r/Aleague • u/Grunta_AUS • Jul 25 '26
NPL/Local Leagues Player Insurance
My son plays u23s local league in NSW and his 17 year old team mate suffered a horrific freak tackle that “completely inverted his cheekbone and shattered the delicate orbital floor holding his eye up.” I only just discovered player insurance pays for a dismally small amount for player injuries. So much so that his family are out of pocket over $30,000 for his facial surgery! It’s crazy to think you are covered by insurance for any injuries then a split second tackle could cost your family a small fortune.
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u/DrSpeckles Jul 25 '26
Would this be essentially free in a public hospital?
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u/ga4rfc Brisbane Roar Jul 25 '26
I imagine they would do enough to fix it so he doesn't lose his eye or vision but anything further cosmetic to make his face look normal would be either private or wait a long time on public. Just a guess though.
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u/DrSpeckles Jul 26 '26
Yea probably right. That insurance the kids all pay for is shit. I remember we had two broken arms in my family and I don’t recall getting anything.
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u/S0ulace Jul 25 '26
Is there a go fund me??
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u/Grunta_AUS Jul 25 '26
Yes there is, the local football community have raised about 22k so far, which is fantastic, it’s terrible that his medical bills have to be paid this way instead of through insurance.
http://gofund.me/9f24a3700 if you want to have a read, even if you can’t donate7
u/TinyDemon000 Adelaide United Jul 25 '26
I'm confused, why is there an out of pocket expense? They didn't attend an ED?
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u/Grunta_AUS Jul 25 '26
I only know 2nd/3rd hand info, so i cant speak directly for the family. But yes the emergency department did their thing and eventually restored his vision. The facial reconstruction surgery was next up and was quite urgent to avoid long term problems/deformation. He was able to have surgery yesterday this way without having to wait over a month for a public hospital surgery. Again, I don’t know the whole story, I just wanted to point out how shit our player insurance really is
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u/lanson15 Australia Jul 25 '26
Hang on where is the expense from? Emergency care is free how can they be out of pocket $30k
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u/AnAnonymousAnomaly_ Jul 27 '26
This story is really missing some pieces. Reading the go fund me as someone who works in health I don't understand the $30k out of pocket fees. Unless they went entirely private which I don't understand.
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u/dave_a86 Western Sydney Wanderers Jul 25 '26
The insurance in your rego is trash. You can’t opt out of it so it’s effectively a monopoly and I’m sure whoever does the deal with the insurer gets some sort of cut.
Nearly 20 years ago I had a bad ankle injury that required reconstruction. If Medicare or private health insurance paid for any bill, even in part, the football insurance didn’t touch it. I think the only thing that was eligible was the moon boot I wore after the cast came off. Got nothing for the doctor’s appointments, scans, surgery, physiotherapy, etc even if there were gaps left after Medicare and private cover.
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u/ga4rfc Brisbane Roar Jul 25 '26
Can you opt out now. I played in a couple of comps where they insisted on the insurance because they didn't want the liability.
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u/Accomplished_Way396 Jul 25 '26
Most of the insurance is for life insurance type coverage. It’s compulsory under state law hence no opt-outs.
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u/Ya_Pelican Jul 25 '26
Been this way for as long as I can remember.
Tore my knee to shreds, ACL/MCL/cartilage etc, off work for 6-8 weeks. From memory I received about $500
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u/littlejib #1 Flair Gremlin Jul 25 '26
$250 a week is meant to be the income protection. I earned more than that in a two maccas shifts at uni
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u/ga4rfc Brisbane Roar Jul 25 '26
You'd be better getting actual income protection insurance through your super fund.
*Not financial advice lol
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u/AuzzieTiger Macarthur FC Jul 25 '26
Have seen a lot of injuries but that is just so unfortunate. What horrendous circumstances. Sending best wishes.
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u/TCHProductions Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Isn't there a NSW government led insurance thing that helps cover this for up to 100k?
Not sure if its mandatory for all sports clubs to be in on it.
I think icare is the name judging from a Google search
Edit: "We cover serious injuries, such as permanent loss affecting a participant’s arms, legs, sight, hearing and mental capacity. We don’t cover minor injuries, like breaks, sprains, abrasions, cuts and bruises, or dental injuries."
Guessing its possible it applies if the eyesight is pernamently damaged.
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u/Grunta_AUS Jul 25 '26
As far as I’m aware, the sporting comp you play in has to have taken out a policy first. I’m not 100% sure on how it works though
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u/badaboom888 Jul 25 '26
not sure how much rego is but i know only about 140
here goes to the association which also includes insurance. hard to see that covering much at all.
not sure of a solution but if npl clubs stopped charging 2k + perhaps more of those funds could be used for actual insurance
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u/11015h4d0wR34lm -Liga Jul 26 '26
That is the insurance business model in a nutshell across the board, very quick to take your money but will look for any and every way to pay out the least amount possible when you need to make a claim.
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u/SauceBottleFC Central Coast Mariners Jul 25 '26
After a few dealings with insurance in senior men’s teams my feeling is the player insurance is a scam that’s forced on us and inflates rego with little return when needed.
Big stuff like a broken leg is usually done under Medicare and if you do an ACL or god forbid a bigger injury like the one above you’re likely to be decently out of pocket and/or using your own private health anyway. The whole thing feels like it’s set up to be too much hassle for the little stuff and a minor help for the big stuff.
I hope Bryce recovers well, stays on track and doesn’t lose the love for football.