Insurance is all about exposure, the probability of peril
occurrence, requirement of an individual or entity … I never imagined of this
particular insurance ! atleast in India.
Football is one of the most
popular team sports worldwide. In UK
& Europe, there are so many famous clubs with World wide following ~ that
would include : Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea,
Arsenal, Liverpool, Juventus, Tottenham, Newcastle, West Ham and more.
Real Madris remains the richest club in Europe, extending
their unbeaten run to 11 years, according to Deloitte’s football money league.
Their arch-rivals Barcelona have closed the gap significantly over the past
year, leapfrogging Manchester United into second place after a hugely
successful season in which they won their domestic league, a cup and a European
trophy. English clubs increasingly dominate the ranking. Thanks to a lucrative
broadcasting deal agreed in 2012, there are now nine Premier League clubs in
the world’s top 20, and 17 in the top 30.
The Union of European
Football Associations (UEFA) is the administrative and controlling body for
European football. It consists of 54 member associations, each of which is
responsible for governing football in their respective countries. Each UEFA
member has its own football league system, except Liechtenstein. Clubs playing
in each top-level league compete for the title as the country's club champions.
Some clubs play in a national football league other than their own country's.
The game of football, is
entertaining, engaging and can be a great workout : it lowers body fat and
improves muscle tone, builds strength, flexibility and endurance. Other
benefits of playing football include promoting teamwork and sharing. Football
is fun and healthy but doesn't come without its risks. The greatest risks
associated with playing football are ankle, knee, hamstring and head injuries. The
clubs take out varied insurance coverages – from player insurance, to team
insurance and coaching insurance too. Some
Insurers offer a comprehensive range of football personal accident insurance
providing cash benefits for sports injuries such as breaks and dislocations, as
well as income protection and disablement cover. Cover is also available for
accidental injury whilst travelling to and from a scheduled match, training
session or competition or whilst on an organised tour. Football Insurance for
kids over 8 years of age is also available.
Such insurances cover semi-professional
and professional football players – then there is Public Liability
Insurance. Public Liability Insurance
for football clubs and associations, offer protection against injury to third
parties or their property. There are also additional options to protect against
Employers' Liability, and for event
volunteers. There is need for Public
liability as the football club and its
members have a duty of care to avoid causing injury to members of the public or
damage to their property through the negligent act of the club and/or its
members. Public Liability Insurance provides protection for the insured club should it be proven negligent or failed
to take ‘reasonable care’ to prevent injury to a member of the Public or damage
to third party property and as such the club be held legally liable. For a
claim to be upheld the third party has to prove that the club or its members
have been negligent in their duty of care.
There is option to include member of the club to member liability which means that any
registered member of the insured club or voluntary worker, whilst acting in
connection with club activities and whilst conforming to club rules and by-laws
are covered should the member not be entitled to indemnity under any other
policy of insurance. Though such insurances cover acts of the players, they
however exclude player to player or ‘participant to participant’ incidents that
occur during play.
Many football clubs in the
UK have liability insurance – but this news item in the Guardian.co.uk is
different. It is insurance taken by the
club that covers them for claims from victims of child sex abuse, which has
resulted in payouts. As the scandal continues to engulf the sport, insurers
have pledged to improve the compensation process.
Police reported on Thursday
that 350 people have now come forward to report attacks and, as the scope of
inquiries grows, the role of insurance companies has come under the spotlight. The
Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: “Recent revelations regarding abuse
in football are very distressing and at the heart of it are the victims and
survivors who have been abused. “The insurance industry is fully engaged with
the current independent inquiry and has submitted constructive suggestions
about how the civil justice compensation process could be improved.”
Patrick Collinson, the
editor of Guardian Money, notes that major clubs take out combined employers’
and public liability policies, which collectively covers a huge range of
eventualities, including allegations of sexual assault. He says: “The public
liability part covers the club for claims when, say, a fan is hurt in the
stadium. The employers’ element covers claims relating to members of staff. One
major insurer said there were circumstances, such as the allegations of sexual
assault, in which claims could possibly be made against the employer’s
liability, and a payment be made, and such a payment could be subject to a
non-disclosure agreement.”
Last week, it emerged that Chelsea sanctioned a
compensation payment at boardroom level to a former youth team player who
approached the club to complain about abuse at the hands of the club’s former
chief scout, Eddie Heath, who worked at the club between 1968 and 1979. Heath
died in the late 1980s. The compensation was offered without an acceptance of
liability. Collinson added: “Legally
speaking, any employer, such as a football club, can be held liable for
personal injuries inflicted by a member of their staff, where the employee’s
actions have been carried out during the course of their employment. “Ultimately,
if the employer is held to be liable, then the victim can make a personal
injury claim which will then be covered by the club’s employer’s liability
insurance.”
The ABI statement
continued: “Compensation paid by an organisation to a victim could be covered
by liability insurance. As part of the settlement process, confidentiality
clauses are sometimes requested by victims or the organisation insured. They
are not part of the insurance contract and we are not aware of any insurers who
currently request them.”
It certainly is a different World out there ~ there
perhaps is no such exposure to Cricket clubs of India and certainly there is no
similar insurance cover in India, as of now.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
6th Dec 2016.
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