Insure (Your Football Team) Against Loss

Chelsea, one of England’s best known football (Soccer) clubs was reportedly seeking insurance coverage to reimburse it against loss, if it fails to qualify for Europe’s Champion’s League Competition in future seasons. Although they are already out of this year’s competition, the London club netted £12.5 million ($19.75 million) for its efforts.

Chelsea reportedly wants to cover the possibility that it won’t be in next year’s competition. It’s chances are in fact in doubt, depending on how it does in the English Premier League and the UEFA Cup competition, where it is still in the running. Although the premium could go as high as £1 million ($1.58 million), it might be worth it.

It isn’t certain, however, that any underwriter would issue such a policy. Lloyd’s spokesman Adrian Beeby said, “We’ve heard about it, and, yes, it’s an interesting idea, but so far I don’t know of any concrete proposals.” He did say, however, that it would certainly be within Lloyd’s capacity, and that the idea was actually being explored by several syndicates that specialize in sports related coverages. Beeby said he would report any further developments when they occured.

If available, it might be of great interest in the U.S. for any major league team which had playoff potential.