Every professional sportsperson hopes to have a long and fulfilling career; maximising the enjoyment, achievements and rewards of all the hard work and sacrifice put in throughout those early, years. But what if the dream turns into a nightmare and is cut short by a career ending injury, accident, illness or even death? Dealing with the physical and emotional fallout would be traumatic enough. But what about the financial consequences? The sudden loss of income and the opportunity to replace it elsewhere could be devastating for the player and their family.
At C&C, our Professional Sports Protection division has access to exclusive career ending insurance cover, tailored to the specific needs of professional sports people, giving them the confidence that they will be financially secure, should their career come to an abrupt end.
Career ending injuries, accidents, and illness can take place anywhere at any time so the cover we can put in place can protect professional sportspeople, regardless of where their injury takes place – whether in a sporting environment or not.
This market-leading cover also includes insurance for death by natural causes, such as a heart attack, cardiac arrest or stroke – something not often included when considering insurance protection specifically for professional sports people.
Some of the features included within the exclusive insurance cover we have access to are:
- Permanent total disablement due to accident or illness
- Accidental death
- Protection on and off the pitch or sporting environment
- International duty included as standard
- Worldwide cover
- No rehabilitation clause for permanent total disability
- £30,000 benefit for new career training
- No exclusions for activities which increase risk (unless specifically excluded by a club contract)
Professional footballers, in particular, should be alert to the increasing demands on their bodies. TV revenues and performance bonuses for clubs have never been higher. The knock-on effects for players are that the physicality and pace of every league are increasing. This, and the ever-expanding fixture lists mean shorter down periods between matches and even more travelling. All of which impacts on muscle and joint recovery, as well as mental judgement. Players may find themselves taking more risks in training and matches than they would prefer, simply to demonstrate their worth.
Paul Fielding, Director of our Professional Sports Protection division, says: “The protection offered by the bespoke packages we can create is relevant to any professional sports person, regardless of level. But with the football transfer window due to open in a matter of weeks, with players moving clubs or renegotiating contracts, now is the perfect time for them, their agents, advisors and IFAs to be checking if they have career ending injury cover in place. And if they do – is it the right cover for their unique circumstances? No player wants to think about the worst happening. But equally, no player is immune. It doesn’t even need to be sports-related. The most banal of accidents like missing a step down, could result in career ending damage.”
An ex-England international footballer who moved into management due to a career ending injury has this to say about Paul and the protection provided by the cover we can arrange: “I can’t speak highly enough of how well Paul dealt with my claim from day one. It was quick, efficient, and professional, taking the stress out of the process for me in what was a difficult time having to retire through injury. The process justifies paying for personal injury insurance over the last 13/14 years.”
We can also provide a one-stop-shop service and arrange cover for house and contents (such as watches and jewellery) and cars, so all three policies are managed by one point of contact. And should a policy ever be called upon; our claims specialists are on hand to manage the process.
And if you represent a professional sports person, surely it must at least be worth having the conversation to see how you could financially protect your client, and their family, should the cruellest of fates happen. Sporting professionals are understandably driven and are laser-focused on establishing and maintaining their careers. And whilst they may not want to think about how, why or when those careers come to an end, it makes sense to have a safety net in place to avoid a financial hard landing.
Please contact Paul at paul.fielding@cc-insure.com or Jack Sands at jack.sands@cc-insure.com if you’d like to learn more about our career ending insurance cover. Your future self may just thank you for it and your current self will have peace of mind.
