USA RUGBY ANNOUNCES ACCIDENT INSURANCE FOR ALL MEMBERS FOR 2011-2012

from USA Rugby:

USA Rugby is happy to announce that an exciting new member benefit will be included in the price of registration dues for the 2011-2012 membership cycle which will open on August 15, 2011. USA Rugby’s Congress and Board of Directors ratified the new insurance policy and a $10 increase to annual membership dues to pay for the policy on July 15, 2011 by an overwhelming majority.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ME AS A USA RUGBY MEMBER?
When the 2011-2012 cycle opens, members registered for that cycle will automatically receive up to $250,000 in accident insurance for injuries sustained during sanctioned rugby events.

That means if you’re injured playing rugby, the financial risk associated with injury will be minimized. It also means that annual membership dues will increase by $10 per member per year, which works out to less than 3 cents per day.

This policy will provide:

• $25,000 per injury resulting from sanctioned rugby events
• $1,000 disappearing deductible for members with primary insurance
• $2,500 deductible for members without primary insurance
• $250,000 Excess Catastrophic Medical Expense Benefit
• Coverage during travel to and from sanctioned rugby events

USA Rugby 2011-2012 Membership Dues

• Individual Senior Registration: $45.00
• Individual Collegiate Registration: $40.00
• Individual High School Registration: $30.00
• Individual Youth Registration: $20.00
• Individual Rookie Rugby Registration: $5.00

HOW WAS THIS DECISION MADE?
At USA Rugby, we strive to add value to membership and implement programs that will help support the growth of the sport of rugby in the United States. We believe that this insurance policy will do that, but we wanted to know what our members thought so we launched a pilot program in 2010 and collected feedback. We then solicited feedback about extending accident coverage to all USA Rugby members.

PILOT PROGRAM
In 2010, the pilot accident insurance program (Zurich Rugby Accident Insurance) was launched in order to gauge the interest of USA Rugby members in such a policy. The feedback on the pilot program was tremendous and after the enrollment for the program closed, many clubs contacted USA Rugby seeking to take advantage of the offering.

At that point, USA Rugby recognized the demand for such a policy was significant, and began to explore affordable options to provide this benefit to all members automatically.

CALL TO ACTION
In order to make rugby accident insurance included in membership dues, USA Rugby wanted to make sure it was what the members really wanted. On July 7, 2011, a call to action was sent to members soliciting feedback through their local USA Rugby Congress representative. The $10 dues increase was included in that call to action. Below are some of the comments that members of Congress received:

“It’s a great benefit…Just Do It!” – Sam

“This would be great and would also handle a lot of objections I get when I try to recruit a friend to play rugby!” – Curtis

“As a member and a player who was injured this recent season I highly recommend and support this…I do have insurance, but I know for sure I would have loved to have this additional support of insurance at that time. Ten dollars is nothing compared to the cost of an injury if or when it happens.” – Patrick

USA Rugby Congress and the Board of Directors approved the new insurance policy on Friday July 15, 2011 by an overwhelming majority.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO?
Simply become a USA Rugby member for the 2011-2012 membership cycle after registration opens on August 15 and you’re covered!!

In the event of a rugby related injury after registration for the 2011-2012 cycle, go to usarugby.org and click on “Accident Insurance” for details on how to get your claim processed.

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For more information about this policy, please email insurance@usarugby.org or visit the FAQ section on the USA Rugby website