As part of the implementation of the recommendations in the Carney review, female athletes will benefit from a major breakthrough in insurance cover for pregnancy, contraception, menopause and other health conditions.
The Women’s Football Taskforce has appointed Loughborough University, recently announced as the No. 1 university in the world for sports-related topics for the 10th consecutive year, to work with leading insurance providers and brokers to ensure female athletes are offered the appropriate support with their insurance coverage.
Changes to insurance provisions for female athletes will specifically address blind spots that exist in relation to pregnancy, contraception, menopause, health conditions and conditions that disproportionately affect women, such as relative energy deficiency in sport (RAD-S).
RED-S is a complex syndrome caused by low energy availability, where an athlete’s diet does not meet the demands of training. This can lead to metabolic, hormonal and physiological changes, including stress fractures and disruption of the menstrual cycle to normal indicators.
“It is always wonderful to see recommendations being taken seriously and concrete improvements being made as a result,” said former England international pundit Karen Carney, whose independent review of women’s football Published in July 2023. “The success of this development justifies why the report was important and I want to thank everyone involved who helped make it possible.”
Stephanie Peacock, Minister for Sport and chair of the taskforce set up by the government to lead the Carney review, said: “It is incredibly welcome to see this positive change driven by the Women’s Football Taskforce. I would like to pay tribute to the insurers and in particular Professor Jo Maher (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Sport at Loughborough University) for leading this work to deliver concrete changes to the product offered to women.”
The move is part of the government’s commitment to a “decade of change” for women’s and girls’ sport and follows this year’s announcement that 1,000 community projects across the UK are benefiting from new all-weather pitches, extended playing hours through more floodlights and modern training facilities designed to better serve under-represented groups such as women and girls.
It also follows the implementation of several other recommendations of the Carney Review, including the introduction of a minimum wage in the Women’s Super League and the representation of players in the WSL and WSL 2 by the Professional Footballers’ Association.
The British Insurance Brokers Association, which is committed to supporting women in sport, is working with brokers such as Aon, Willis, Miller, Howden and Marsh to explore which existing exclusions can be reinstated into policies, with Aon being the first to extend its personal accident policies to include abortion as a standard as a result of a sporting accident.
Meanwhile, specialist insurer Axis has also launched a review of its professional sports personal accident products, and the Association for British Insurers, together with major insurers including Vitality, is reviewing the insurance and terms available to female athletes across the wider industry.
Maher said: “Developing products for female athletes is an important step towards ensuring we drive world-class and equitable standards in women’s sport.
“I want to thank all of our insurance industry partners for listening to colleagues in the sports sector and responding so positively. Together we can level the playing field and continue the great performances of our national teams and athletes.”
