All athletes must have personal insurance covering athletic injuries.
All student-athletes are required to have and maintain current primary personal insurance covering athletic injuries. The University of Alabama in Huntsville Athletic Department provides student-athletes supplemental insurance coverage for certain types of medical treatment. The current policy described below will be implemented if the required procedures and policies are met. All other injuries not specified in the policy are the responsibility of the student-athlete.
The policy is secondary insurance that only covers medical expenses which arise due to ACCIDENTAL INJURIES which occur while participating in regularly scheduled, supervised and sponsored games and practices, or while participating in UAH Athletics Department sponsored activities. This insurance is EXCESS OR SECONDARY INSURANCE. This is NOT a comprehensive medical policy. All athletes must have personal insurance coverage to act as a primary insurer. It is the student-athlete’s responsibility to have and keep primary insurance coverage.
Injuries covered under this policy include:
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Accidental Injuries. Injuries due to accident, which is defined as, “an unexpected external, violent and sudden event that is independent of any other cause.”
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Dental Care. If the tooth/ teeth was a whole, sound, and natural tooth, the treatment to the damage of that tooth/teeth will be covered.
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Degenerative Diseases, i.e. overuse syndromes.
Injuries/ illnesses not covered under this policy include:
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All illnesses or diseases even if diagnosed and treated by our medical staff
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Primary insurance deductibles and co-pays
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Pre-existing conditions
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Any injury that is NOT deemed accidental. If there is no accidental injury, there will be no benefits
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Out-of-season injuries
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Contact lens/glasses, lost or broken
Procedure following an injury:
When a player is injured during practice or competition, he/she must physically go to the training room and notify the certified athletic trainer of the injury. The certified athletic trainer will evaluate the injury and make referrals, if needed, to a designated physician for treatment. Both the certified athletic trainer and the player will sign an injury report form.
If referred to another medical professional or service, the athlete will need to pay up front for any co-pays and the portion of any bill that satisfies any personal policy deductibles. The provider should then file a claim with the athlete’s personal insurance. After the primary insurance processes the claim, the athlete should request and save a copy of the explanation of benefits from the insurance company. An itemized bill and an explanation of benefits must then be turned into the certified athletic trainer to be filed with the secondary policy which will then be able to pay for any remaining balances that the primary insurance did not cover (excluding co-pays and deductibles).
Policy if primary insurance does not pay:
If the student athlete purchases inadequate insurance, doesn’t keep their policy current, is dropped from insurance, or is in some other way poorly or uninsured, and becomes injured, then the school’s insurance will not pay any of the student-athlete’s medical bills and the student-athlete will be responsible for the entire bill.
IF AN INJURY IS NOT REPORTED TO THE CERTIFIED ATHLETIC TRAINER AND AN INJURY REPORT FORM IS NOT SIGNED WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF THE ACCIDENT, THE ATHLETE WILL RISK NOT BEING VERIFIED FOR INSURANCE COVERAGE.
The UAH Athletics Department will not be responsible for any expenses incurred for an examination by a consultant or treatment by a medical professional if the above procedures are not followed. If you have further questions, please contact the Athletic Training Office at (256) 824-6883.
International Student-Athletes
The University of Alabama in Huntsville, as a university, mandates that all international student-athletes purchase an insurance policy through UAH which covers criteria set for UAH admission and other enrollment standards. IF this policy does not cover athletic participation, a policy through the UAH athletic department MUST be purchased prior to being allowed to participate in athletic practices, conditioning, and competition. The international student-athlete is responsible for this cost. Contact the head coach of your sport or the head athletic trainer for further information on this insurance.
