Oran Hall | Athletes and insurance

We are very happy when our athletes bring us glory by their outstanding performances at international athletics meets, a case in point being the recently concluded Olympics in Japan.

While all team members may return with an exultant spirit because of the performance of the team, some return disappointed at the personal level because of their failure to medal. Worse, others feel a deep sense of disappointment because they were not able to advance or even participate because of injury.

We understand such feelings because we recognise that good performances may open the door to lucrative opportunities which often prove to be life-changing for many of them and their families.

Injury – which may take them out of competition for extended periods – and ill health may change that, as they are hostile to the livelihood of athletes because they have the potential to cause careers to crash without notice.

Insurance is a good counter to these and other risks – health insurance to help defray the cost of medical care and disability insurance to provide income in the event of disability. So athletes should capitalise on the offer of government or sporting bodies to provide coverage for them.

Life insurance is also important. Considering that athletes also have dependants, life insurance is important to ensure that their dependants are provided for in the event of early death. But it is also an important means of providing funds for the high expenses associated with settling an estate.

It is important to be able to replace assets in the event of loss by fire, for example, so it is useful to have adequate property and content insurance coverage, especially considering that athletes may acquire more assets of high value as they taste greater success.

The Government has put in place insurance to offer some protection for athletes through the Jamaican Athletes’ Insurance Plan, which is a group health, group life and personal accident plan for all eligible national athletes. It came into being in 2016 and provides basic coverage for members of a national association or federation comprising junior and senior athletes who represent Jamaica in international competitions.

Athletes eligible to be covered under the plan must be members in good standing with the national association or federation, and they must be enrolled in the national development programme for a specific sporting discipline. In addition, they must participate in at least two Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission training sessions per year.

The Government has constantly called for sporting associations and federations to join the insurance plan to insure eligible national athletes or those in development squads preparing to represent Jamaica, because not all of them have embraced it.

An important feature of the insurance plan is that athletes will continue to receive coverage under it while recovering from injury, as long as they remain on the national squad.

Further, if the injury prevents the athlete from returning to competition and it is determined by the national association or federation that the athlete will be dropped from the squad, the athlete will continue to receive coverage until that person’s place on the squad is taken.

Under the plan, the group life coverage is $2.25 million per athlete, and the group personal accident is $2.5 million for any accidental death and dismemberment or permanent total disablement.

The Jamaican Athletes’ Insurance Plan was established with funding support from the Sports Development Foundation, Tourism Enhancement Fund, the National Health Fund, and the CHASE Fund.

Two examples show the difference between having insurance coverage and not having it. One of our better boxers, severely ill with a hereditary condition affecting the retina in his left eye, not being on the insurance plan, was not able to benefit from it in terms of meeting his medical expenses.

On the other hand, the country’s male national distance record-holder had high medical bills to pay because of a life-threatening heart ailment. He was able to clear his medical expenses with funds from his own personal insurance, a very important source; funds from the Jamaican Athletes’ Insurance Plan, another very important source; and funds from the Government.

Our better athletes have often turned to the Government to help them defray medical expenses for lack of insurance coverage, so the insurance plan should significantly reduce such calls.

Athletes need to ensure they have adequate coverage and should assess and address the need for more insurance during their active career and in the period thereafter.

- Oran A. Hall, author of Understanding Investments and principal author of The Handbook of Personal Financial Planning, offers personal financial planning advice and counsel. finviser.jm@gmail.com