PB Week: The final slalom for the Olympic insurers
With the official opening of the Olympics next week, its insurer PICC Property Company (PICC) and its broker Marsh, still have many obstacles to negotiate if they are to avoid some potentially damaging claims, writes Katherine Brandon, reporter at Professional Broking.
This past week the national sports pages have been splashed with a deluge of problems cropping up as the countdown to the Olympics enters its final few days as the athletes arrive in China. All this coverage has made me wonder how PICC, the official insurance partner of the Beijing Games, is feeling right now.
So far PICC have had a comparatively easy ride. The stadiums are all completed, the police well trained and “undesirables” have been not quite so politely removed from the city. However, as athletes and supporters descend on Beijing, even a giant business like PICC (the largest public non-life insurer in China) must have some serious concerns. After all, with so many people crowded into one heavily polluted city so much could go wrong, and by covering all liability aspects of the games PICC has taken a substantial part of that risk.
Pollution levels are still considerably higher than the levels recommended by the World Health Organisation and the national stadium is shrouded in smog. Britain’s women’s hockey team have even invested in red contact lenses in an attempt to solve visual difficulties caused by the smog. With weather conditions not about to change in time for the opening ceremony, the emergency provisions removing 90% of cars off the roads of Beijing and closing heavily polluting factories are having little effect. Athlete Haile Gebrselassie, an asthma sufferer, has pulled out of the Olympic marathon despite having previously won the event twice. Longer endurance events may also have to be rescheduled to prevent damage to athletes’ health. Amid such large numbers of spectators, the logistical and medical costs could be high.
One final thought springs to mind as I finish my post. With heavy internet censorship being reported (journalists have kicked up a fuss after been unable to access the latest Amnesty International report damning the Chinese government’s human rights record from broadcast centres in Beijing) I wonder if anyone in Beijing will be able to read this...let me know if you find out!
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