Does Life Insurance Cover Skydiving?

It’s often a good idea to get life insurance, regardless of whether you skydive or not. You may need life insurance if you want to provide for your loved ones after you die, or avoid burdening them with your financial obligations or end-of-life costs. Although skydiving has gotten safer over the years, it’s worth it to consider life insurance before you jump.

From 2004 to 2024, rates of skydiving fatalities in the U.S. decreased by 72%, based on USPA data. In 2024, nine people died from skydiving out of an estimated 3.88 million jumps, a rate of 0.23 fatalities per 100,000 jumps.

To put that in perspective, 2023 data from the Federal Highway Administration shows that there were 17.2 highway fatal motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. per 100,000 licensed drivers, a rate nearly 75 times higher than the skydiving fatality rate. While we’re not encouraging skydiving, it may not be as dangerous as people assume.

That said, death isn’t the only risk of skydiving. Injuries are possible, as well. A study of about 2.1 million jumps in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2020 found that most injuries occur during landing, with the lower extremities and spine most affected, according to a study published in the World Journal of Emergency Surgery.

Of these 2.1 million skydives, there were 2,715 incidents reported, 1,503 of which included injuries and 26 of which included deaths, resulting in 72 injuries and 1.24 fatalities per 100,000 jumps. Novice jumpers had the highest injury rates. If you land incorrectly, you may risk being disabled. Regular life insurance only covers death, not disability.

A traditional life insurance policy isn’t your only option. You can either add a rider to your existing life insurance policy, get an individual plan, or add a rider to your health insurance policy.

An accidental death benefit (ABD) is a supplemental life insurance policy that provides an extra death benefit if the insured dies from an accident.

Similar to an ABD, accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D) pays an extra death benefit if someone dies in an accident, but it could also pay an extra benefit if someone loses any two limbs or their sight, speech, hearing, or movement. You can buy AD&D either as an individual plan or a rider to a life insurance policy. Compare life insurance to accidental death and dismemberment.

Another option is adding a disability rider to your health insurance, which would replace your lost income if you couldn’t work due to a disability. Disability insurance would pay 50% to 70% of your income, and the benefits are not taxed, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Skydiving is considered an extreme sport, but it’s not the only one.

According to Britannica, other extreme sports include but are not limited to:

These extreme sports often involve high speeds or heights and a higher risk of death or injury. Sometimes, they take place in remote locations with limited access to medical care, longer response and transport times, access to fewer medical resources or providers with limited experience, and more geographic/environmental challenges, according to the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research.

Life insurance covers deaths from extreme sports, but you may have higher premiums if you engage in these sports regularly.