Marathon Insurance Brokers has extended its Olympic journey with Jamaica’s team to the 2020 Olympic Games, by partnering with the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) in its biggest way yet to provide coverage before, during and after the games.

This partnership continues to demonstrate the JOA’s commitment to building solid corporate partnerships in the interest of athletes and administrators who the national umbrella association strongly advocates are the primary assets of sports development.

“This partnership is in keeping with Marathon Insurance Brokers’ commitment to the development of sports in Jamaica and our continuous contribution to various sporting events over the years. The 2020 Olympic Games is the third Olympics for which Marathon has provided 100 per cent insurance coverage for the Jamaican contingent,” noted Keisha Burgher, Executive Director, Marathon Insurance.

The deal, worth $1.5 million, was announced on Monday, November 4, 2019 at Olympic Manor, the JOA’s headquarters that lies on the doorstep of the National Stadium, where the nation’s leading athletes have unleashed performances that catapulted them onto the Olympic stage. Marathon had provided insurance to Jamaica’s team at the 2016 and 2012 Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil and London, England, respectively.

In listing aspects of their coverage, Burgher said: “Marathon Insurance Brokers is committed to providing insurance coverage for the athletes and delegation attending the summer games next year in Tokyo. The coverage has been specially designed to begin at the pre-games training camp, during the games and up to two weeks after the close of the games, until everyone has returned to Jamaica.

“Some of the benefits under the insurance cover include medical expenses associated with illness, or accident; loss of baggage, as well as coverage for the medical equipment carried by the team doctors and medical staff to and from Tokyo,” she added.

JOA President Christopher Samuda said their continued alliance is not surprising, “for both the JOA and Marathon have an insurable interest in the development and welfare of our sportsmen and sportswomen beyond their lives in sport, which interest offers material coverage of the aspirations of successive generations”.

Samuda continued: “It is not surprising for we both are heavily investing in sporting lives in providing full and effective indemnities against risks, which may adversely affect human life and performance.”

The JOA’s secretary general and CEO, Ryan Foster, said the insurance coverage for Tokyo 2020 is twice the amount committed towards Rio 2016, noting that “this partnership should produce better outcomes at the games by improving safety and well-being.

“This specific partnership is borne out of the JOA’s and Marathon’s recognition of the need to further minimise the personal and financial risk to which our athletes and administrators are exposed. One way of doing this is through increased insurance coverage. As such, we agitated for an increase over previous agreements,” Foster explained.

To strengthen this point, he referenced the Winter Olympics, Youth Olympics, CommonWealth Games, PanAm Games and CAC Games and said “insurance coverage for each was a very expensive cause for the JOA, so we are extremely grateful that Marathon has come on board to provide this very needy service within the partnership outlined”.

Foster noted additional benefits, stating that the partnership will also result in an increase in the number of ultrasound and tens machines and other machines to be used during the games, plus an emergency family ticket and coverage for delay of bags.

“The JOA is extremely pleased to have brokered this deal with Marathon and to continue in a partnership which illustrates their commitment to sport and sport development in this country,” he said. “We are now exploring the option of extending the partnership to not just the Olympic Games, but the other games which comes under our remit.”