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An insurance proposal for the NRL

Roar Pro
22nd July, 2014
22

If the Rise for Alex Round has shown us anything this weekend, it’s that; (1) the NRL desperately needs an insurance scheme to protect its players and; (2) the NRL community can rally to support its own.

Now, I will admit to being a 21-year-old guy with little knowledge of the intricacies and practicalities of insurance. It is, however, clear to me and many other rugby league fans that the current situation is a disgrace.

Obviously rugby league is tough sport (that’s why we love it), and there is a voluntary assumption of risk every time a player takes the field. There is a genuine risk of serious and permanent injury in every tackle. I understand that it may be difficult for an insurance company to offer reasonable premiums while still covering their liability.

However, I simply cannot believe that players have such little support in the event of a career ending injury. For every Alex McKinnon and Liam Fulton, there is a hundred Simon Dwyers or Taniela Tuiakis who have been left unemployable and helpless.

Firstly, let’s remember that the Australian Rugby Union has a compulsory insurance scheme in place already (as do the AFL and A-League). Gow Gates Insurance provides the ARU with basic cover, protecting players and officials from personal injury costs, public and property liability and professional indemnity. The ARU then encourages all players to take out private health cover and life insurance, which Gow Gates can assist with.

The obvious solution seems to be for the NRL to seek something similar, engaging an insurance company to draw up a similar policy and then making it compulsory for all players. However, if for whatever reason, this is unacceptable to the NRL, at the very least they should be looking at self-insuring.

The NRL signed a well-publicised billion dollar television deal in 2012. The first step should be to put aside a certain amount (be it $2 million, $5 million, $10 million) as the base of an emergency insurance fund. The next step would be to make it compulsory as part of every player contract that a small percentage of the contract go into the insurance fund, similar to superannuation.

A percentage makes more sense than a flat premium in this particular situation. The players showed last weekend that they were willing to help out a fellow player when he was in need. Is it too much to ask that high paid players, like Jonathan Thurston and Jarryd Hayne, pitch in a little more to the protection of players than the young guys who are earning less than ten times that a season?

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Realistically, a higher paid player is going to be better off if they suffer a career ending injury anyway, as there higher profile and larger contract will make post-retirement life easier to deal with and their financial situation better. An insurance company or law firm could then be in charge of managing the fund and dealing with claims and payments.

So, that’s my unprofessional opinion. The NRL provides the emergency fund with a base, and then the players top it up by pooling their resources and ensuring that players who suffer career-ending injuries are looked after.

There are obviously some complexities I haven’t touched on, like what injuries would be covered and whether or not there would be a statute of limitations of claims (a little over my head, I’m afraid), but hopefully the NRL and the Player’s Association reach an agreement soon and player welfare becomes a priority.

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