I'm looking for insurance cover, but I do some interesting things;

By interesting things, I'm assuming this is related to your hobbies, activities and occupation. 

Insurance companies do take an interest in what activities you do because sometimes they are risky. Immediate things which come to mind for most people are bungy jumping and parachuting. The list is much longer.

What do you do?

It is probably better to approach this from the aspects of the situation you are in, what do you do?

• Compete (Professional Sports and Racing (Animals and vehicles))
• Is it physical? (Martial Arts, Rugby, etc.)
• Are heights involved? (more than 10 meters off the solid ground)
• Is speed involved? (outside running, cycling and driving a private car on a public road)
• Do you require special safety equipment? (High tension electrician, professional abseiler)

If you are in any of these situations, while you and those around you may not have had any problems with accidents or injuries, your risk when compared to someone working at a desk or in a traditional trade may be significantly higher.

Lets talk about John

I've used this example before, a discussion with a potential client, John.

• John worked on high-voltage pylons in remote areas.
• These pylons are up to 70 meters high and don't have safety railings.
• For John to get to the pylon, he had to fly in a helicopter to the pylon and then be winched down to the pylon to work on it or the wires on them.
• Now, from his point of view, he felt his risk was managed with safety gear, there were no accidents, and those around him did a similar job and had a similar experience.
• To be fair, if there was an accident, electrocution, or a fall, it's unlikely they would survive, so they are very very careful.

How the underwriter looks at John

Let's take this situation and look at the risk facing the insurance company when compared to someone behind a desk.

• There's a helicopter involved. How many hours are involved in flying?
  • Helicopter accidents happen more often than people think.
  • There had been two on the news when I was discussing the case above.
• Does the Helicopter have all doors in place and closed?
• Are the passengers always strapped in?
  • No, as they have to be winched down to the pylon.
  • This heightens the risk of falls.
• What heights are involved, 70-100 metres in the air on the end of a rope or a pylon?
  • Hmm, not a great situation with high winds or mechanical failure.
• What voltages are involved, up to 400,000 volts, normal domestic supply is 230 volts, there is a bit of a difference.

Do you fly a desk?

You can see fairly quickly that this situation is far from flying a desk.

• So thinking about your situation, how far away from flying a desk are you?
• What risk do you have to manage daily for you to do what you do?

You probably do this naturally from experience, so you will have to stop to think about it.

How do insurance companies manage these risks? 

The most common approach is to exclude the activity or occupation, but this isn't always the case.

The insurance company can often offer coverage at an increased rate; it’s a better option as the risk is included in your coverage.

• Loadings and exclusions are called special terms, which I have written an article on which you will find here.

Primarily, loadings will be per mille loadings rather than percentage loadings in these occupation risk situations.

If you want to know what cover you can get, give us a call.

We'd be happy to discuss your situation with you and give you a better picture of what cover is available for your activity or occupation.