In formation skydiving the risk lies not in the height but in the closeness of other jumpers, and that makes both acceptance and the question of liability different from a solo jump.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Formation skydiving is parachute sport at an advanced level: several jumpers leave the aircraft shortly after one another and build a figure in free fall. The moments that matter are the exit, the separation before opening and the opening phase itself. Collisions in free fall and tangled lines on opening are the incidents insurers look at, not the landing.
For your policies it remains an air sport and is therefore excluded as standard. Those who do accept it link the cover to your licence level, your total number of jumps and the number of jumps in the recent period. A jumper who joins a formation after years away is assessed differently from someone who is active all season.
Many jumpers rely on their drop zone's insurance. That covers the organisation's liability, among other things for mistakes by its own instructors under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code. Your own injury, permanent disability and loss of income are not included. For the other air sport on this site, see hang gliding.
What does your insurance cover for formation skydiving?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
The essentials
Declare in advance
What you do not declare is not covered.
Notify before departure
Surcharge or separate module
Also for one-off participation
Note all three
Three covers
They do not always run in step.
Medical expenses
Accidents and disability
Liability
Emergency assistance centre
In an accident
Call before you incur costs.
Arranging a guarantee
Salvage and repatriation
Keep all receipts
What is covered
Situation
Standard
With extension
Medical expenses after an accident
No
Yes
Rescue and salvage costs
No
Yes
Permanent disability
No
Sometimes
Liability towards third parties
Sometimes
Yes
Taking part in competition
No
Sometimes
Taking part without the required qualification
No
No
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
The risk is the jumper next to you
In a formation, people fly metres apart with differences in fall rate. A collision in free fall or a line wrapping around a leg on opening are the scenarios that count. If you hold a fellow jumper liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, a higher threshold applies in sport and games: participants accept part of the risk from each other. So do not count on the other person paying.
The drop zone insures itself, not you
A drop zone's policy covers the organisation's liability for mistakes by instructors, tandem masters and equipment, partly under Article 6:170 of the Dutch Civil Code for subordinates. That is something other than cover for your own injury. Permanent disability and loss of income are for you to arrange, through accident insurance that expressly includes air sports or through adapted disability cover.
Licence, number of jumps and currency
Insurers that accept parachute sport set conditions about your ratings. Jumping outside your licence level, outside a recognised drop zone or without the required medical fitness is excluded, as are BASE jumping and wingsuit flying unless separately included. Keep your logbook up to date: the number of jumps and the date of your last jump are the details on which acceptance and the assessment of a claim rest.
Your equipment is not luggage
The main canopy, reserve, container, AAD and altimeter represent considerable value. If you lose your main canopy after a cutaway or it is damaged on a water landing, that is not a sudden external event within the meaning of the luggage cover. Arrange that through separate equipment cover. Damage because the canopy was not packed by an authorised packer remains excluded in all cases.
What does your premium depend on?
Licence level. The level of your licence determines which disciplines and which formations you may jump.
Total number of jumps. Experience in jumps counts for more in acceptance than the number of years of membership.
Jumps in the recent period. Currency counts: after a long break insurers assess the risk afresh.
Discipline. Formation skydiving, freeflying and wingsuit flying are not treated as the same risk.
Drop zone and territorial scope. Jumping at foreign drop zones and during boogies calls for a wider area.
Sums insured for death and disability. With this sport these two sections determine the value of the policy, not the medical expenses.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Only for the centre's own liability, for example where an instructor makes a mistake or the organisation's equipment is defective. Your own injury, permanent disability and lost income fall outside it. Ask the centre exactly which policy is in force and arrange your personal cover alongside it. The two complement each other but do not replace each other.
What does this mean for my disability insurance?
Parachute sport appears on many disability and life policies as an exclusion or calls for a clause. When the policy is taken out, the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code applies. If you conceal the sport, the insurer can reduce or refuse the payment under Article 7:930 DCC. Declare it and have it recorded on what basis you are covered.
I collided with another jumper in the air.
Report it to your own insurer and to the drop zone, and have the incident recorded in the logbook and the centre's report. A claim against the fellow jumper under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code is difficult: in sport a higher threshold applies because participants accept risk from each other. Your own accident cover is therefore in practice the paying party.
Is my parachute equipment insured?
Not through ordinary luggage or home contents cover. Loss of a main canopy after a cutaway and damage during a landing are damage through use and not a sudden external event. There are separate equipment covers for jumping gear, often through the association or the drop zone. Keep purchase receipts and the details of the AAD for establishing the value.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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