Explained: Why the IPL won’t be ‘insured against COVID-19

After several disruptions due to the Covid pandemic, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will begin on September 19 in the UAE, with eight teams once again vying for the trophy.

But while the organisers of tennis grand slam Wimbledon got around $142 million after the tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19, the IPL will not be entitled to any amount if it were to be cancelled.

This is because the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s cover for the IPL does not cover a coronavirus outbreak, whereas the cover taken by the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which organises Wimbledon, explicitly covered infectious outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Wimbledon organisers had been religiously paying close to $31.7 million as the premium for this pandemic cover ever since the SARS outbreak in 2003.

Moneycontrol explains why the COVID-19 cover is not applicable to the IPL:

 What is event insurance?

The organiser of any major event, be it an entertainment event such as a concert, or a sporting event like the IPL, takes an event insurance cover. It includes personal accident covers and protection against events such as terror attacks and natural disasters, including landslides, floods and earthquakes.

Several organisers also take covers against pandemics. This cover will pay for any delay, disruption or cancellation of an event due to the outbreak of a deadly disease. However, the BCCI did not purchase this cover and there is no provision to include it at a later stage.

Now that lessons have been learnt in 2020, it is likely that all major event organisers will mandatorily include the pandemic clause in event-insurance policies. This is expected to push premiums up.

 Does the insurance cover player exits?

Apart from the main IPL insurance cover, each individual team also takes an insurance policy that includes match cancellation (not due to COVID-19), personal accident and medical insurance for individual players.

So, if any player in a team gets injured during a match, the insurance cover will pay the organiser and team franchise under a loss-of-player-fee cover.

 So, is CSK covered for Suresh Raina’s exit?

No. A case such as Suresh Raina’s (he voluntarily withdrew from the Chennai Super Kings team due to ‘personal reasons’) is not covered by any clause.

 What about the location change?

The IPL insurance originally issued will not be valid since the matches have been shifted out of India. The BCCI and individual teams are now working to get a new policy issued.

Sources said that this policy’s cover, which is likely to exceed Rs 3,000 crore, will include clauses such as personal accidents, medical emergencies, match delays due to rains and injuries to players.

Insurance only provides protection against unforeseen events. Considering that Covid-19 is still active across the world, coverage against this ailment cannot be bought by event organisers.