Hazardous sports exclusion in accident insurance

Purpose

Certain sports carry such a high accident risk that they fall outside the basic scope of cover priced into private accident insurance. The clause therefore lists, exhaustively or by way of example, sports and activities for which no cover applies unless they are bought back in for an additional premium.

Effect and limits

Typically excluded activities include bungee jumping, base jumping, canyoning, kitesurfing, climbing and mountaineering above a certain difficulty grade, and diving beyond a certain depth. Austrian case law has confirmed that such lists are not surprising or grossly disadvantageous even where the specific activities listed differ between insurers, since risk exclusions are practically standard for accident insurance. How an activity is classified generally turns on how an average policyholder would understand the wording of the sport in question; a narrower term such as “climbing in a secured indoor facility” does not necessarily fall under a broader exclusion such as “free climbing”.

Negotiation and practice

Anyone who regularly practises one of the listed activities should check before taking out cover whether, and for what additional premium, it can be included, rather than relying on a generous interpretation of the exclusion list. Because the lists vary noticeably between insurers, it is worth comparing providers carefully for hazardous-sports enthusiasts; specialised add-on covers for individual sports often provide a more practical solution than trying to argue for a narrow reading of the basic exclusion.

The hazardous sports exclusion is not based on its own statutory rule in any of the three DACH jurisdictions; it follows the relevant market-standard policy conditions, whose interpretation in individual cases is refined through case law.