Are you searching for comprehensive cheerleading insurance coverage to protect your organization from liabilities or accidents that occur during cheerleading activities?
The best insurance coverage to protect your program from common risks includes general liability insurance and accident medical insurance. If you are a coach or trainer then professional liability insurance will protect you against claims arising from professional negligence or errors and omissions that occur when providing instructions to participants.
For parents of cheerleading participants, individual accident medical insurance provides additional coverage specifically for your child in case of a cheerleading injury. This can help pay for medical bills not covered by their primary insurance plan.
Associated Risks with Cheerleading
Cheerleading carries significant risks due its physical demands, complex stunts and acrobatics. The most common risks include injuries such as sprains, strains, fractures and head injuries. These types of injuries can occur during tumbling, stunting, or falls from heights.
Also, cheerleading routines require a high level of physical fitness, strength, flexibility, and endurance. The intense training and performances can lead to overuse injuries, muscle strains, and exhaustion.
Another type of injury that poses a significant risk is an impact related fall injury from lifting, tossing, and catching teammates in the air. Landing improperly from such an acrobatic movement can lead to serious injuries.
It’s important that you have insurance coverage to manage these risks for both participants and organizers. This way you can be protected against potential liabilities and medical costs that can occur from the inherent risks of cheerleading.
Types of Cheerleading Insurance Coverage
There’s different types of insurance coverage for program operators compared to parents of cheerleaders. Let’s first review insurance coverage for program operators such as a coach, gym owner or league organizer.
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance acts as a financial safety net for program operators in case of lawsuits or claims that can lead to financial loss. It protects your cheerleading program, gym or league against third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage and personal injury that can arise from cheerleading related activities.
Bodily injury liability covers claims if a cheerleader or coach accidentally causes injury to a spectator, another participant, or any third party during practices, performances, or competitions. It can help pay for medical expenses, legal fees, and potential settlements or judgments.
Property damage liability covers for repairs or replacement costs if a cheerleading activity accidentally causes damage to someone else’s property, such as a rented facility or equipment.
Personal injury liability covers claims of libel, slander, invasion of privacy, or other personal injury offenses such as disputes with parents or other participants. Although this is less common in sports, these situations can arise and result in significant legal costs.
General liability insurance is important for cheerleading organizations, coaches, and instructors as it can protect them from the financial consequences of lawsuits or claims resulting from accidents or injuries that occur during cheerleading practices, competitions, or events. Remember, GL insurance typically has limitations and exclusions, so carefully review the policy details with your insurance agent.
Participant Legal Liability
This coverage protects cheerleaders from liability claims arising from accidental injuries caused to other participants during practice or competitions. It can cover legal expenses and potential settlements or judgments.
Professional Liability Insurance
If you’re a coach or instructor, professional liability insurance can protect against claims that arise from professional negligence or errors and omissions. This includes protection during coaching, choreographing routines, or providing instruction.
Accident Medical Insurance
This coverage helps cover medical costs if a cheerleader gets injured during practice, competitions, or other related activities. This can help cover medical costs for injured cheerleaders who don’t have insurance or if their existing plan doesn’t cover everything.
Equipment Insurance
This covers the repair or replacement costs of damaged or stolen equipment such as mats, stunting equipment and uniforms. This type of insurance is particularly useful if your cheerleading team travels often as traveling puts you at risk for more chances of damage or stolen equipment, which is expensive to replace.
Event Insurance
This is used to protect the financial investment of the event itself. It covers things like cancellation or postponement of competition or exhibition events due to bad weather, power outages or non-appearances of key participants such as coaches or judges.
Choosing the Right Cheerleading Insurance
The factors that you should consider when choosing an insurance provider include coverage options, cost and customer service.
Coverage options
When you’re reviewing coverage options of a potential insurance policy, keep in mind the coverage limits. This is how much is financially covered within the insurance policy. Also review the deductible, which is out-of-pocket costs before insurance kicks in. Another item to review what is not covered by the policy in the exclusions and limitations portion.
Cost
Here’s the typical annual policy cost for cheerleading insurance:
- General liability only: $300 – $1,000 or more
- Accident medical only: $25 – $100 per participant
- Equipment insurance: 1-3% of equipment’s total value
- Travel insurance: $50 – $200 per trip
- A comprehensive package policy covering liability, accident medical, equipment, and more for a team of 20 could cost $2,000 – $5,000+ per year.
Customer Service
It’s important to evaluate the customer service of the insurance provider before signing a policy. Positive customer service experiences include customer service representatives addressing your questions promptly, providing guidance on coverage needs and managing claims smoothly.
Cheerleading Insurance Providers
Make sure to work with your insurance agent to get quotes from multiple insurers that specialize in cheerleading or sports insurance to find the right coverage balance and affordable premiums.
Here’s a list of three providers you can directly contact:
Frequently asked questions
No, most comprehensive cheerleading insurance policies will provide coverage for both practices and competitions under the same policy.
It’s better to obtain group cheerleading insurance coverage rather than individual policies for each participant.
Yes, most major cheerleading insurance providers offer tailored policy packages to meet the specific risks and requirements for each type.
Many cheerleading insurance policies include pre-existing medical conditions, intentional acts of violence or misconduct, use of illegal substances, activities involving aircraft or vehicles, sexually transmitted diseases, and injuries occurring outside of supervised practices or sanctioned events.