Car insurance for professional sports people

Get the right car insurance if you compete professionally

How insurers categorise sports people

If you describe your occupation as ‘sports man’ or ‘sports woman’ when you take out car insurance, your premiums will be expensive, regardless of your age, gender or income level.

Insurers are wary of offering cover to professional sports people, because if they’re in an accident the personal injury compensation could be very high.

Why do professional sports players pay more for car insurance?

There are a few reasons why you’re a risky prospect for insurers if you’re a sports person. Even if these don’t apply to you personally, they’ll influence your premium:

Age and wealth

Professional sports people are often young, new to driving and inexperienced on the road.

Accidents are more likely for young drivers than those with many years of experience.

High-profile sportspeople are also more likely to drive an expensive, or rare car, rather than a little run-around.

They cost more to insure anyway because they’re expensive to replace or repair. But with a young driver at the wheel, it’ll be even more costly.

Interference and distractions

Cars of high-profile drivers are at risk of vandalism and accidental damage by the general public, and the press.

There’s also a risk of distraction - photographers and reporters, sports fans and celeb spotters are risky road hazards.

Important passengers

Sports people will probably have fellow professionals as passengers.

If a sportsperson’s in a serious accident, the pay-out for loss of earnings due to injury will be high, and that’s only increased by a car-load of well-paid colleagues.

Reputation

Sports stars have an unfortunate reputation for accident-prone or dangerous driving.

Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Freddie Flintoff are just a few famous faces that’ve been caught committing a driving offence.

On the other hand...

Although the risk of an accident might be higher for professional sports people, they’re less inclined to make a claim and more likely to pay for any damages themselves.

Does the type of sport matter?

Playing a team sport or individual sport makes a difference to the cost of your premium. If it’s an individual sport, it’s less likely you’ll have team-mates in your car so the risk of expensive injury pay-outs is reduced.

Sports person gender and car insurance

Insurers aren’t allowed to count gender as a risk factor anymore, so professional sports women won’t necessarily get cheaper car insurance than men.

There are still car insurance policies specifically targeted at women, but there’s nothing stopping a man from taking out the cover.

£4 million refunded to customers with free excess cover^{^^}

If you need to claim, we’ll pay £250 towards your excess^{^}. Just another reason to make your life choices on Go.Compare.

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_^Up to £250 refunded after claim settled. Car insurance purchases only. Excludes breakdown, windscreen and glass repair/replacement. Full T&Cs apply.

_^^Based on Go.Compare analysis of successful claims, August 2019 - June 2022.

How to get cheaper car insurance for sports people

Car insurance for sports professionals will always be high, as there’s a lot more at risk for insurers than if you had a standard job, but there are a few options that might get your premiums down:

Specialist insurers

Specialist insurers offer cover for sporting professionals which base quotes on the individual’s circumstances, rather than the sector.

ProSport Insurance Services, Adrian Flux and All Sport Insurance are a few companies who offer tailored policies for sports people.

Telematics for sports professionals

If you’re a safe driver, a telematics policy could suit you. This type of cover bases your premiums on how well or badly you drive your car.

The cheapest insurance doesn’t necessarily mean the best policy for you. Having the wrong insurance could cost you a lot unnecessarily.

Compare a range of traditional and telematics policies to find the cover that suits you best.

Tools and calculators

Car insurance for professional sports people

How insurers categorise sports people