Insurance For Basketball Teams & Leagues

Whether you run a city basketball team, a large competitive league, a small local youth club, or any other type of basketball organization, one thing’s sure: you need insurance.

What types of basketball insurance do you need? How much does it cost? Why is it so crucial? These are all questions we will answer in this guide.

Picture the following scenarios:

• A player gets injured on the court, and their parent sues your club for their medical bills. Injuries such as concussions, broken noses, knee and ankle injuries, and jammed fingers are common in this sport.

• A spectator gets hit in the head with the ball at a high speed, resulting in a concussion and a lawsuit.

• Your team’s bus gets into an accident when you are on your way to a tournament.

• One of your employees gets injured on the job, and has to take a week off of work.

In all of these scenarios, if your club was uninsured, it would need to pay the full medical and legal costs. But with proper insurance for your basketball club, some or all of those costs may be covered.

Types of Basketball Insurance Coverage You Need

Here are some of the different types of insurance that you should consider for your basketball team or league.

• General liability insurance: This coverage helps pay for damages if third parties or their property are damaged by your organization.

• Accident insurance: This is a form of excess coverage that specifically applies to accidents. Policies typically protect players and personnel (including volunteers).

• Commercial property insurance: Buying this type of coverage allows you to protect your commercial property (a general liability insurance policy only protects third parties’ property).

• Commercial auto insurance: You can cover your team’s bus or any other vehicles your organization uses with a commercial auto policy.

• Workers’ compensation insurance: If your organization has even a single employee, you are required under law to purchase workers’ comp. If your employees get sick or injured on the job, workers’ comp will help cover their medical bills and lost wages.

• Travel basketball insurance: This is a type of policy that is designed to cover your team specifically when they are travelling for tournaments or other events. You may need this type of coverage to fill in gaps in your other policies.

There may be other types of insurance that are not on this list that could be suitable for your organization as well. For example, you may also want errors and omissions insurance, directors and officers liability insurance, crime insurance, or a business owner’s policy (BOP). Excess/umbrella coverage may be a good purchase for some organizations as well that need more than the coverage the basic policies provide.

How Much Does Basketball Insurance Cost?

For a basketball league, the cost per year can range anywhere from $25 for a single team at a small youth league up to more than $450 per year for a medium-sized youth league with more than half a dozen teams. Some types of basketball organizations may have higher insurance costs. Here are some of the factors that can impact the cost of basketball insurance.

• Types of policies: Which types of policies you choose to buy will influence how much you need to pay for basketball insurance. A league that buys just a couple of types of policies will pay less, all other things being equal, than one that purchases several more types of additional policies.

• Deductibles: The deductible tells you how much your organization must pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in. The lower the deductible amount, the higher the monthly costs.

• Coverage maximums: The higher the maximum amount of coverage is, the more your organization must pay for monthly premiums (if you need even more than the maximum amount, you also will have to buy excess coverage).

• Type and size of organization: So many different types of organizations may require basketball insurance: AAU leagues, YMCA leagues, church leagues, city teams, high school teams, etc. Facilities where basketball is played also need insurance coverage. Depending on the type and size of your organization, your costs may be higher or lower than another organization would need to pay.

• Travel: The amount, distance and frequency of travel your team does to play will affect the cost of your insurance. Many teams even choose to purchase specialized basketball travel insurance policies.

• Discounts: Your organization might qualify for discounts from some insurance carriers (for example, by maintaining a good track record with few or no claims over an extended period of time, demonstrating your safe operations).

• Which company you choose: Because every carrier has its own underwriting guidelines, some insurance companies quote higher and lower prices for otherwise equivalent policies.

Where to Find Basketball Insurance

We have discussed the cost of basketball insurance, as well as the various types of policies available. If you are ready to get basketball insurance, here is where you shop for your policies.

eSportsInsurance

https://www.esportsinsurance.com/

Those seeking liability insurance for their basketball club or team can shop for a policy through eSportsInsurance.

eSportsInsurance specifically works with carriers who focus on sports insurance. Since they can connect you with policies across their network, they can help you shop around quickly and efficiently for the highest quality coverage at the most affordable pricing. In addition, you can look forward to excellent customer support through the entire process.

Best for: This is our top all-around recommendation if you are looking for great basketball insurance rates and a fast sign-up process.

AAU Sports

https://aausports.org/Insurance

Another fantastic option for basketball insurance is AAU insurance, which you can get through the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The AAU is a non-profit organization that offers a range of membership benefits to clubs and individuals.

Their insurance products for basketball include sports accident insurance and general liability insurance. From their site, here is the breakdown of details for both policies:

• “Sports Accident: Coverage is provided for properly registered athletes or non-athletes who are injured during an AAU licensed event, supervised practice or while participating in the Extended Coverage (AB) membership program.  Coverage is excess medical and becomes primary if there is no other coverage available.
• General Liability:  Coverage is provided for properly registered athletes, non-athletes, member clubs/teams, event organizers, promoters, facilities, sponsors, managers, spectators and volunteers covering claims due to damage or injury caused by negligence or acts of omission during performance of duties or conducting business (such as running events or hosting a practice.)”

Note that the text above specifically refers to AAU events. That means that AAU insurance is appropriate for clubs taking part in AAU’s events, but may not work for all clubs or leagues.

Best for: Consider AAU’s insurance for a youth basketball team that participates in AAU events.

Get Your Custom Basketball Insurance Quotes

Your basketball club strives toward victory, but each day brings risks. With basketball insurance from a carrier that offers excellent rates, coverage and service, you can protect your club and its players and personnel.