Hazardous Activity

What Does Hazardous Activity Mean?

A hazardous activity refers to a recreational or occupational activity deemed highly risky in the context of life or disability insurance. Examples include car racing, horse riding, bungee jumping, scuba diving, hang gliding, construction work, and underground mining. However, modern underwriting processes have become more lenient regarding occupational activities, allowing for greater flexibility in assessing risk.

Insuranceopedia Explains Hazardous Activity

Applicants who engage in hazardous activities may either be denied a policy or receive one that excludes coverage for those activities. In the latter case, the insurance company is likely to charge a higher premium due to the increased risk. Hobbies like skydiving or rock climbing are one of several things that can push life insurance rates higher, along with age and health history. This guide on what affects the cost of a life insurance premium covers how insurers weigh those factors.

Although applicants may choose not to disclose hobbies considered hazardous, insurance companies may discover this during the underwriting process. For example, medical records could reveal injuries sustained from a hazardous activity, which could result in the application being denied. Some applicants who want to avoid a full medical workup look at no medical exam life insurance, but those policies still ask health and lifestyle questions on the application and can deny a claim if the answers were false. If the insurance company does not uncover the undisclosed activity, it may refuse to pay a claim resulting from a hazardous activity that was not disclosed in the application.