British Skydiving insurance cover extended to the United States

We are delighted to confirm a significant improvement to the insurance benefits included with British Skydiving membership.

Following discussions with our insurer, British Skydiving has secured an extension of the overseas 3rd party liability insurance available to full members to include parachuting in the United States – at no additional cost to members. (To qualify for this benefit; full members must also be UK residents)

This is a particularly welcome development. The United States has previously been excluded from this element of our insurance, despite being a popular overseas destination for British skydivers.

In simple terms, members jumping in the US will now have the same overseas liability benefit as when jumping at non-affiliated centres in countries such as Spain. This provides liability cover of up to £100,000, subject to the policy terms, conditions and limits.

Acceptance of British Skydiving’s insurance remains at each Drop Zone’s discretion. Members should therefore check directly with their intended destination Drop Zone before travelling to confirm that it accepts the cover and whether it requires any additional insurance.

It is a meaningful additional benefit of British Skydiving membership and one that we are very pleased to have been able to negotiate on behalf of members.

As with any overseas trip, members should still make sure that the insurance they have in place is appropriate for their individual needs and all the activities they intend to undertake, rather than relying solely on the British Skydiving liability cover.

Military Personnel

Also to clarify; British Skydiving insurance does in fact cover on duty military personnel (for example those competing at BS national competitions are routinely placed 'on duty' by their chains of command), and only excludes 'war and warlike operations' and this includes the overseas liability offering.

Non-affiliated UK PTO's

We have also reviewed the position within the UK following the recent decision by two Parachute Training Organisations to leave the British Skydiving affiliated system.

British Skydiving’s insurance is funded through membership fees, and we have a responsibility to manage that insurance carefully on behalf of all members. We can oversee and audit the standards and procedures at affiliated PTOs, but we cannot do the same for organisations operating outside the British Skydiving system.

Accordingly, our insurer has confirmed that British Skydiving liability insurance does not extend to parachuting activity undertaken at non-affiliated UK PTOs.

For individual members, this simply means that British Skydiving insurance will not apply while they are taking part in parachuting activity at a non-affiliated UK PTO. If and when they return to an affiliated British Skydiving PTO, the normal insurance position applies.

Similarly, British Skydiving insurance does not extend to work carried out on equipment owned or operated by a non-affiliated UK PTO.

Taken together, these developments mean we have been able to increase the insurance benefit available to members overseas, at no additional cost to them, while continuing to manage responsibly the insurance arrangements funded by the membership here in the UK.