The GAA have announced details of an upgraded Players Injury scheme to partly compensate for the collapse of its Players Voluntary Insurance, which failed to attract the necessary subscribers.
It is designed to supplement personal insurance and not replace it, but is set to increase further the financial burdens placed on clubs.
Funding for the scheme is to come entirely from club and GAA resources, with an estimated annual cost of €7.3 million. It comes into effect from the start of next month and will offer benefits to all club members either playing or performing designated duties in connection with club activities.
According to Ciarán O'Neill, the GAA's legal and insurance manager, the new plan will go a long way towards compensating for the loss of the Voluntary Insurance.
"After four years the Voluntary Insurance scheme just wasn't working," said O'Neill. "The underwriters were Royal and SunAlliance and, on the foot of all the losses, decided against renewing it. We got up to 21,400 subscriptions last year but that simply wasn't enough to sustain it.
"So what we decided to do was revamp and upgrade our internal scheme. It's not an insurance policy, but does combine some of the best elements of the two. We feel it will be the envy of all other sporting bodies in the country."
But it will, added O'Neill, come at a cost. Administered by Coyle Hamilton Ltd, the €7.3 million annual cost will be partly met by the six per cent taken from the gross gate receipts from championship and league games. But clubs also face their share of the increased costs.
Up to now the Players Injury scheme has cost clubs €295 for every adult panel, but that has been increased to €650. Youth panels have been increased from €120 to €200.
For dual clubs it could mean an average annual cost of around €5,000, which will have to be paid out in advance.
"The clubs will feel it," admitted O'Neill. "We are aware that many clubs are already strapped for funds, and it will mean trying to increase whatever fund-raising outlets they have. But the benefits are there to be seen, such as there are no numerical restrictions."
GAA president Seán Kelly has already welcomed the new scheme: "There is no legal obligation on the GAA to provide such a scheme," he said, "But it will be of immense security and potential benefit to players at no direct cost to themselves. And we feel that this initiative will be of immense benefit to our players and members in supplementing costs arising from injuries sustained."
The initiative will provide for benefits of up €300,000 in the case of lifetime disability and up to €100,000 for injuries, including loss of sight or disablement from gainful employment. Contingencies such as unrecoverable medical or dental expenses, hospital expenses and loss of wages are also provided for.
Yet the loss of the Voluntary Insurance scheme, first introduced in 2000, will be felt in some counties. Annual premiums were low, set at €30 for adult players and €15 for juveniles, but clearly some counties were more attracted to these rates than others.
Cork, for example, had 3,800 subscribers, with other strong interest in counties such as Galway, Kerry, Mayo and Down. But the average subscription was 700 players per county, meaning that the cost of claims was far exceeding annual premiums.
"It does mean that these players will have to go and look for personal insurance, which could cost around €250," said O'Neill. "But we're hopeful that our claims will not exceed the €7.3 million mark. We have done our homework as best we can, but will be reviewing the scheme after the first year."
Meanwhile, Tyrone are assured of their place in the McKenna Cup final, provided they beat UUJ under the floodlights at Carrickmore this evening.
TYRONE (SF v UUJ): P McConnell; S Sweeney, C Gormley, M McGee; C Gourley, G Devlin, B Donnelly; K Hughes, C Holmes; M Coleman, B McGuigan, B Collins; C McCullagh, G Cavlan, S Mulgrew.
