Baseball is considered to be America’s pastime. Many kids try out for teams organized by their schools or various youth organizations. For organized entities that sponsor and promote baseball for young people, youth travel baseball team insurance becomes crucial. If you’re a coach or someone who’s organizing such a venture, insurance for youth travel baseball team concerns should be very much on your mind. If you neglect this kind of insurance, that can prove disastrous.
Let’s take a moment to talk about this type of insurance. We’ll cover what it is, why you need it, and exactly what it usually covers.
What Is Youth Travel Baseball Team Insurance?
These policies apply to entities that sponsor youth baseball teams that are going to be traveling for games. They can cover:
- Youth Baseball
- Youth Softball
- T-Ball Teams and Leagues
Any time you have an entity that is sponsoring or organizing one of these kinds of youth baseball, and one of the teams is going to travel for an “away game,” you need to have this type of policy. The insurance for any youth travel baseball team events that you’re promoting protects you from liability if several different sorts of incidents or accidents occur. The kind of youth travel baseball team insurance that we are talking about is considered to be a combination of accident medical insurance and general liability insurance.
What Kinds of Programs Is It Available For?
Youth travel baseball team insurance is available for youth baseball programs only. That means teams or leagues including individuals who are up to 18 years of age, but no older. As previously mentioned, such a program might be softball, T-ball, or any similar baseball-themed activity.
What Does This Type of Insurance Generally Cover?
Those who purchase it can usually expect it to cover the following:
- Official team or league functions: These include any types of events where people gather in support of the team.
- Fundraisers: Any fundraising events that are held on behalf of the team or league.
- Tryouts: Accidents can occur during tryouts for a youth baseball team, so these policies will cover those as well.
- Tournaments or Individual Games: Whether a youth baseball team is involved in a tournament or a single game, either of those will be fully covered.
- Practices: Any time the team, parents, coaches, support staff, or anyone else connected to the league gathers for practice, one of these policies will also cover that.
Insurance for youth travel baseball team events is meant to have limits and benefits that satisfy the mandatory requirements for games, tournaments, practices, etc. The game or tournament hosts are covered by the policy, as are the owners of fields and other indoor or outdoor facilities where the games are being played.
You usually want a general liability insurance policy for your youth baseball team while traveling of at least $1 million, but $2 million is better. Some field owners demand that you have a higher limit. This part of the policy covers things like lawsuits related to property damage and many injuries to players or spectators that might occur.
4 Reasons Why Your Youth Baseball Team Needs Insurance
What Other Additions to Your Insurance Might Your Team Want?
In addition to what we’ve mentioned so far, you will probably want a policy that covers the following:
- The Team’s Equipment: When youth baseball teams travel, they usually bring bats, balls, helmets, and lots of other gear with them. You’ll want a policy that covers fire, wind, vandalism, and theft.
- Crime Insurance: You never know when your team is going to be the victim of a crime while traveling. Theft of cash by individuals not associated with the team might happen. However, many policies of this nature also cover volunteer or team employee embezzlement and similar illegal acts.
- Liability for League Officers and Directors: This is an addition to the policy that the general liability does not cover. It is there in case of wrongful termination or suspension of league officials or administrators. It also covers acts of discrimination and similar occurrences.
Some Additional Details About This Type of Coverage
Most of these policies also include a molestation and abuse form. These are generally customized by the companies offering the coverage. Keep in mind that if you want to have that included as part of your policy, that involves doing a background check on any adults who will be interacting with the team or traveling with them.
When a team travels, the coverage goes along with them. Coaches and players are covered, but so are volunteers, trainers, and any other official staff members who travel with the team.
For the most part, these comprehensive policies cover any event associated with the team and the league, from the first tryouts through the year-end banquet. Details of each policy vary, but the better ones don’t neglect any aspect of what might happen to a baseball team when they are traveling to and from a game or some other league function.
See How Much Youth Baseball Insurance Costs With Our Breakdown
A Common Scenario When You’d Need To Use Your Insurance Policy
Like with any other type of insurance, you would hope that even though you have it in place, you will never need to use it. There are always scenarios where you’ll need to file a claim, though.
Maybe your team is traveling to a different city to play a game. You arrive at the opposing team’s field, and you’re practicing the day before the game. A batted ball bounces up and hits one of your players in the face, breaking their nose. The medical bills are costly, and there’s some permanent disfigurement or scarring.
The family hires a lawyer and brings a lawsuit. That suit might include the league, the coach, and the team. Maybe the lawsuit alleges that the coach didn’t have the proper training.
In such a situation, you will need your insurance policy to kick in. When it does, your liability insurer might hand the case to a claims adjuster. They will also pay for the legal counsel that defends the coach, league, and team.
In addition to legal bills, maybe the family gets $50,000 for the accident. It is the insurer that pays these costs. If you did not have that policy, you would have to pay that money out of your own pocket.
When you consider the physical nature of a game like baseball, it’s easy to think of other situations where injuries or accidents could occur. In fact, they are relatively common. You always hope that something of the sort will never happen, but having the right youth baseball insurance policy in place when the team travels is crucial for reasons like this one.
What Are Some Ways You Can Make Youth Baseball Safer?
To avoid situations where one of your players might get hurt, and you will have to file a claim with your youth baseball travel insurance provider, you should do the following:
- Provide cups for players. Infielders and catchers are usually those most likely to sustain groin injuries, so make sure you pack these when you travel.
- Encourage the use of mouth-guards. Mouth guards can protect a player’s tongue, lips, cheeks, and teeth. They can even prevent jaw fractures and concussions in some instances.
- Have batters wear helmets. From Little League to the majors, players with helmets are less likely to be severely hurt by baseballs, bats, and other objects on or around the field of play.
- Have your players wear molded cleats. Steel spikes are typically prohibited at the youth level, but molded cleats and shoes that fit your players properly will allow side-to-side movement and make ankle and foot injuries less likely.
- Have your catchers wear all the recommended protective gear. That includes shin guards, a chest protector, a throat guard, a face mask, and a helmet that fits them.
- Make sure your players who wear glasses have protective eyewear. An eye-care professional who’s knowledgeable about sports can recommend some specific brands and models.
- Never play a game or practice on a field that isn’t properly maintained. A poorly maintained field makes injuries much more probable.
You should also make sure all your players stay hydrated, especially in the hottest summer weather. Drinking plenty of sports drinks with electrolytes and water is essential. Coaches and volunteers should know the signs of dehydration as well.
Why ESP Is the Right Insurance Provider for You
If you’re wondering why you should get a youth baseball travel insurance policy from ESP, you can get a quote from our website quickly and easily. We’ll ask you a few straightforward questions about what you’re looking for and have a quote for you within minutes.
Our constant availability and expertise are what set us apart. Call (876) 670-2377, or you can also reach us through email at [email protected] if you prefer. Remember that youth baseball insurance is not a luxury. Never organize a youth league and play games without having it in place.
