USPK has been hard at work getting insurance for Parkour Athletes. In the past few years, they have made great progress in this area, and they now have an insurance offering through Spot. The insurance is known as “Accident Medical Expense Coverage”, and there are two offerings, one with $10,000 coverage and a $1,000 deductible, and one with $25,000 coverage and no deductible. My understanding is that this is primary insurance, which is a critical distinction, primary means that this insurance “kicks in” before your other insurance, so even if you have health insurance, this insurance will cover these costs immediately, or cover your deductible from your regular health insurance. I’ll check base with USPK and update if this is not the case.
Why I’m getting this:
1. To support the growth of parkour.
As an activity, parkour getting insurance coverage is a huge milestone. Insurance coverage makes parkour a “recognized activity” in the business world. Believe me, when I opened the world’s first parkour gym in 2005, getting insurance coverage was not easy. What we ideally want is a competitive marketplace for insurance options. This starts with one insurer, and once they reach critical mass, others will recognize the market opportunity and follow suit. We cannot get to two without first having one. I know that sounds rudimentary, but it is important.
2. Supporting USPK – getting this policy by signing up for a USPK membership helps support our National Governing Body. For full disclosure, I was one of the founding board members, and I believe that parkour belongs in the hands of parkour practitioners and business owners.
3. It is a great value for accident insurance. While there are pros and cons to accident insurance, at this price I believe it is a good value. Reasons 1 and 2 far outweigh the costs and benefits of the policy itself for me. I have pretty good health insurance.
Why I think you should get this:
1. Support the growth of parkour. I can’t overstate the value of this for us as a sport.
2. Support for USPK – this is in essence a vote for who you feel governs parkour in the United States. There are others who claim to be governing bodies, and others who claim to “own” parkour. One of the key factors in determining the true keepers of the discipline is membership.
Cons:
The only weirdness I can see is that currently, the insurance does not cover you at USPK-hosted events, there is event-specific coverage that will be expressly required for those events. It does cover you for all other parkour competitions, anywhere in the world. It does cover you (but is not currently required) for World Chase Tag events.
Want to support the growth of parkour? Sign up here: USPK Membership Page
This is the opinion of Mark Toorock and any advice followed is solely at your own discretion. American Parkour does not have any financial connection to USPK or Spot Insurance.