Life Insurance
for Daredevils with a Dangerous Hobby
Life Insurance for Daredevils with a Dangerous Hobby
Jumping, flying, and diving are thrilling ways to get your danger on. But when it comes to protecting your family from financial ruin should your death-defying prove deadly, choosing the best life insurance to get can be an expensive game.
In addition to variables such as health and age, insurance companies consider dangerous hobbies when evaluating a life insurance application. Therefore, dangerous hobbies invite higher life insurance prices than your life insurance policy quote.
Some hobbies are more dangerous than others. Activities insurance companies do not deem risky enough to warrant a higher premium or denial include:
- Cycling – including mountain biking
- Skateboarding or snowboarding
- Hiking
- Skiing
No matter what your hobby, life insurance is critical to protect your family if you’re no longer around to provide for them—especially if you’re a thrill-seeker.
What Life Insurance Companies Consider a Dangerous Hobby
- Flying activities: piloting a private plane or helicopter, hot air ballooning or hang gliding
- Jumping activities: kydiving, parachuting, and bungee jumping
- Motorsports and racing (including boat racing)
- Motorcycle riding
- Scuba diving
- Surfing
- Luging (riding a board down paved or iced surfaces)
- Frequent adventure travel
- Triathlon competition (raises BMI and cholesterol)
- Mixed martial arts and boxing
- Free running (jumping, flipping or spinning off objects while you run)
- White water rafting
Hobbies for which a life insurance company will deny coverage include:
- Deep sea diving or cave diving
- Base jumping (diving off cliffs)
- Skydiving
- Ice or rock climbing
It’s a lengthy list. But don’t lose heart. There’s more than one way to insure a daredevil.
Life Insurance Policy Plans for Risk Takers
Term life insurance is the least expensive form of life insurance. And some companies that approve a term policy may only charge a flat extra for the first years of your policy. For instance, if you purchase a 30-year term policy you may only have to pay the flat extra for the first five years and enjoy the lower base premium for the remaining 25 years.
While one company may deny coverage for your hobby, another may provide it. It’s all about the variables surrounding probability risk.
Variables include:
- How often you indulge in your hobby (one annual dive trip is less risky than going out every weekend)
- The licenses or certifications you have
- The years of experience you have
Lying Is a Bigger Risk to Life Insurance Coverage than Your Actual Hobby
Having read all this, you may be tempted to lie. But don’t. Life insurance underwriters are intensely thorough. If there’s an accident history recorded anywhere, they will find it. And your hobby will cost more than any premium you pay to cover it.