Cliff jumping has no organiser, no inspection and no instructor, and that changes not only the risk but also the question of who pays after an accident.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
We compare the offerings of several insurers
An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
With virtually every other risk sport there is someone beside you: a guide, an instructor or a licensed operator. When jumping from rocks into water there is nobody. There is no equipment that could have been inspected, no participant list and no procedure. That also means that after an accident there is no party you can hold liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. What remains is your own cover.
The second difference lies in the injuries. The medical treatment after a bad landing is usually not the big item. The permanent consequences are. Vertebral, neck and spinal cord injuries affect your income and your daily life for the rest of your life. This is therefore more a question for accident or disability cover than for travel insurance.
The jump is moreover rarely easy to judge. Water depth, current, a rock below the surface and the height of the jump cannot be reliably assessed from the edge. Insurers know that and by no means always offer an extension. What is possible is set out under insuring high-risk sports.
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.
There is no organiser to hold liable
If you jump from a rock into a lake or the sea, there is no provider who breached a duty of care. Sometimes there is a landowner or a local authority, but that party has usually put up a sign prohibiting it, and that works against you rather than for you. The route through liability almost always ends in a dead end here. Only your own accident or travel cover pays, and then only if the activity was declared.
It is not the treatment but the consequences that cost money
A bad landing on the water produces bruises, but a landing on the back or the head is about vertebrae and nerve injuries. So look at the sum insured for permanent disability and at your income protection, not only at the payment of medical expenses. Also check whether your disability insurance or life insurance has an exclusion for dangerous sports.
Alcohol and ignored prohibitions
Jumping after drinking alcohol and jumping where it is prohibited are the two circumstances that most often lead to refusal. Virtually every policy has an exclusion for damage connected with alcohol or drugs, and in addition Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code allows the insurer to rely on serious fault. A sign prohibiting jumping is taken into account in that assessment as an established fact.
Often not insurable, and that is an answer too
Unlike supervised sports, many insurers simply do not offer an extension for this. If there is none, you bear the risk yourself. That is a judgement you make before the jump, not afterwards. Sometimes there is cover for the supervised version, for example coasteering with a guide, a helmet and a buoyancy aid. In that case, ask whether the jumps within it are expressly included.
What does your premium depend on?
Acceptance by the insurer. The first question is not what it costs but whether the company accepts this activity at all.
Supervised or unorganised. Jumping within a supervised coasteering trip is assessed differently from jumping on your own initiative.
Height of the jump. The greater the fall height, the more serious the injury after a bad landing and the heavier the rating.
Sum insured for disability. With this activity the disability payment is the part that makes the difference.
Occupation and income. With income cover, your occupation determines how heavily permanent injury feeds through into the payment.
Age and medical acceptance. Age and health details count when accident cover is accepted.
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.
By no means always. Several insurers offer no extension for unorganised jumping from rocks, because there is no supervision, inspection or site management behind it. Ask each company and do not settle for a general assurance about risk sports; have the activity named specifically in the confirmation you receive.
I jumped at a place with a prohibition sign. What does that mean?
It weakens your position considerably. The insurer can rely on serious fault within the meaning of Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code, and a claim against the landowner is hopeless because that party gave the warning. Even without a sign, you were the one who had to judge the water depth. Photographs of the situation on the spot are the only counterweight when you claim.
Does it count if I jump on a supervised trip?
With coasteering led by a guide, with a helmet and a buoyancy aid and at spots sounded in advance, the situation is different and some insurers do provide cover. The condition is that you declare the trip as such and that the jumps are mentioned in the confirmation. If you jump elsewhere on your own initiative during that trip, that advantage falls away.
What does this do to my disability insurance?
Check whether your policy has an exclusion for dangerous sports and whether you should have declared that activity. When the insurance is taken out, the duty of disclosure in Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code applies. If you conceal a risky hobby, the insurer can reduce or refuse the payment under Article 7:930 DCC. Better to declare it in advance.
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.
You will find our licence, KvK and Kifid details and our complaints procedure at the foot of every page.
