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I’m usually only involved with the jumping end of demos, but the lately the business side has raised its ugly head through skyrocketing insurance rates. Only a few years ago a demonstration team could put on quite a show for $600, which included insurance, the plane and some money for the pilot, jumpers and ground crew. Today, the cheapest insurance ($250,000 liability limit) is $513. And most organizations require a one million dollar policy, which is now $905. Figure in a plane, pilot, jumpers, smoke and ground crew and your basement price demo with a $1 million insurance policy will cost $1,300. And to really make it worth everyone’s time, the base price will realistically be around $1,500.

That’s a big chunk of change for a little league team or a high school or a birthday party. Under the current insurance situation, only high profile, large organization sponsors will likely be able to afford a demonstration parachute jump. And this greatly affects those skydivers who try to make a part-time or even full-time living off of demos. Glenn Bangs, President of the United States Parachute Association addressed the issue in the editorial section of this month’s Parachutist magazine. The biggest eye-opener from Bangs is that “regardless of circumstances, the insurance company often pays the claim, rather than refuting it in court, preferring to cut its losses and pass the costs back to its customer (USPA) in the form of higher premiums.” This is unbelievable! In America’s litigious society, more often that not these claims for an insurance payout are probably bogus or at least beatable and would be denied or reduced in court. Bangs does make it clear that an overhaul of the insurance policy is on the top of the “to do” list for the USPA Board. The board is seeking help from those within the insurance and skydiving industries for a more cost-effective solution. If you have any ideas or solutions, contact Bangs at 904-262-0570 or ggbangs@aol.com.

Szymon Matusak’s original plan when leaving Poland was to hopefully earn enough money working at an American drop zone over four months to buy himself a decent rig. Two months later he made his first two jumps on a brand new Unisyn G3 Mirage with a new PD reserve and Sabre2 along with a 4-year-old Cypres. This 22-year-old is the epitome of what can be achieved through hard work, sacrifice and determination. Since arriving at Atlanta Skydiving Center two months ago, Szymon has not only packed $4,500 in tandem, student and sport rigs but he has also volunteered his time to help keep the drop zone clean while helping with several improvement projects. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone quite so happy about a first rig. Matusak said yesterday he couldn’t believe all of it was really his and won’t truly believe it until he makes it back to Poland with it. He thinks any day someone will tell him the rig really isn’t his. Yet Szymon has truly shown us what the “American Dream” is all about. When first showing up at ASC he was careful not to take work away from other packers. As needed, he slowly started packing for the drop zone. He picked up more and more business, as other packers would quit early or start jumping. Eventually he was the only one packing on some days and benefited from a 4-way team training for a week. During his first two months Szymon said he spent a mere $20 a week on food, “sometimes $25,” in order to keep saving. One month ago he was able to order a custom Mirage and buy a used Cypres. Last week he finally had enough to buy two new canopies from Performance Designs through Skydivegear.com. When everything arrived two days ago, it was a no-brainer that we would assemble, inspect and pack everything for him that night. By 10:30 p.m. Szymon was packing his main. The next day he made that first jump and bought beer. Niiiice. :-)