Baseball

AAU, Club, and Travel Baseball Costs: Who would have thought it would be so much?

Whether AAU, Club, or Travel, baseball is one of the most expensive sports to play. The equipment required throughout the typical travel baseball player’s 10-year involvement with the sport, combined with travel, registration fees, and instruction, quickly adds up. As USA Today recently documented, the total easily can exceed $35,000.

AAU, Club, and Travel Baseball Registration Costs

Registration fees vary widely. A single-season spring Club, Travel, or AAU baseball registration fee, depending on league level, can easily cost several thousands of dollars.

The bad news: If your child picks up an injury or is otherwise unable to play, you are stuck having paid the registration fee. Travel, provided tickets haven’t already been purchased, can be money saved. Equipment, provided it still fits, will still be available to use when your baseball player is healthy. However, the registration fee, which is the most expensive cost? That’s gone.

The good news: That doesn’t have to be the case. With baseball registration insurance from Sports Refund, if your athlete can’t play, you don’t pay. Simple as that.

How Affordable Is Sports Refund?

Registration fees for AAU, Club, and Travel baseball programs are thousands of dollars. And, leagues have a strict “No Refunds” policy, meaning that if your baseball player gets hurt or can’t play, you’re stuck having to pay.

Until Sports Refund.

We offer baseball season interruption insurance policies. Our policies cover the registration fees for sports programs and cost less than 5% of the total registration fee, on average. If your child can’t play, you don’t pay.

Why Do I Need Sport Registration Insurance?

AAU, Club, and Travel sports require commitment from their athletes. The days of children cycling through sports with the calendar are largely gone, and most sports now are year-round schedules–even baseball.

This is having a huge effect on our children. Medical professionals have noted the increase in ‘recurring use’ injuries. WebMD and The Cleveland Clinic have both noted the rise in serious elbow injuries among youth baseball players. These injuries have historically been more associated with aging veteran professionals — think John Smoltz moving to the bullpen post-Tommy John surgery, or Mark Prior’s brief run of dominance before a lifetime of travel ball tournaments robbed us of his prime with a string of shoulder and other injuries.

Players, parents, and coaches are more aware of the health concerns and the potential long-term impacts that come with increased and early specialization. Sports Refund protects you from ever having to balance the money spent against your child’s long-term health. And with our easy sign-up system and low-cost coverage, there are no hurdles to clear. It’s as simple as:

Can’t Play? Don’t Pay!

What and Who Does Sports Refund Cover?

Sports Refund covers both individual AAU, Club, and Travel Baseball players and teams/groups. Coverage is available for all players under the age of 26.

How Does Sports Refund Work?

Your Club, Travel, or AAU baseball athlete’s physical well-being is covered by your health insurance. Their equipment, should it be stolen or damaged outside of normal wear-and-tear, is probably covered by homeowner’s or renter’s insurance. Even travel costs can be insured.

But the registration fee (which is typically the most expensive costs)? That is virtually always non-refundable. With Sports Refund’s season interruption insurance, however, your family is protected against real financial loss.

All you have to do is sign up. That’s it. No examinations, no long questionnaires.

AAU Baseball and Travel Baseball Season Interruption Insurance: An example

Ben’s family paid $5,000 for an elite travel baseball registration running from April through July (120 days). Ten days into the season, Ben suffers a broken hand.

With just 20 days left in the baseball season, Ben is ready to return to the diamond. He has missed 90 days (75%) of the season, but his family has still had to pay the full $5,000 registration fee.

If Ben’s family had Sports Refund season interruption insurance, at a cost of about $170, they would have received a check for $3,750–75% of the season’s total registration fee.

Baseball batter awaits pitch
Baseball is a "no refund" business.

Interesting facts

An estimated 5%-10% of youth sports programs provide a refund when a player loses playing time due to injury.

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Frequently asked questions

No physical examination or questionnaire of any kind is required to purchase Sports Refund coverage.

Sports Refund reimburses amateur athletes when illness or injury keeps them from playing their sport. Knowing that they will be compensated for lost playing time, Sports Refund increases the likelihood that all injuries are reported, even those that athletes might rather ignore, reducing long-term health risks.

Sports Refund coverage is effective as soon as it is purchased.

Sports Refund reimburses athletes for the cost of registration fees and any other expenses paid directly to the sports organization.

Unfortunately, Sports Refund cannot cover pre-existing conditions. If, however, an athlete returns to full participation and is re-injured, Sports Refund will cover any further lost playing time.

Simply estimate the total amount of coverage that you would like and we will calculate your rates based on that value.

Provide Sports Refund with your closest estimate of the season’s start date and the end date. Because claims are based on the amount of time lost due to illness or injury, we may verify actual dates prior to paying a claim.

Currently, we limit policies to $10,000 per player per season. If you anticipate requiring even more coverage, please call us at 800-409-4950 and we may be able to help.

Sports Refund will send you a Explanation of Coverage as well as a copy of the Master Policy. 

As registration fees for amateur athletics continue to rise, Sports Refund is one of the most cost-effective ways for families to protect their investment in sports programs.

Simply complete a claim form on our website. If you are confident this is a season-ending injury, you can submit right away. If you are hopeful you’ll return this season, submit the claim for time lost when you return to the team. 

If you have an unusual circumstance, you can always contact us at support@sportsrefund.com.

Claims calculations are prorated based on the percentage of time lost in the season.  

At Sports Refund, we know that athletes want to compete. For those situations where an athlete may – or may not – return to competition before the end of the season, we allow your athlete to play in the championship game or playoffs, even if you have filed a season ending claim. Simply contact us at 800-409-4950 and we can calculate the amount of insurance you will need to return to Sports Refund. 

Most policies are written with a fourteen day exclusionary period (the waiting time before a claim can be paid). That means that an athlete who loses five days would NOT be able to file a claim. If your athlete, team, or organization would like to explore policies with shorter exclusionary periods (or no exclusionary periods at all), contact us at 800-409-4950 to discuss.

No. If a player is out for the remainder of the season, you may file a claim immediately. HOWEVER, in the event that the player’s recovery process is faster than expected (or the season extends longer than originally anticipated), overages need to be repaid prior to the player returning to competition.

Sports Refund coverage must comply with the rules and regulations of each state in which it is sold. To ensure compliance with state regulations, we require third-party confirmation of all claims paid.

The Benefit Waiting Period means that if an athlete is unable to compete for 14 or fewer days, they will not be eligible for a refund.

If, however, an athlete is unable to compete for 15 or more days, they will be reimbursed (on a pro-rata basis) for the portion of the season lost due to their injury, accident or illness.  The calculation for the total number of days lost will begin on the first day that they are unable to compete.

Currently, Sports Refund covers the following sports/activities:

Baseball
Basketball
Cheerleading
Cross Country
Dance Team
Diving
Field Hockey
Football – Flag
Football – Tackle
Golf
Gymnastics
Ice Hockey
Lacrosse
Rugby
Soccer
Softball
Squash
Swimming
Tennis
Track & Field
Ultimate Frisbee
Volleyball

In addition, we are always interested in adding sports and activities. Feel free to email us at support@sportsrefund.com with your suggestions.

Sports Refund will refund expenses related to registration fees and/or any other fees paid directly to the athletic organization and/or the designated payee for that organization.

Sports Refund calculates a loss based on the percentage of the season lost due to illness or injury. That percentage is multiplied by the total (covered) expenses for that season to arrive at a loss amount.

Yes, Sports Refund covers a COVID-19 diagnosis in the event that an athlete contracts the virus and tests positive.

No, Sports Refund does not cover shutdowns, whether they are  related to COVID-19 or for another cause.

Sports Refund only covers athletes who test positive for COVID-19. 

There is no minimum age for which Sports Refund coverage applies.

The current maximum age for an athlete to be protected by Sports Refund coverage is 25 years old.

Many of today’s competitive athletes play for multiple organizations, often simultaneously. With Sports Refund, you can purchase multiple policies to be sure that in the event of an illness or injury, you will receive a refund for ALL programs.

Though we completely respect the importance of health insurance, Sports Refund is NOT health insurance.

Health insurance ensures that in the event of covered illness or injury, you are reimbursed for expenses that you MAY incur at a future date.

Sports Refund, on the other hand, ensures that in the event of most any illness or injury, you are reimbursed for expenses that you have already paid.

There is no minimum age for which Sports Refund coverage applies.

Travel refund will cover all your other related costs, and out of network doctor visit in case of an emergency.

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