player gets injured. Without it, your youth sports organization may be liable for damages.
Do you know the type of insurance you need? If not, read on to learn more about insurance coverage for youth sports.
Why Is Sports Insurance Necessary?
Insurance is essential across all sports sectors, whether you’re a professional, amateur, recreational club, or fitness venue. It helps protect you in case a person happens to get injured on your watch.
However, that protection doesn’t only apply to your players. It also covers volunteers or spectators who get injured too. If you don’t have insurance, they could claim that you are responsible and have you pay for damages.
If you choose to operate without coverage, you’re essentially waiting for an accident to happen. For example, according to the National Safety Council, youth sports and recreational activities accounted for over 500,000 reported injuries.
Although risk management usually focuses on potential sports injuries, it’s still important to consider other aspects of your youth sports organization. Some of your equipment may get damaged or stolen, or individuals may claim verbal abuse.
So it’s vital to ensure you have youth sports coverage. Many people participate because they enjoy playing their sport, but you still need to protect your organization against potential dangers.
What Type of Insurance Do You Need?
A common mistake for those running youth organizations is not buying various insurance coverages. Again, players aren’t the only people you’re responsible for during practice or games.
You’re also responsible for the volunteers and spectators. So to ensure you cover all bases, here are the insurance policies your youth sports organization should invest in.
Player Accident Insurance
Player accident insurance covers the medical bills for a player or coach if they get injured during the activity. Most kids won’t have medical insurance. In fact, 6% of children are currently without health insurance.
So having it within your organization ensures they’ll get proper medical care and won’t have to pay out of pocket. It also lessens the chance of a lawsuit getting filed against you.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance protects you from lawsuits alleging that a player, coach, spectator, or volunteer suffered an injury due to organizational negligence. Typically these policies cover your legal expenses and settlements.
For example, let’s say a kid hit a foul ball during a baseball game, and it flew into the crowd and hit someone in the head. If they try to sue, your general liability insurance will protect you.
This insurance will also protect you if damages occurred to someone’s personal property. Let’s take the same foul ball example we used, and instead of hitting someone, it hits a car and breaks the windscreen. Your policy will still protect you.
Officers Liability Insurance
Sometimes organizations can face situations where a participant may file a lawsuit alleging discrimination based on race and disability or wrongful termination. In these situations, officer liability insurance is vital.
It protects you from penalties associated with these cases and covers your attorney fees and settlement costs if the verdict wasn’t in your favor. Officer liability insurance is excellent because it covers areas general liability doesn’t.
Equipment, Property, and Auto Insurance
When you’re running a youth sports organization, it can be hard to keep track of all your gear, especially if it ends up getting stolen. But have equipment insurance can help minimize losses.
With this youth sports coverage, all of your equipment, whether it’s balls, pads, sticks, etc., will be covered. The sheds you store your gear in are covered too.
For larger organizations that use buses or vans to travel to practice and games, you’ll need to get auto insurance. Having this insurance is a must primarily if your organization owns the vehicles.
Mistakes To Avoid When Buying Youth Sports Insurance
As you’re stepping into new territory, it can be challenging finding insurance coverages that can fit your organization. However, although the search is tedious, it would still be in your best interest to get insurance.
Everyone’s situation is different, but here are some mistakes that you should avoid when looking into youth sports insurance.
Neglecting Polices
Any youth sports organization will need at least five policies. It ensures that all facts of your organization are protected, which include:
- General liability
- Players
- Volunteers
- Equipment
- Spectators
- Organization personnel
Failing to neglect any part of your organizational needs could result in lawsuits, which we know aren’t pretty. To ensure you cover all facets, consider working with an experienced youth sports insurance company.
Convincing Yourself Coverage Isn’t Needed
Another common mistake made by youth sports franchises is believing they don’t need coverage. It doesn’t matter if there have never been any injuries during your time or you make parents sign waivers; lawsuits can still get filed.
Local laws which would typically grant you immunity may not apply to certain youth sports cases. It could result in money getting spent to prove your innocence.
Insurance Is Necessary For Youth Sports
Contrary to popular belief, there are many injuries in youth sports, so insurance is always needed. Not only does it protect players, but also those who are involved in your organization.
If you’ve enjoyed our youth sports insurance guide, feel free to check out our blog for related content.
