The insurance premiums for Indian Premier League (IPL) players have increased by 20 to 25 per cent from last year due to a surge in the value of players and their increased susceptibility to injury leading to loss for the insurers, industry participants said.
“In the last year, insurance companies experienced loss due to players getting injured which resulted in the players not being able to play the full tournament and cancellation of their entire assignment due to the injury. This is likely to have pushed the insurance premiums for players. Also, the fees of players have increased from last year causing the franchise owners to have looked at higher amounts of insurance, likely pushing the player insurance rates higher this time,” said Amit Solanki, Head of Liability & Special Risk, Howden India.
Some key players like Shreyas Iyer, Washington Sunder, Prasidh Krishna were ruled out in the last edition due to injuries.
“The IPL insurance consists of event cancellation insurance and IPL player insurance. The increase in premiums for event cancellation, which accounts for a major part of IPL insurance, is relatively flat compared to the previous year as cancellation insurance has not seen too many losses. On the other hand, the insurance premiums for IPL players have increased by 20 to 25 per cent from last year due to increased player value and injuries suffered by the players. The overall IPL insurance has witnessed a near 10 per cent increase from last year,” said Shaista Valji, Associate Director – Sports, Alliance Insurance Brokers.
Speaking on claims, Valji added, “Player injuries are increasing and there have been payouts of claims by insurers last year which means that the insurance companies feel that there is an enhanced risk even though the overall values may be lower in comparison.”
The event cancellation premiums have been flat because the major risk factor for the same is climate-related risks like a major unforeseen natural catastrophe. However, according to insurance brokers, the IPL is generally organised around a safe period of the year like March to May and spread across different locations in the country, reducing the risk exposure. In the previous years, even if the last few overs of a game are affected, no major losses have been experienced.
Speaking about another risk factor in this IPL season – general elections, Valji observed that elections are not a major risk factor as India had previously held the IPL season during general elections in 2019 as well.
Meanwhile, for players, there has been an increase in their tendency to sustain injuries during practices or while playing. The players are getting more exposed because of the different cricket tournaments taking place across the year, causing an increase in risk exposure, insurers said. The increased workload for the players is the prime cause for sustaining injuries.
The IPL’s financial exposure or risk value in 2024 has increased upwards of Rs 10,000 crore. The IPL season’s exposure last year was around Rs 10,000 crore, increasing from around Rs 5,000 crore in 2022, Valji noted.
First Published: Mar 22 2024 | 7:34 PM IST