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Lions row over cover for Jonny
By Chris Jones, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 07.04.05
Hard to insure: Jonny Wilkinson
A row has broken out over insurance cover for Jonny Wilkinson and other injury-prone stars hoping to be selected for this summer's British Lions tour of New Zealand.
Damian Hopley, chief executive of the Professional Rugby Union Players' Association, is to seek a meeting with Lions team bosses after they said individual players such as Wilkinson would have to cover themselves.
He said: "Clearly, the Lions are employing the players for the length of the tour and there is a duty of care here.
"If the Lions want to take a player on tour, then they should be prepared to underwrite the cover. I'll take this issue up with the Lions. It's not the way you'd expect any organisation to carry on. It puts even more pressure on players like Jonny at this crucial stage of the season."
Wilkinson is one of several potential Lions tourists with fitness worries, with Richard Hill, Will Greenwood, Simon Taylor and Mike Tindall all coming back from lengthy treatment.
The medical insurance bill for the squad of 44 is expected to top £700,000 and, as the Lions only generate funds before their four-yearly tours, they have limited financial resources. A leading insurance expert said: "There are only half a dozen underwriters who would deal with this kind of personal accident cover for someone like Jonny Wilkinson.
"Patently, he has a recent history of injury and still has up to 10 years of earning potential, along with the offthe-pitch income.
"It's not as simple as Jonny throwing a lot of money at the market to get cover because the potential liability makes it a very high-risk policy."
Wilkinson has suffered an injury nightmare since helping England win the World Cup in 2003, and insurance experts in the City believe it will be difficult to find an underwriter willing to offer cover for the eight-week tour, with potential loss of earnings running into millions if a career-threatening injury strikes him down.
The Newcastle outside-half, who has undergone shoulder surgery and is at present recovering from a second knee-ligament injury this season, earns an estimated £6million a year through personal sponsorship deals and his playing contract.
Wilkinson, who is expected to be named in the tour party on Monday, will not be covered by the Lions' official insurance because of the financial exposure it would involve. "We will not insure Jonny Wilkinson's knee," Lions chief executive John Feehan said.
Feehan made it clear that a huge compensation payout would, effectively, put the Lions into liquidation and rule out future tours.
Feehan said: "It would not be good business sense to put the whole organisation at risk. We will be as fair as we can in helping individual players with their cover, but we don't have an openended chequebook."
