fingesProfessional Athletes
alwaysThe right Lineup
To be successful as a coach of a team, you need the right strategy and a top team on the field. A foundation that offers security, trust and continuity. Professional footballers expect the same in terms of financial and investment advice. What is important here is a perfectly elaborated concept that combines investments and protection in a balanced way and takes into account that the special challenges of a professional athlete often also require special measures. Due to its business partners in professional sport, FINGES has the expertise in this area and can help and support in various situations. We know which problems and contexts of the financial and insurance world arise for a professional athlete. We also know the opportunities as well as the challenges. Our experience from the two worlds of professional sport and financial advice help to find the optimal solution.
at JeopardyPermanent Total Disability
As a professional athlete, your job and your health cannot be measured by normal standards.
Even a minor injury can mean a complete career break for you. What sounds harmless, namely to be “unable to practice sports”, has serious and far-reaching consequences for you: Your regular income – and thus your standard of living – is at stake here.
We talked to former soccer pro Patrick Kirsch (i.a. Preußen Münster, SV Sandhausen, Wacker Burghausen, Wehen Wiesbaden) whose life took an unexpected turn overnight due to what seemed at first glance a minor sports injury. We wanted to know what he is doing now and what he thinks as someone who has been affected by a permanent total disability himself. We wanted to know how well he was financially prepared for this long time injury and his subsequent invalidity and what he would maybe do differently now. His answers you’ll find in the following interview which he allowed FINGES to show on this website.
Hi Patrick, where do I catch you right now? Any news on your soccer career?
I’m currently preparing for my intermediate exam for my dual degree in business administration. So you catch me studying. After almost 2 years of rehab and 4 surgeries, I’ll probably have to conclude the chapter “professional soccer” for good.
What happened?
A press hit against the ball with an opponent during my time at Preußen Münster was the trigger for an irreversible knee injury. An unspectacular accident during a training unit.
Did you realize immediately how serious this injury was? Did you think about taking a break right away?
As the lead player and vice captain in the 3rd Bundesliga, you don’t stay off the playing field right away, but instead you help your team as good and as long as you can at this stage of the season. After a few weeks however, I realized that the injury was more serious than initially suspected. I knew I could not continue this way, I really needed to take a break. I joined the team again during the training phase for the winter season, but I had to admit very soon that my knee still hadn’t recovered. I was forced to end my professional sports career – and this after 410 games in the professional league!
Were you prepared for a situation like this? Were you properly secured?
Thank god I had a private health insurance (DKV). They really did not let me down. Thanks to the right daily sickness allowance, the financial gap which occurs as a natural consequence to such an injury could be filled immediately. For the time being I was financially save. It’s crazy how all of a sudden something like a minor accident can turn your life around from one second to the other. It’s so important to take precautions in advance, i.e. the right insurances – even if at first glance this might seem quite costly.
This is why I flag up this subject to young players.
You are doing a great job in doing so. It is so important to take precautions and get the right insurances before an injury or illness can end your professional sports career. I should have tackled that topic beforehand as well. But I simply thought it wasn’t my time yet to get a permanent total disability insurance. I thought I am in good health, there’s no need for that. But, to receive a little financial injection would have really served me well at the time when I was classified a “sports invalid”. (Both the employers’ liability insurance and health insurance pay only up to a maximum of 78 weeks). Because: what happens once your professional sports career has come to a sudden end and you have to go back to school to start a new career? How can you finance that?
Patrick, I thank you for your open and honest words and your insights.
Of course. From today’s point of view, I think you cannot tackle this topic early enough. If any of your players has any questions, I will be happy to give tips that would have helped me in my own situation. I wish you success.
The example shows the financial situation of a soccer professional, who has € 7,000 gross per month, is covered by general health insurance and does not receive any external daily sickness benefit.
The consequences of an accident during a training session or during a match as well as becoming ill can be a hard hit for a professional soccer player.
The club only continues to pay the salary for the first 42 sick days.
Do you not get 90% of the net salary or 70 % of your gross salary?
If it is not a “BG case”, you get paid up to 70 % of your gross salary, but only up to a statutory maximum rate of the general health insurance, which is currently at a gross salary of € 4,425 (as of 2018). If there is an injury / illness, then up to a maximum of € 2,714 per month / € 90 per day will be paid (as of 2018).
ProfessionalSports Insurance
Minimize the financial risk that can be caused by an accident or sports injury! Our sports disability insurance is tailored to the needs of professional athlete and offers convincingly first-class conditions:
- Securing the activity as a professional athlete by accident and / or illness and accidental death.
- Protection even without accidental death or only as a daily allowance until the 1095th day of sickness possible.
- Waiver of referral, that is: no other occupational activity that is pursued after the classification of invalidity is affecting the one-time payment and no other occupations and skills will be taken into account.
- One-off payment – no monthly pension which may be waived!
Additional advantages:
- Worldwide insurance coverage
- No unexpected clauses/conditions
- Annual survey of the sum insured to exclude over- or under-insurance.
- Option to insure the 5-fold annual income; Max. EUR 20,000,000.
- Insurance policy can be issued in German or English.
Special Feature:
Our product suppliers do not need an address or bank account in Germany. You can live and work within the European Union or Switzerland; the insurance cover is valid worldwide.
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