How Does Compensation Work with Sports Insurance for K12 PE Programs?

When you are running a K12 PE program, it is important to keep everyone involved safe, from the young participants and the instructors to the program itself.

How Does Sports Insurance Work?

As with other types of insurance policies, sports insurance is paid for through monthly premiums in exchange for coverage. You can purchase sports insurance through a private insurer. This insurance covers a range of incidents related to sports that your PE program may host, such as soccer, tag football and other physical activities. a man throwing a baseball on a field

Children and teenagers playing sports face a high amount of risk when it comes to injuries. Over 60,000 U.S. students suffer injuries every year during physical education activities. This is for many reasons. Children tend to have less balance and coordination, which can lead to accidents. They are also less apt to listen to instructions or stretch properly to avoid injury. It is critical for all instructors to be vigilant and thorough when explaining rules and safety procedures, but not every accident can be avoided.

What Does Sports Insurance Cover?

Sports insurance policies for K-12 PE programs include a range of coverages. For injuries, sports insurance offers:

Accident Insurance: Accident insurance helps with medical bills in case of a sports-related accident. If a student is hurt while playing tag football and tears their ACL, for example, this insurance can help with their medical bills.
Catastrophic Accident Insurance: Catastrophic accident insurance helps provide compensation for especially devastating accidents, such as those that end with permanent total disability or even death.

On the liability side of sports insurance, PE programs could benefit from:

General Liability: General liability insurance provides compensation for medical bills and other expenses in case of bodily injury or property damage that occurs on the PE program’s property. For example, if a visitor trips over a piece of equipment and falls in the gym, general liability insurance will help pay for their medical bills and protect the PE program in case of a lawsuit.
Directors and Officers Liability: Directors and officers liability insurance protects the key employees of a PE program, such as coaches, in case of lawsuits.
Crime Insurance: Crime insurance compensates the PE program in case an employee or volunteer steals funds from the program.

PE programs may also want to protect items and equipment used for instruction. Coverages available for property under sports insurance include:

Property Insurance: Property insurance can protect the physical building and its contents in case of fire, wind, hail, lightning, smoke, theft, vandalism and more.
Equipment Insurance: Equipment insurance covers against the same dangers as property insurance, but this coverage is tailored for sports equipment such as nets, bats and balls.
Commercial Auto Insurance: In some cases, coaches may use vans or personal vehicles to transport sports equipment. Schools also often use buses to transport students to games and school trips. Commercial auto insurance offers comprehensive coverage, collision coverage, liability insurance and more for vehicles used or owned by the PE program.

How to File a Sports Insurance Claim

When an accident happens, it is important to file a claim as soon as possible. Once medical attention is received for the injured party (if applicable), contact your insurance provider. The insurer will sent out a claims adjuster to investigate the incident and the claim. Depending on the accident and your PE program’s policy, the claims adjuster will determine how much compensation is owed.

the claim concerns damage done to the PE program or its belongings, compensation will be sent to the policyholder. For example, say a trusted coach is caught stealing funds from the PE program. If the policyholder files a claim against their crime insurance coverage, they may receive compensation directly for the funds stolen by the coach. In most cases this is a lump sum. In the case of a property damage claim, you may receive an advance before receiving the rest of the compensation.

If the claim concerns liability, however—such as participant injuries—then the compensation will be received by the victim.

Say you file a claim on your accident coverage for a student who was injured and hospitalized while playing baseball. The claim is approved by the claims adjuster. Compensation will then be sent to the victim (or in this case, the student’s legal guardian) as medical expenses arise. In the unfortunate case of a catastrophic accident claim due to the death of a student, compensation called a “death benefit” will be paid to the student’s surviving family in a lump sum payment.

How Does Compensation Work with Sports Insurance for K12 PE Programs?

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