Student Insurance for Sports Coverage Benefit

There are quite a few student insurance plans that cover sports activities. It is hard to pick one plan as the best plan. There might be slight differences in the kind of sports activities that they cover. However, here is a list of plans which provide great coverage for sports activities:

1. Student Health Advantage plan from IMG:
   This plan provides coverage of $5000 for intercollegiate, interscholastic, intramural, and club sports. This is most requested by international students.
2. Liaison Student Plus from Seven Corners:
   This plan provides coverage of $5000 for non-contact amateur sports.
3. Student Secure Elite plan from Worldtrips:
   Sports and activities coverage: This plan covers leisure, recreational, entertainment, or fitness up to the overall maximum limit

The best policy we offer is the Diplomat America or Diplomat LongTerm insurance for intercollegiate sports coverage. The policy allows you to put a specific sports rider on the policy (low, medium, or high) depending on the sport to be covered. Under this enhancement, the maximum benefit pay out is reduced to $20,000 for any covered injury or illness resulting from the sports activity. The cost depends on the sport to be covered.

The Low Option -(additional $12.00 flat monthly rate) is for Ballet; Baseball; Cheerleading; Cross Country; Diving; Equestrian; Fencing; Field Hockey; Golf; Polo (Horse); Polo (Water); Rowing; Softball; Surfing; Swimming; Tennis; Track & Field; and Volleyball.

The Middle Option (additional $26.00 flat monthly rate) will cover Basketball; Competitive Cycling (Road, Track, CX); Ice Hockey; Inline Skating (Helmet & Proper Equipment Required); Lacrosse; Martial Arts/Karate; Modern Pentathlon; Skiing (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill); Ski Jumping; and Wrestling. And the High Option (additional $80.00 flat monthly rate) will cover Football (No Division One); Gymnastics; Rugby (No Division One); and Soccer. The LongTerm plan can be extended, but the Diplomat America plan cannot be extended or renewed.

Student Health Advantage plan from IMG covers intercollegiate sports activities: This plan provides $5000 coverage for intercollegiate sports activity.

International students can purchase the Diplomat America or Diplomat LongTerm insurance for their studies in the USA. The plan offers an intercollegiate sports rider that can cover: Ballet; Baseball; Cheerleading; Cross Country; Diving; Equestrian; Fencing; Field Hockey; Golf; Polo (Horse); Polo (Water); Rowing; Softball; Surfing; Swimming; Tennis; Track & Field; Volleyball; Basketball; Competitive Cycling (Road, Track, CX); Ice Hockey; Inline Skating (Helmet & Proper Equipment Required); Lacrosse; Martial Arts/Karate; Modern Pentathlon; Skiing (Slalom, Giant Slalom, Downhill); Ski Jumping; Wrestling; Football (No Division One); Gymnastics; Rugby (No Division One); and Soccer.

Yes. There are various student insurance plans that cover sports activities, however the sports activities that are covered by the plan vary from one to another.

While a plan covers intercollegiate sports activities, another might cover adventure sports and hazardous sports or the non contact amateur sports.

Here is a list of student insurance plans that cover sports activities:

Patriot Exchange from IMG:
This plan covers limited high school and college sports as an optional rider for 100% after the deductible is met . Similarly, it has an optional rider for adventure sports coverage.

Student Health Advantage plan from IMG:
This plan provides coverage of $5000 for intercollegiate, interscholastic, intramural, and club sports. This is most requested by international students.

Liaison Student Plus from Seven Corners:
This plan provides coverage of $5000 for non-contact amateur sports.

Student Secure Elite plan from Worldtrips:
Sports and activities coverage: This plan covers leisure, recreational, entertainment, or fitness up to the overall maximum limit.

International students can purchase either the Diplomat America or Diplomat LongTerm insurance if they intend to play on intercollegiate sports or club teams. The coverage is reduced to $20,000 for sports injuries and can cover a variety of sports activities. The cost of the rider depends on the specific sport of interest.

International students going abroad for higher education often participate in many sporting activities and they are always at higher risk of getting injured. Sports insurance for international students becomes a critical thing and selecting the right plan is particularly important to get sufficient coverage. Not every policy for international students will cover sports. The policy will include or exclude sports coverage based on the categories such as organized sports, extreme/adventurous sports, contact sports or recreational sports.

We can see the different sports categories and the insurance plans that cover these categories and the coverage details:

Organized sports:
Organized sports usually includes intercollegiate ,interscholastic, intramural or club sports. If a coach is signed for the training of the sports activity or if you have signed up for sports through your school, then it is most likely an organized sport.

Coverage is usually excluded for organized sports in most of the student insurance plans. However, there are a few international student insurance that can provide coverage for organized sports and these plans are per injury plans.

• Student Secure Elite and Select: These plans provide up to a maximum of $5000 for organized sports per injury/illness for medical expenses only.
• Student Secure Budget: This plan provides up to a maximum of $3000 for organized sports per injury/illness for medical expenses only.
• Student Health Advantage Standard and Platinum plans: These plans provide up to a maximum of $5000 for organized sports per injury/illness for medical expenses only.

Extreme/Adventurous sports:
This kind of sports activity involves a high level of danger. This kind of sports are usually excluded in most plans, however there are travel plans which include limited coverage for such adventurous sports activities or they include an additional rider for covering such sports. These plans often clearly list the exact sports activities that they cover under this category and ones that they do not cover in their schedule of benefits.

Here are some plans and their coverage details:

Atlas Travel plan: Here you can view the sports activities that are covered.
Patriot Travel Plan: This plan offers an adventure sports rider.

Contact sports:
This is clearly as the name says is a sport that involves physical contact when players come into physical contact with other players during the normal play. Sports like Hockey, Soccer, football and martial arts are some examples of contact sports activities. Like extreme sports many plans exclude contact sports. Contact sports also include a high risk of injury. It is important to carefully select the plan that includes coverage for contact sports.

• Student Secure Budget and Select: cover all organized sports even if they are considered contact sports.

Recreational sports:
These are some daily activities like jogging or playing tennis to keep general fitness of the body and so do not come under Organized, Extreme or contact sports and hence will be covered like any other medical illness in international student plans.

Yes, student insurance plans definitely cover unexpected medical expenses. It can cover medical expenses, hospitalization costs, and personal accident coverage and even provide disability benefits or income replacement for athletes unable to work due to sports-related injuries.

Apart from providing medical coverage for unexpected sickness and injury, these plans provide coverage for acute onset of pre-existing conditions after a certain waiting period which is usually 6 months or 12 months.

Some student insurance plans also provide pregnancy and maternity for a covered pregnancy, coverage for substance abuse and mental health and provide one wellness check-up during the benefit period. Physiotherapy, Prescription medication, Outpatient expenses, emergency evacuation and repatriation are all covered in these plans.

Yes, sports related injuries are covered by student health insurance plans. It includes coverage for medical expenses, hospitalization expenses, disability benefits, emergency room coverage, physiotherapy, chiropractic care, surgeries, doctor's visits, diagnostic tests and rehabilitation. However, the coverage limits, deductibles, co-payments and out of pocket costs may vary based on the health insurance plan.

Some student health insurance plans may offer additional coverage or benefits specifically tailored for sports injuries. This can include coverage for specialized treatments, sports medicine consultations, physiotherapy, or other sports-related healthcare services. However, such coverage may be offered as an optional add-on or require a separate policy.

Health insurance plans usually involve deductibles (a fixed amount you pay before insurance coverage begins) and co-payments (a percentage or fixed amount you pay for each medical service). These costs can apply to sports injuries as well, so it's important to consider them when assessing the overall coverage.

In some cases, if an athlete has primary health insurance coverage, sports organizations or teams may offer secondary insurance to provide additional coverage for sports-related injuries. This secondary insurance can help cover expenses that may not be fully covered by the primary health insurance policy.

A covered illness and injury refers to medical conditions or injuries that are included within the scope of coverage provided by an insurance policy. The specific list of covered illnesses and injuries can vary depending on the type of insurance and the terms and conditions of the policy. The covered illness or injury are referred to those that have occurred after the insurance plan has become effective. This is very crucial as there are chances for people to buy an insurance plan after they have come across a new sickness or injury in which case it is not covered and it is treated as pre-existing conditions.

Here are some key points to consider:

Health insurance typically covers a wide range of illnesses and injuries, including but not limited to:

• Acute illnesses: Such as respiratory infections, gastrointestinal issues, flu, etc.
• Chronic conditions: Such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, arthritis, etc.
• Injuries: Including fractures, sprains, burns, concussions, etc.
• Hospitalization: Coverage for hospital stays, surgeries, and other necessary medical procedures.
• Prescription medications: Coverage for prescribed drugs to treat covered illnesses or injuries.
• Diagnostic tests: Coverage for laboratory tests, imaging scans, and other diagnostic procedures.
• Preventive care: Coverage for preventive services like vaccinations, screenings, and wellness visits.

The waiting period is the time period the insured needs to wait from the time the policy became effective until the insured can avail the benefits for pre-existing conditions under the policy. The waiting period for most of the student insurance plans varies from 6 months to 1 year. In some cases it is also said that it can be 1-4 years. The waiting period differs from one plan to another and terms and conditions differ from one company to another. It also depends on the health condition that is being observed.

Hazardous sports activities are those that involve higher risk and danger. This is undertaken for seeking thrill and involves speed, height and high level of physical exertion and in most cases, highly specialized gear.