Adventure with Peace of Mind: Understanding Hazardous Pursuits and Medical Insurance

At JW Seagon, we know that many of our clients enjoy extreme sports and high-adrenaline activities, what insurers refer to as “Hazardous Pursuits”. Whether you’re skydiving, rock climbing, or racing, these activities can be exhilarating but also carry risks. It’s important to understand how your medical insurance works if you get hurt while doing these hazardous pursuits.

What Are Hazardous Pursuits?

Insurance companies consider certain activities as high-risk. These include:

Professional Sports: should you be under contract or are paid to perform a sport, any injuries sustained during training or during your competitions
Water Sports: jet skiing, white water rafting, deep sea diving
Aerial Sports: skydiving, paragliding, base jumping
Motorised Sports: motorcross, rally driving
Mountaineering: rock climbing, mountaineering over certain altitudes
Winter Sports: off-piste skiing
Combat and endurance sports: boxing, mixed martial arts, ultra-marathons.

Each insurance company handles these activities differently. If you’re unsure if your sport is considered high-risk, we can help you figure it out.

What’s Covered and What’s Not?

Standard medical insurance policies often don’t cover injuries from hazardous pursuits if they happen during competitions, races, or if you don’t follow safety rules. Some might also not cover evacuation costs.

What Are Your Options?

If your current insurance doesn’t cover you for these sports, here are some alternatives:

Rescue.co: 

A comprehensive, specialised evacuation solution, design for rapid emergency response, including coverage for high-risk sports and activities. They have covers for Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, East Africa, and Africa-wide.

AMREF Maisha:

Standard Maisha Covers (Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum): These cover evacuation only. The differing plans are representative of the geographic area that the evacuations would be applicable.
Diamond: This cover includes evacuation (even to South Africa if treatment is unavailable locally) and $200,000 inpatient coverage for subsequent medical costs.

It is important to note that hazardous sports must have pre-approval from AMREF before being covered; and this approval must be in writing.

How Can We Help You?

Check Your Coverage: We can review your policy to see if it covers your high-risk activities
Find a Better Fit: If your current insurance isn’t enough, we can explore other options that suit your needs
Plan Ahead: At renewal time, we’ll show you policies that include coverage for hazardous sports
Avoid Surprises: Knowing what your policy covers can help you avoid unexpected medical bills
Reach out if you are involved in any of the following events, or similar events:
- The Mount Kenya Trust 10to4 Bike Challenge
- Motorcross Enduros
- The East African Classic Rally
- Polo