Kukla's Korner Hockey
Concussions May Influence Future Player Contracts
by Paul on 01/30/12 at 07:22 PM ET
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from Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star,
Insurance companies specializing in sports say the Penguins and other NHL teams will increasingly have to adopt the risk of million-dollar contracts alone as the number of players sidelined with concussions swells. The prospect threatens to alter the hockey industry.
For players who have suffered serious concussions — there are at least 73 players who have missed games this season with brain injuries, according to player agent Allan Walsh — new contracts will include so-called concussion exclusions.
That will mean teams won’t be able to insure those players against future brain injuries.
Bill Hubbard, chief executive of HCC Specialty, a New York-based company that also specializes in the sports industry and has insured hockey players, says it could lead to an even more troubling development for the NHL.
If more players continue to be sidelined with concussions, insurers may stop insuring players with brain injuries altogether.
“Right now you’ve got 10 per cent of the league affected by concussions,” Hubbard said. “While I don’t know where the breaking point is, at some point, if it keeps trending this way, companies are not going to be able to insure NHL players for concussions.”
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