Protect yourself during risky pastimes

Less than a month ago, Felix Baumgartner was the object of intense curiosity, admiration, and astonishment as he undertook to sky dive from the edge of space, setting the world record for height and speed achieved in this sport. Some of us regard daredevils like this with envy, wondering if we ourselves would ever endeavour to do something so daring, while others of us react by reiterating our contentment with safer pastimes. Whichever side your heart lies on, unless you are an insurance provider, your thoughts about Felix Baumgartner almost certainly did not include “I wonder how much he pays for life insurance?” Since we are insurance providers, that was one of the first thoughts that occurred to us.

Unbeknowst to many people, your hobbies actually can impact your life insurance rate, depending on what they are. This isn't to say that knitters need worry about the implications of a death-by-needles scenario when purchasing a policy. That said, while some of the activities that raise your insurance rates may come as no surprise to you, others may. Here are a few of said activities:

• Aviation
• Vehicle racing – cars, bikes, or boats, for example
• Bungee jumping
• Cave diving
• Zip lining
• Hot air ballooning
• Parachuting
• Rock climbing and mountaineering
• Scuba diving
• Skiing
• Skydiving
• Surfing
• White water rafting
  

At this point in your reading, you may be thinking to yourself, “but how would my insurance provider even know? Especially if I only go ballooning once every other year? Do I really have to disclose that?” You know the old adage that says “honesty is the best policy?” we would add that, “honesty is the best policy for your policy.” Failing to mention something like this when purchasing your policy could actually jeopardize your family's ability to claim your life insurance proceeds if you should happen to pass away during a risky activity that was not disclosed at the time the policy was made. Unlike sky diving, that's a whole lot of risk without any thrill.