Obstacle Mud Runner - issue 11

ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners obstaclemudrunner.co.uk 8 RACE : INSURANCE don’t take chances... What you REALLY need to know about Insurance There are a variety of different insurances you may wish to consider when participating in OCR depending on your own personal circumstances and the nature and location of the events you are doing. 1 What types of insurance should I consider when participating in OCR? I’ve listed below the types of cover we can provide here at Towergate which we believe deals with the main risks associated in OCR participation. I have also detailed some things to consider for each. Travel Insurance – provides a range of cover for you whilst you are overseas including emergency medical treatment expenses and repatriation back to the UK, Cancellation, personal baggage, travel delay and missed departure to name a few. Things to consider – a) as a “hazardous” activity, many travel insurance policies will not be able to cover OCR participation so if you have a travel policy already, check the cover meets your requirements. b) am I better off buying an annual travel policy that can cover ALL my overseas travel as opposed to a single policy for my OCR trip? If you are travelling 2 or more times, then you may be better off buying an annual travel policy. You can also include your family as our policy covers independent travel of all insured persons including children. Participant Personal Accident Insurance – provides set benefit payments should you suffer a serious (pre-defined) injury as well as set weekly benefits for temporary total and temporary partial disablement. This type of cover is not designed to protect your income!!! Something to consider – a) do you have any cover in place already – maybe via a paid membership or as part of the package provided by the race organiser? If yes, do you understand what it is covering you for and do you feel this meets your requirements? Life Insurance, Serious Illness and Income Protection – Life – this cover will pay out when you die and you can choose whether you want the cover to last for the whole of your life or for a set period of time. Serious Illness – if you are diagnosed with a life- changing illness, this policy will pay out a lump sum; and includes benefits for conditions that may come back, such as cancer. Income Protection – if you can’t work because of illness, injury or disability, this cover will cover your salary or self-employment earnings, help you recover and settle back into work. Get a monthly tax-free income, which you can use as you see fit. You can choose when you’d like your income to start, from as early as seven days. Things to consider – a) if you were to suffer an injury whilst participating in OCR would your ability to earn be jeopardised? The main thing to understand here is your employer’s sick pay policy and the extent of injury that would prevent you from being able to fulfil your role (and continue to collect your pay cheque!). If your employer’s sick pay policy is restrictive, or if you are self-employed, you may wish to consider income protection insurance. b) there are a number of additional benefits available via Towergate’s exclusive arrangement with Vitality and the cover obviously extends to include OCR participation. Personal Liability – it’s a relatively slight risk but OCR participation could leave you open to a claim against you in your personal capacity should it be alleged your negligence caused injury to a third party. Most home insurances provide the policy holder and their immediate family residing in the home a level of protection for this scenario (known as personal liability insurance) but it may not extend to OCR participation. Things to consider a) for those people who are particularly risk averse it may be worth checking the extend of the cover provided by your home insurance policy. If you were to suffer an injury whilst participating in OCR would your ability to earn be jeopardised? As a “hazardous” activity, many travel insurance policies will not be able to cover OCR participation so if you have a travel policy already, check the cover We ask Nick Sullivan from Towergate to explain...