Injured amateur sportspeople
fed up with NHS treatment
EVERY week thousands of people are injured while playing sport and are dissatisfied with treatment on the NHS.
The poll conducted by Survey Monkey showed participants were forced to take time off work because of the severity of their injuries.
The majority of men and women, in the exclusive survey for Active Cover – a new insurance product for amateur sports people, agreed they would pay for private healthcare if premiums were affordable.
The survey showed:
65% of people have been injured as a result of playing sport or doing exercise
28% have taken time off work following a sports injury
Only 24% of people in Britain are happy with the medical treatment they received from the National Health Service following a sports injury
73% of amateur sportspeople would pay for private health care if premiums were affordable
Published figures show that 27.1 million Brits participate in sporting activities, which is 60.1% of the population.
The survey, on behalf of Active Cover- a new multi-sport Injury Insurance product designed to help amateur sportspeople overcome injuries – polled a cross section of men and women aged between 18-75 years or older. Around 39% of those who took part were aged 45-54 and 67% were men.
Former badminton Silver Olympic athlete Gail Emms, 40, said: “These are shocking statistics and it proves just how many people are getting injured and taking costly spells off work.
“When I was an Olympic athlete I was entitled to free medical insurance for physio and surgeries but now I am no longer funded I realise how important it is to be covered.
“I play a lot of sports and I’ve noticed my body is more prone to injury than it was. I love the concept of Active Cover – this is for sporty people who understand that the realities of a fitness regime may incur serious and minor injuries here and there.”
Participants enjoyed competing in a wide range of sports including, football, running, pilates, spinning, netball, squash, horse riding, golf and cycling.
Around 19% of the 300 responders to the poll said they exercised five times a week and 27% said they exercised twice a week. Only around 6% reported they did not exercise at all.
The study showed that 6% of those injured took over a month off work, 7% took two weeks off work and 10% took less than a week.
Researchers discovered that 28% of people choose to have treatment privately rather than go down the NHS route. Over 7% of patients paid more than £500, 13% forked out between £151-£500 and 8% paid up to £150.
Asked if premiums were affordable would they see sports insurance as an effective means of getting back to fitness quickly, a massive 73% agreed.
Active Cover was developed by two childhood friends, former City trader Simon Dryan and insurance advisor Graeme Godfrey and designed to help customers to overcome injuries caused during sporting activity, by providing financial support to aid many elements of their recovery.
Under their diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation sections, Active Cover will reimburse customers for up to 75% of the costs incurred up to the maximum limits of the policy, dependant on which package is chosen.
Users can access private treatment, such as physiotherapy anywhere in the UK without total reliance on the NHS, speeding up the recovery process.
If an injury is serious enough that it prevents someone from going to their gym, Active Cover will reimburse the membership fees.
Customers are covered for most sports including boxing, surfing, tennis and even Judo and Karate, all at one price.
Team sports like football and rugby are covered, as well as organised activities for both adults and children.
Active Cover is underwritten by CHUBB European Group Limited, who are a global leader in personal accident insurance.
Co-founder Graeme Godfrey said: “We never envisaged that we would end up in business together but you now have two trusted friends on the same team which is an excellent start. We saw a gap in the market, so we set up this business in an attempt to change the face of sports insurance in the UK and we have spent two years developing and fine tuning the product.”
For a full list of multi-sports covered: https://activecover.co.uk/multi_sports_covered/
For a full list of multi-sports covered: https://activecover.co.uk/multi_sports_covered/
Active cover in 60 seconds:
