Covid-19 is hitting and impacting the entire world. Sports world is also a part of it.
Like Wimbledon 2020, IPL also wants to protect itself by an insurance cover. But it may not happen as the insurance market has declined to give any such cover. According to them, they cannot give such insurance as Covid-19 is an ongoing process.
After several changes in the schedule because of the Covid-19 pandemic, IPL is finally going to start from 19th September. IPL will not get any insurance if the tournament somehow needs to be cancelled.
Whereas Wimbledon’s organisers got $142M after it was cancelled.
But what is the reason that Wimbledon got the insurance but IPL and other tournaments cannot claim this? In 2003, after since SARS outbreak Wimbledon had been religiously paying close to $31.7M as a premium. This policy helps them to claim the money in this worst scenario. IPL has nothing such insurance.
In an interview with AVP Howden Insurance Brokers, Karan Ruia said, “Yes, there have been many queries as everyone wants COVID cover, Sponsors, franchises and cricket board. But its standard exclusion so nobody will provide it in the Indian market as well as International currently because Covid-19 is an on-going event.”
“As usual franchises and board take Event Cancellation policy, Loss of Player Fee, Group Personal Accident policy, and Group Medical Policy. Since IPL 2020 is happening in Dubai, the recent edition is overseas Medi-claim policy”, he said about the insurance IPL teams ask for.
“On the event cancellation front, the limit has increased drastically. For example: If an entity was taking a policy for 50 Cr for insuring their event in India, that has now gone up to 250 Cr since their expenses have increased this time. The premium rates have also changed now, earlier it was convenient to find capacities in the Indian market as a Sports Sector but now after Pandemic events and since the limits have increased drastically in IPL, now most of the Insurance companies are finding it difficult to offer 100% capacities” he further added.
This will be a very interesting thing to know what kind of steps BCCI take to handle this tough situation and also what decision they make to not to face this kind of situation in the future.
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