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Am I covered by accident insurance when surfing and kitesurfing?

In short

Am I covered by accident insurance when surfing and kitesurfing? With German private accident insurance usually yes, worldwide and around the clock. The model terms AUB 2020 do not exclude water sports, and drowning explicitly counts as an accident. Statutory accident insurance does not pay in your free time. Cover for an office worker costs about EUR 60 to 180 a year.

Am I covered by accident insurance when surfing and kitesurfing?

What it costs

Published premium ranges for private accident insurance in Germany and the benefits of a club sports insurance, checked in November 2026.

ExampleTypical range
Adults in office jobs, EUR 100,000 basic sum, 350 percent progressionabout EUR 60 to 180 a year
Adults in manual trades, same sumsabout EUR 120 to 260 a year
Children, classic child accident insuranceabout EUR 50 to 100 a year
Sports insurance of the Württemberg sports federation, adultsEUR 2,500 at 20 percent, EUR 20,000 above 50 percent disability

Premiums from published tariff examples, as of July 2026.

Rules on drowning, exertion, rescue and exclusions come from the AUB 2020 model terms of the

insurers' association, as of June 2025; your policy may differ.

As a broker we obtain a quote for you.

Worked example

Kitesurfer, 31, office job, fall after a jump

She lands on a sandbank in shallow water after a jump. Her knee stays permanently restricted, and the medical expert assesses 20 percent disability.

Basic sum of the private accident insuranceEUR 100,000
Benefit at 20 percent disabilityEUR 20,000
Club sports insurance, only at a club eventEUR 2,500
Statutory accident insurance in leisure timeEUR 0
Premium for the private accident insuranceabout EUR 60 to 180 a year

The jump is an accident from outside and is covered. Without private accident insurance she would at most get the club supplement, and only if she had fallen at a club event.

What accident insurance pays when you surf

Under the German model terms, an accident is a sudden event acting on the body from outside that causes you involuntary harm to your health. Hitting the reef, your own board striking your head or a hard landing after a kite jump all qualify. Cover applies worldwide and around the clock, so also at a surf camp in Portugal or on Bali.

Important for water sports: involuntary suffocation or drowning under water also counts as an accident. Drowning after being held down by a wave is covered even without a visible injury. The death benefit is paid if it is agreed and the insured person dies of the accident within one year.

Situation when surfing or kitingUnder the AUB 2020 model terms
Fall onto the reef with a broken boneaccident, covered
Own board hits the headaccident, covered
Drowning after a hold-down in the surfcounts as an accident (clause 1.4.3)
Strained muscle at water start due to increased exertioncounts as an accident (clause 1.4.1)
Meniscus damage without an external eventnot included under increased exertion
Accident after losing consciousness through alcoholexcluded (clause 5.1.1)

Kitesurfing and the aviation exclusion

The model terms exclude accidents as the pilot of an aircraft or air sports device where a licence is required under German law. As examples they name pilots, paragliders and hang gliders. Kitesurfing on water is not named, and the model has no separate exclusion for water sports.

The AUB 2020 are a non-binding template from the insurers' association, and policies may differ. Before you start kiting, foiling or snowkiting, read the exclusions in your own policy and ask in writing if the wording is unclear.

Typical injuries and where the model draws lines

Paddling, popping up and holding the kite put large forces on shoulders and knees. If a joint is dislocated or muscles, tendons, ligaments or capsules tear through increased exertion, that counts as an accident. Meniscus and spinal discs are expressly not included.

Damage to spinal discs is only covered if an accident caused it by more than 50 percent. If illness or wear contributed, the insurer reduces the degree of disability accordingly, but only from a share of 25 percent.

Drifting out: search and rescue costs

If the line snaps while kiting or the wind dies, you can quickly drift out to open water. If the search, rescue and recovery module is agreed, the insurer pays the costs of organised rescue services up to the agreed sum. Under the model it is enough that an accident was imminent or could be presumed.

The insurer only pays if nobody else, such as your health insurer, has to. For a surf trip abroad, add travel health insurance: German statutory health insurance does not pay for repatriation to Germany, not even from another EU country.

What clubs and statutory insurance provide

As a member of a club in a regional sports federation you are usually covered by a sports insurance policy at club events. It is expressly meant only as a supplement. One example from Württemberg: below 20 percent disability EUR 0, at 20 percent EUR 2,500, above 50 percent EUR 20,000, on death EUR 7,500.

Statutory accident insurance only pays for accidents at work. If you are employed as a surf or kite instructor, you are insured at work, but not in your own session after hours.

When you do not need a separate policy for surfing

If you already have private accident insurance with an adequate basic sum, you usually do not need a second policy for surfing. Just check the exclusions and whether rescue costs are included.

If you live on your income, think about income protection first, because it also pays for illness. Accident insurance complements it and makes sense if serious consequences such as home conversions or aids should be financed.

Step by step

  1. Get medical treatment immediately after the accident and note what happened, with place, wind and witnesses.
  2. Report the accident to the insurer even if you suspect an exclusion.
  3. Keep invoices from rescue services, boat or helicopter.
  4. If lasting harm remains, have the disability confirmed by a doctor and claim it from the insurer within 15 months.
  5. When abroad, also inform your travel health insurer about treatment and repatriation.

Checklist

  • No exclusions for kiting, foiling or your sport in the policy
  • Drowning and suffocation under water included as accidents
  • Search, rescue and recovery costs agreed
  • Increased exertion included
  • Basic sum and progression suited to serious consequences
  • Travel health insurance with repatriation for surf trips

Common mistakes

  • Relying on statutory accident insurance, which does not pay in leisure time
  • Treating club sports insurance as sufficient
  • Equating kiting with paragliding and skipping cover without reading the terms
  • Missing the 15 month deadline for claiming disability

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does kitesurfing count as an air sport in accident insurance?

Not expressly under the model terms.

The exclusion concerns pilots of aircraft or air sports devices that need a licence, with pilots,

paragliders and hang gliders as examples.

The wording of your policy decides.

Does accident insurance pay if someone drowns while surfing?

Yes, if a death benefit is agreed.

Drowning under water counts as an accident under the model terms.

It is excluded if a disturbance of consciousness, for example through alcohol, caused it.

Am I covered on a surf trip abroad?

Yes, private accident insurance applies worldwide under the model.

For doctors, hospital and repatriation you also need travel health insurance.

Is a strain at water start an accident?

Yes, if muscles, tendons, ligaments or capsules are strained or torn through increased exertion.

Meniscus and spinal discs are not included.

Who pays the rescue if I drift out while kiting?

Your accident insurance, if search and rescue costs are agreed and nobody else has to pay.

Under the model it is enough that an accident was imminent.

Are surf instructors covered by statutory accident insurance?

At work yes, as employees.

In their own free time on the water, no.

Sources

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