What type of sports insurance coverage do your international students need? Sports and athletic coverage can be a bit confusing when it comes to international student insurance, so let\u2019s break it down!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insurance plans typically use the following language to distinguish between types of sports coverage: intercollegiate sports, interscholastic sports, intramural sports, recreational sports, club sports, and adventure sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Intercollegiate Sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intercollegiate sports refers to sports that are played for a college or university. In the US, these typically fall under the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and often schools will have their own insurance plan that helps to cover NCAA athletes in the event of injury (during practice or a game). However, it is helpful to have students on a comprehensive private insurance plan in case something happens on or off the field (or court) and will help protect from losses on the school\u2019s athletic policy.It\u2019s important to check the policy wording to make sure that every sport the students are playing is covered – and always review the exclusions on a policy in full!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interscholastic Sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Typically, this term is going to refer to high school or middle school <\/em>sports\u2013NOT college sports. Not every plan will cover an organized school sport so be sure to confirm that your secondary students have interscholastic sports coverage included. You may also want to verify the area of coverage, especially if the team is involved in traveling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Intramural Sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intramural sports are recreational organized sports and for the purpose of recreation and having fun. Oftentimes, intramural sports are run by student organizations and are more casual. However, students who plan to participate in intramural sports should have coverage for sports-related injuries. Again, it\u2019s important to review policy wording to be sure coverage is in place for when something happens while participating in the sport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Club Sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Club sports are typically viewed as more competitive than intramural sports, but less competitive than intercollegiate sports. They often require tryouts and can be organized by different organizations on campus such as different schools on campus, fraternities\/sororities, clubs\/groups, etc. Students who participate in club sports are not necessarily considered \u201ccollege athletes,\u201d since they are not playing for the school, but they should have coverage for sports-related injuries. Club sports are sometimes separated out from intercollegiate and intramural sports so, once again, check policy wording carefully!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recreational Sports<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recreational sports are sports that are participated in non-professionally and in a non-organized fashion. For example, a group of friends playing a pick up game of basketball. Or, a student playing racquetball at the local gym. These may or may not be covered based on the policy wording of the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n