Recreational activities like camping, bike riding, abseiling, and canoeing are core to the Adventist experience, bringing us closer to nature, boosting fitness, and building strong connections. But with great adventure comes great responsibility – that’s why we’re always here to help!

At RMS, we often get asked, “Is this activity allowed?” or “Is it covered by insurance?” The brutal truth is, insurance doesn’t protect people; it protects the church from the financial burden of an incident. Insurance can’t undo someone’s pain or suffering, and it won’t stop a ministry from being hampered, investigated or shut down if a serious incident occurs.

What really matters most is protecting people first and making sure every adventure is a safe one.

Some activities carry a higher risk of life-altering or life-ending injuries, and insurance defines them as prohibited. This means that there is no insurance coverage for bodily injury, property damage or personal injury arising out of these activities. Those prohibited activities are:

• ALL FORMS OF MOTORISED RACING & SPEED CONTESTS including on- and off-road vehicles.
• BUNGEE JUMPING
• HANG GLIDING / PARAGLIDING / SKYDIVING / PARACHUTING
• MICROLIGHT / ULTRALIGHT FLYING
• USE OF 2 OR 3 WHEELER ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLES
• USE OF SNOWMOBILES
• FIREARMS / TASERS

What about ‘Trampolines’?

There’s one common activity that attracts an extremely high excess, and that’s trampoline parks and centres. The excess in the event of a claim may be insurmountable for a local Conference or school. You must first discuss any trampoline activity with your entity CFO.

While this news may be disappointing to some, the good news is that the list of things we CAN do is longer than the list of things we can’t! We can all still enjoy outdoor adventures and the abundance of acceptable recreational activities available that aren’t prohibited. By following good risk management practices, we can hopefully strike the right balance between risk and reward.

Outdoor adventures are worth it when they’re done safely – they help us marvel at God’s creation, test our limits and grow as a community. Together, we can keep these programs thriving for generations to come.

If you would like a copy of the updated 2024 list of Acceptable, High Risk and Prohibited Activities Factsheet, or need guidance assessing your activity’s risk please reach out to RMS – we’re here to help!

Let’s protect your ministry and make safety part of every adventure.