In light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, insurance costs for the 2004 Athens Summer Games may increase more than 50 per cent, according to companies that specialize in sports insurance. The insurance bill for the Athens Games was already estimated at about $30 million to cover potential problems such as a terrorist assault or cancellation of the Games.
Bill Hubbard, president of ASU International LLC, one of three companies providing insurance for the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games said, “the attacks are going to have a dramatic impact. Costs are going to go up and coverage is going to tighten”.
Insurance companies are now reevaluating their coverage costs and limits, which may cost insurers as much as $70 billion.
Colin Fairlie, a director at William J. Sutton & Co., a Toronto-based insurance company which has written policies for professional athletes and journalists covering wars, says, “you may see some insurance companies say ‘life’s too short’, and not offer coverage regardless of the premium they can charge”.
Fourlis Antonis, a spokesman for the Athens Olympic committee said the organization expects to sign an agreement with an insurance provider within the next month. He said, “it’s too early to say what the exact costs are going to be, but you could say it’s both expected and logical that the insurance costs are going to increase”.
The Salt Lake Winter Olympics already had arranged for insurance coverage before the Sept. 11 attack, but Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake organizing committee, wouldn’t say exactly how much the insurance will cost although he said it won’t be more then $10 million. Romney said, “our insurance covers all the reasonable risks”.
Winter Olympics attract fewer athletes and fans than the Summer Games, so insurance costs are always lower.
Even before the terrorist attacks, the insurance bill for the Athens Games was expected to top the record $25.2 million paid for the 1996 Atlanta Games. Fairlie said that now Athens’ premiums are sure to skyrockets. “Who knows how much it’s going to go up, whether it’s 30 percent, 50 per cent or 200 per cent”, he said.
