AFL CLUB presidents will on Thursday shut the AFL out of a meeting called over fears of being sued personally in concussion claims by players.
The presidents are worried that their boards will not be covered legally in the wave of concussion claims about to engulf the game, and that being exposed personally legally could lead to an exodus of high quality directors.
Some clubs had unsuccessfully sought from the AFL indemnity in the claims, and Thursday's meeting will thrash out ways for club directors to be provided cover-all professional indemnity insurance, as given to most paid club employees.
While a club director is yet to be personally implicated in the legal claims to date, the presidents fear it is a matter of time as club doctors and other club officials have been named in some claims recently lodged with the courts.
The meeting on Thursday will be held in the Melbourne CBD, and while all clubs are expected to be represented, some will only send legal counsel instead of presidents.
In several actions lodged legally as part of separate class actions, dozens of retired players have brought action against the AFL and clubs, with some also individually naming club officials.
In many discussions with the AFL this season, some clubs had requested the granting of blanket indemnity insurance. And in being rejected to this point, those clubs have decided to, in their next steps, remove the AFL from their plans.
A major fear of some clubs is the flow-on effect of concussion claims, with clubs effectively legally responsible for not just AFL players under their watch, but also players in the AFLW, VFL and VFLW systems, and also effectively, any player who even attends a training session under their watch.
On a separate note to the club presidents seeking professional indemnity insurance, several individual players have recently been exploring the possibility of insuring themselves outside the industry-issued insurance policies to gain greater financial options in the event of being severely concussed.
