GAA Injury Benefit Fund

Key messages

• The GAA offer a GAA injury benefit fund for players and members 
• The maximum injury claim is €5k for medical expenses and the fund offers very limited loss of salary benefits
• The club do not have sufficient funds to make any upfront payments
• The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is only in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere and is a benefit cover only.    The GAA Injury Benefit Fund does not seek to compensate fully for Injuries sustained, but to supplement other Schemes such as Personal Accident or Health Insurance.  
• Each player needs to ensure that they have adequate cover in place to meet their own individual needs and personal circumstances.   

Letter from Trinity Gaels 

Dear Member,

The purpose of this letter is to ensure that there is no misunderstanding by players of the GAA Injury Benefit fund.

The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is a Self-funded benefit fund which is funded entirely from GAA funds with no outside involvement.  In effect, it is a benefit fund funded by members for the members. This mandatory fund provides benefits to registered members playing the national games of Hurling & Gaelic Football.    The Injury Fund is not an Insurance Scheme and is therefore, not regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.   As payments from the fund come directly from GAA funds, there is no Insurer involved with the fund.  There is also no legal obligation on the GAA to provide such a fund. 

Risk is an inherent factor in sport, as in life. When members voluntarily take part in Club activities, they accept the risks that such participation may bring.  Legal representation is not required and therefore, there is strictly no legal expenses cover amongst the benefits provided. Each player needs to ensure that they have adequate cover in place to meet their own individual needs and personal circumstances.   The GAA Injury Benefit Fund is only in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere and is a benefit cover only. The GAA Injury Benefit Fund does not seek to compensate fully for Injuries sustained, but to supplement other Schemes such as Personal Accident or Health Insurance.  The playing of Gaelic Football & Hurling involves the risk of Injury and it is each individual registered player’s responsibility to familiarise themselves with the terms and benefits of the GAA Injury Benefit Fund. The Injury Benefit Fund only provides cover for unrecoverable losses up to the limits specified.  

In summary, the GAA Injury Benefit Fund is in place to cover benefits which cannot be claimed elsewhere. Therefore, if a claimant is seeking to claim benefit from the fund, they must exhaust all other avenues before making a claim under the GAA Injury Benefit Fund.  Furthermore, the Injury Benefit Fund should not be used as a guarantee for the payment of expenses. Ultimately, the responsibility to ensure that adequate cover is in place lies with the individual member, commensurate with his \ her specific needs and members should not use the fund as their only recourse or be dependent on the fund to compensate them fully for any losses associated with the injury sustained.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards,

_____________________

Brian Concannon

Secretary / Trinity Gaels