661 BO16 – The financial cost of injuries in elite cricket in England and Wales: a retrospective study of seven years of insurance claims

Background Understanding the financial cost of injuries can supplement traditional injury surveillance and broaden the understanding of injury impact, helping stakeholders with directed prevention strategies to improve player welfare. This has been investigated in recreational but not elite cricket. Objective To report the number of claims and costs from injury insurance records in professional male cricketers in England and Wales. Design Retrospective cohort study of seven years (2015/16 – 2021/22) of cricket-related injury insurance data. Setting Eighteen First-Class County Cricket (FCCC) and one international team in England and Wales. Participants Professional male cricketers registered to one of the FCCC teams. Assessment of Risk Factors Cricket-related injury insurance claims by body locations and treatment type. Main Outcome Measurements The number and cost of cricket-related insurance claims, with costs adjusted to 2021 values to account for inflation. Results There were 9,081 injury claims totalling £5,145,371. The mean annual cost was £735,053 (±£143,419) and the average claim was £567 (±£1,318). The claim rate per county was 68.3 per year (95% CI 43.5, 107.0) and cost per county was £38,687 per year (95% CI £24,676, £60,652). Lower limb injuries accounted for the highest percentage of claims (39.6%) and costs (43.0%). The lumbar spine was the body location with the highest costs (£769,924) and hand injuries had the highest number of claims (1405). Imaging was the most common treatment (45.0% of claims). Surgery was the most expensive (£1,803,056), closely followed by imaging (£1,789,055). The mean imaging cost for lumbar spine and hand injuries was £612 (±£368) and £185 (±£153), and mean surgery cost was £4,993 (±£6,262) and £1,888 (±£2,066), respectively. Conclusions Injury prevention strategies targeting lower limb and lumbar spine injuries are supported by this insurance data. Reducing the costs of injuries would allow investment in other player welfare areas.