Insurance impasse rears its head again in Irish point-to-point sector

Insurance issues have re-emerged in the Irish point-to-point sector and will impact this weekend's programme of fixtures, including the cancellation of one and the rescheduling of two further meetings. 

Similar to other sporting and adventure pursuits, acquiring insurance cover has become a persistent dilemma for the point-to-pointing industry. Last season, a number of fixtures were cancelled while insurance was sourced to cover the sport and the hunt clubs that stage the individual fixtures.

Hopes had been raised that a National Hunt Steeplechase, Point-to-Point and Field Sports Insurance Programme (NHSPFS) would provide some ongoing certainty and cover in order to allow the sport, which a Deloitte report in 2017 estimated contributed €37 million to the Irish economy, to begin recovering following consecutive tumultuous seasons of interruption as a result of two Covid interruptions and the insurance saga. 

Although the sport is governed by the Irish National Hunt Steeple Chase Committee (INHSC), each point-to-point fixture is staged by different hunt clubs and it is under the hunt committee's insurance policy that a point-to-point falls. Negotiations that have been ongoing to secure future insurance cover for most of the country's hunt clubs have not been completed in time, with the current policy due to expire at midnight this coming Friday (April 21).

Fixtures in Northern Ireland and on the Cork and Waterford circuit are not affected by the insurance impasse as there are separate policies in place covering these regions.

In an unprecedented turn of events, the looming deadline has forced the INHSC to bring forward the Meath and Tara point-to-point at Fairyhouse racecourse from Sunday (April 23) to Friday (April 21), allowing it to be staged before the current insurance policy expires. The North Kerry point-to-point at the grounds of the old Tralee racecourse will also stage a point-to-point on Friday, as a replacement for its April 15 fixture which had to be cancelled for an unrelated reason.

Sufficient medical cover could not be sought by the Bree Foxhounds to allow its fixture in Monksgrange, scheduled for Sunday, to be brought forward by 48 hours to Friday, so it has been cancelled. The remaining fixtures this weekend at Necarne on Saturday and Dromahane on Sunday are not affected by the insurance issue.

Discussions remain ongoing to secure insurance cover, and it is understood that up to five further fixtures scheduled to the end of the season could be impacted if sufficient cover cannot be acquired.

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