Medical Expenses in Sports Clubs: How Insurance Helps

Every sports club revolves around its players, coaching staff and volunteers who enable play at every level of the pyramid, from amateur to professional. Protecting your players means giving them access to expert medical care.

Yet grassroots sports clubs today are contending with higher medical expenses as they support players in achieving peak performance and excellence, with unadjusted income at 96% of pre-pandemic levels.

One way to ensure cost-effective access to medical care is private medical insurance. In this guide, we discuss the common medical expenses that sports teams face today and why insurance is the solution.

Common medical expenses in sports clubs

What the medical side of sport looks like largely depends on the sport you play. The most common injuries in sports like football are not the same as those in cricket or boxing. Regardless of your discipline, injuries, recovery and rehabilitation all cost your club in terms of expenses and performance.

Injuries ranging from muscle tears and ligament damage to tendonitis and concussions all result in several categories of medical expenses, including:

·  Diagnostics – The first step is diagnosing the injury and the extent of said injury. Forms of diagnostics might include PET, CT and MRI scans. Prompt diagnosis is vital for preventing delays, so that players can begin their recovery plans earlier.

·  Medical Treatment – The actual treatment depends on the nature of the injury. Treatments can range from medication to inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures. In practice, sports teams opt for private hospitals due to longer NHS waiting times.

·  Specialist Consultations – Sports injuries require a sports specialist to diagnose and treat properly. At Dragonfly Crowd, this is why we act as your healthcare intermediary to secure your access to policies from providers like Bupa, which offers access to over 25,000 specialists, like sports medicine doctors and orthopaedic surgeons.

·  Physical Therapy – Physiotherapy, sports massages and chiropractic sessions are all part of the recovery process. Not only does physical therapy support recovery, but they are a crucial part of preventing recurring injuries and limiting time away from the sport you love.

 
At the elite level, all of this is a given; but the needs of sportspeople don’t change based on the level. Grassroots players are the lifeblood of British support and need the same world-class treatment as their established counterparts. Unfortunately, less than 42% of teams even have a dedicated first aider during home games.

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No-fault injuries

Sport always contains an element of risk by nature. A standard, accidental injury, such as twisting an ankle or colliding with another player legally, likely means there’s no legal liability.

Amateur players will often rely on the NHS, whereas professional players will often have their treatment costs fully covered. However, an increasing number of amateur clubs have their own private health insurance policies in place to cover medical costs and offset lost earnings.

Remember, standard private medical insurance policies typically contain a raft of exclusions, which is why dedicated sports health insurance is vital for ensuring your players are fully covered.

Key components of sports club insurance that help with medical expenses

Sports club insurance is an investment in the welfare of your players and in protecting your club’s financial future, so it can continue serving the community.  Paying a regular monthly premium protects you from sudden financial shocks and gives your club’s members the absolute best standard of care.

Remember, the average annual total cost of injuries can be high. For example, professional cricket teams found that the average cost of injuries per year was £167,447. At Dragonfly Crowd, we are the intermediary who can secure you a reliable policy to mitigate these costs.

Singular insurance packages combine various types of cover to prevent you from juggling multiple policies at once, or leaving unexpected gaps in your coverage.

So, what are the key areas where sports health insurance will support you in managing your medical expenses?

·  Personal Accident Insurance – This cover is a staple for sports clubs across all sports, with an increasing number of governing bodies now requiring it. Essentially, it covers out-of-pocket medical costs, emergency travel and loss of earnings cover. This is something our experts can look into separately, if it suits your needs.

·  Private Medical Insurance – Dedicated medical cover to provide direct private healthcare access, including diagnostics, fast-track specialists, surgery, physiotherapy and rehab. Under your policy, you’ll pay none of these costs out of pocket while ensuring athletes return to peak condition and performance.

Additionally, private sports medical insurance can cover not only your playing personnel, but also your coaching staff and any volunteers who help make everything happen.

We understand that choosing a provider and sourcing the best-value policy tailored to you is complex, though. That’s why Dragonfly Crowd supports you by acting as your intermediary with insurers to find the optimal policy for your club.

If you want to learn more about private sports injury insurance, contact Dragonfly Crowd and speak to one of our insurance experts today.

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