122. PENALISED FOR BEING A PRO

What’s insurance got to do with the tennis tour I hear you ask but you would be surprised. Not only do pro tennis players need to think about medical insurance in case they get a career threatening injury, but they also need to make sure they have all the other insurance policies that every day people have – home, car, travel etc. But, did you know that being an elite athlete immediately raises the premium on insurance policies? Another reality of life on the pro tour.

As your player gets older and moves out of juniors and onto the women’s (men’s) circuits, she is advised to ensure that she has sufficient policies in place to protect her health, her home, her car, her luggage etc. Easy you might think but the reality of it is that insurance companies categorise pro athletes as more of a risk than the ‘average’ man or woman on the street. Some of their reasonings for this is as follows:

• An elite athlete often reaches the pinnacle of sporting prowess in the early years of her life – a period where exposure to risks is naturally heightened.

• In terms of car insurance, high-profile sportspeople are considered to be more likely (although not necessarily the case) to drive a prestige vehicle for example – which may be rare, expensive or both – and cost more to repair or replace – think soccer players here! The risk of vandalism or damage of a vehicle caused by the public is deemed to be heightened if the vehicle is owned by an elite athlete and the personal injury settlements awarded could be very high if the athlete is ever involved in a serious accident. The pay-out for loss of earnings due to injury can be astronomical – especially if the car is carrying a load of well-paid colleagues as passengers – again think soccer players!

Now of course, a player could in theory say they don’t use their car for work (they don’t travel to tournaments in their car) or they don’t play tennis when they go abroad, and so obtain ‘normal’ everyday car/travel insurance, but the truth of the matter is this would be a blurring of the truth and the player could become very unstuck should she have a car accident on the way to a tournament, or have an issue whilst abroad for example. So she has to seek out those (very) few companies that specialise in insurance for professional athletes, and who are of the view that all athletes (regardless of their chosen sport) are a liability and require extra services, and so can be charged higher premiums. Seems a little unfair and an added burden to those athletes trying to make a living out of sport.

#realitytennis

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