This study focuses on examining academic developments and emerging trends in the fields of insurance and risk management within recreation and sports activities. Based on an analysis of 119 documents published between 1983 and 2025 in the Web of Science database, the study provides important findings regarding the temporal evolution of scientific output, keyword trends, and research foci in this field. It emphasizes the role of insurance practices and risk management strategies in recreation and sports activities, while analyzing the growth of scholarly production over time and shifts in key concepts.

The original contribution of the study lies in its systematic examination of academic trends in insurance and risk management in recreation and sports activities through the use of a comprehensive, long-term bibliometric dataset. In addition, optimizing user safety and insurance models is of critical importance for making sports and recreational environments safer and more accessible. The research demonstrates how issues related to insurance and risk management in recreation and sports have evolved over time. The first academic publication on the subject appeared in 1983, and a notable increase in scientific output has been observed since the 2000s, particularly after 2010. The annual number of publications reached its peak in 2022, with a total of 12 documents.

Co-authorship network analyses reveal that the United States, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom occupy a central position in the literature due to both their high publication volumes and strong international collaboration networks. These findings underscore the importance of strengthening international cooperation and adopting interdisciplinary approaches in future research. Keyword analyses indicate that concepts such as risk management, health, physical activity, prevention, exercise, and sport form the core of the literature. Furthermore, themes such as risk assessment, disease prevalence, and risk factors affecting women and children have gained increasing prominence.

These findings highlight the critical role of insurance and risk management in ensuring user safety and health management in recreational and sports activities. Trend analyses show that, in recent years, prevention strategies, exercise, and physical activity—alongside health and management practices—have come to the forefront of research. This trend suggests that the insurance sector is developing more comprehensive risk analysis and management models for the sports and recreation domain. Overall, themes such as risk assessment, health, physical activity, prevention, exercise, and sport have emerged as dominant research areas. For the future, the study recommends increasing interdisciplinary research, integrating technological innovations, and developing sustainable risk management policies.