UAE: Local insurers lack sports cover expertise
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | May 2020
Local insurers are unable to offer sports insurance because of their lack of capacity and expertise in this field, said United Gulf Insurance Brokerage executive director Saeed Ahmed.
He told Emirates Today that disasters, such as the crash of a plane carrying a soccer team, may lead to insured losses of $50m to $100m, and the local industry does not have insurers able to bear this level of risk or have high technical capabilities to cover such a risk.
He said most sports clubs resort to less expensive insurance, given that there are no requirements imposed by professional sports associations on clubs to purchase specific types of insurance cover for players.
Thus, insurers do not have the option to impose specific types of cover on the clubs, and all they can do is provide the benefits that they can cover. The focus of local insurers in the sports arena is health and personal accident cover which may include the costs of players’ surgical operations, whether inside or outside the country.
Insurers may also cover players for lost pay in the event they suffer injury that prevents them from participating in matches. M