Injuries stump BCCI off the field!

Annual insurance premiums have more than doubled.

Too much cricket is not only taking a toll on the players, but also on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). With the frequency of injuries going up, the premiums paid by BCCI to cover its players have risen more than 2.5 times.

This year, BCCI had to pay Rs 47 lakh for the annual personal accident policy that covers all contracted players, compared to Rs 18.5 lakh it had paid last year. Sources in the insurance industry said the ill-fated England tour earlier this year, which saw 10 Indian players suffering injuries, triggered higher premiums.

The total medical bill stood at around Rs 60 lakh. But since the board failed to furnish the details in time, there were no claims for the insurers, said a source. This prompted BCCI to include a clause where existing injuries and consequent accidents related to those would be covered under the Personal Accident policy, provided by National Insurance Company.

This was confirmed by a senior BCCI official, who said now the board was trying to claim the bills from the insurer. However, it is not clear whether the insurance company would make the payments against the claim during the England tour.

Following injuries to key players like Zaheer Khan, Gautam Ghambir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Harbhajan Singh — to which the poor performance at the tour was attributed — India had lost its top position in Test cricket in the series.

“Oriental Insurance, which had been the insurer for several years, refused to underwrite any policy that would include existing injuries. So, the policy went to National Insurance,” said a broker. Though Oriental Insurance refused to comment, sources said the insurer had claims of Rs 25 lakh last year, against the premium of Rs 18.5 lakh.

“It is a loss-making portfolio, as the claims paid have increased in the last years,” he added. Since 2009 — when Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked in Pakistan — there has been a change in the board’s policy for players. BCCI upgraded the insurance cover 25 times, besides increasing the insured amount from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 2.5 crore for some senior players.

But the latest policy, in effect since October 1 this year, extends the cover to all players contracted with BCCI. According to the official, 37 players are contracted with the board — 12 in Grade A, five in Grade B and 20 in Grade C. “There are no grades in the policy. All players and the support staff of the team get a uniform annual cover of Rs 2.5 crore each,” a senior BCCI official said.