Lacrosse is proudly known as North America’s oldest sport. Early versions of this sport dating back to 1100 A.D. were played by Native Americans using deer hide-wrapped balls or rocks. While we have strayed away from using rocks, lacrosse has remained an unpredictable contact sport, making it incredibly important for youth lacrosse leagues and teams to offer the proper secondary accident insurance coverage for those involved.
It is a fast-paced and exhilarating game. There are starts and stops, scrambles for the ball, and abrupt, action-packed shots on goal. It is a collaborative sport that requires consistent physical and verbal interactions between players.
What Is Secondary Accident Insurance?
Secondary Accident Insurance, also widely known as Excess Accident Insurance, protects youth lacrosse participants and their families from paying out-of-pocket costs for injuries, accidents, accidental death, or dismemberment. Travel insurance, which covers group travel to and from games/practices, is included in this form of accident insurance.
This added form of coverage works together with general liability insurance to ensure parents, guardians, and league organizers can feel at ease while their youth players are actively participating in a contact sport such as lacrosse. It is important to note that secondary accident insurance requires a primary insurance, such as family health insurance, to respond first.
Additionally, secondary accident insurance can protect league organizers against the bad press and reputational damage that can often come along with these situations if secondary accident insurance is not offered.
Many youth lacrosse league organizers view secondary accident insurance as “the first line of defense against lawsuits.” At ESP Specialty, we could not agree more.
Why Do Youth Lacrosse Teams Need Secondary Accident Insurance?
Chris Price, the Managing Principal here at ESP Specialty, said it best: “we tell all our youth sports clients across the board the same thing. This is where you want to spend your money in terms of protecting the most important asset in your program: the youth participants.”
As a sports organizer, protecting the children in your care should always be the number one priority. Every year, the most common types of injuries in male and female youth lacrosse include sprains, strains, concussions, and contusions, with the most common area of injury occurring in the hand (23%).
Rates of injury continue to grow as children progress from youth lacrosse to high school and into college.
How Does Secondary Accident Insurance Work Together with Existing Primary or Family Insurance?
As previously mentioned, primary insurance is required to respond first and make the initial payment less any deductible or coinsurance. There are three scenarios that can occur when using secondary accident insurance:
- When the existing primary or family insurance pays for 100% of all medical bills, the secondary accident insurance policy will not make payment for any benefits.
- When the existing primary or family insurance pays for only 80% of all medical bills (due to deductibles or coinsurance provisions), the secondary accident insurance policy will pay for the remaining 20% less any deductible or other policy limitations.
- When no primary or family insurance exists, the secondary accident insurance policy becomes primary and pays covered benefits less any deductible or other policy limitations.
Secondary accident insurance also provides more comprehensive coverage for injury-related situations as compared to general liability insurance, making it a must-have for youth lacrosse teams.
What Are Other Recommended Coverages for Youth Lacrosse Teams?
When it comes to youth lacrosse, we recommend covering all your bases. Look no further; we have you covered. Your team may also benefit from the following coverages:
- Catastrophic Secondary Accident Medical Excess Coverage: This extended secondary accident medical coverage protects up to $1,000,000 for your youth lacrosse participants.
- Directors & Officers: This coverage protects against a breach of duty or negligence by directors and officers of your lacrosse league or team. Optional Cyber Liability & Employment Practices Liability Insurance is also available.
- Inland Marine: This coverage protects all youth lacrosse team-related equipment during course of play, transport, or off-season storage.
- Crime Protection: This coverage protects the organization from internal theft of league funds. $10,000 and $25,000 limit structures.
At ESP Specialty, we provide our clients with quality, comprehensive youth lacrosse insurance options that work for them. Lacrosse can be an unpredictable and high-intensity sport, even at the youth level. These characteristics make this pastime increasingly popular among children throughout the United States and are a huge reason secondary accident insurance is needed.
We offer minimum premium standard lacrosse camp insurance policies or customizable solutions to protect you from lawsuits, injuries, accidents, and much more.
Go Ahead, We Have You Covered
