https://www.reddit.com/r/AFL/s/v8IlJMySka

This is an article about Zurich investigating seedsman Murphy and brayshaws concussion symptoms. The full article is in the comments.

All I can say is we need to remove them as a sponsor as of our club because this is absolutely abhorrent behaviour.

Edited August 22Aug 22 by biggestred

They are an insurance company, they have no morals

Dancing along that line between 'due diligence to ensure correct payment and prevent fraud' and 'deliberate obstruction of process and harassment of clients to apply pressure for a cheaper settlement'.

Strange fact is, the amounts of money involved in the insurance payouts could rival the amounts of money in the sponsorship.

If this is true

https://apple.news/AvuyRRFr8SD-_Jvyit2N59A

‘…major sponsor of Melbourne as part of a deal signed last year which has since caused some of Brayshaw’s best friends - who still play for the Demons - significant embarrassment.

Zurich’s logo on the fronts of the players’ jumpers serves as a constant reminder of their retired mate’s ongoing suffering from head knocks.’

It is well past the time to release Zurich from their financial commitments to us! Maybe they can use their sponsorship dollars to payout the players that deserve it!

Already a thread on this

17 minutes ago, Sideshow Bob said:

Already a thread on this

Apologies. Perhaps mods can delete/merge

This is on the AFL not Zurich.

If he has ongoing medical costs or has some permanent form of disability by all means it's on the ilife nsurer to indemnify him.

At this stage that's not to case and let's hope it isn't going forwards.

The AFL ruled him ineligible to play, to mitigate against legal action down the track.

Life insurers don't pay out for restraint of trade nor should they

And the [censored] continues

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/angus-brayshaws-desperate-plea-to-insurance-giant-zurich-over-concussion-payout-battle/news-story/d6ecff52866991f2389fe87ff7bafe2c

4 minutes ago, Satan said:

And the [censored] continues

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/angus-brayshaws-desperate-plea-to-insurance-giant-zurich-over-concussion-payout-battle/news-story/d6ecff52866991f2389fe87ff7bafe2c

Is this why Trac was/is annoyed with the club?

Cut all ties.

What an embarrassment.

My old man started in insurance. I tell him regularly it's a rort of an industry. Soon, the government will be the only player.

3 minutes ago, dazzledavey36 said:

Cut all ties.

What an embarrassment.

Think we gotta find a replacement. Typical insurance companies though...am enbarassment for the AFL.

A disgrace to think that we wear that ugly blue logo on the jumper Gus so proudly wore.

Summary please -paywall

36 minutes ago, sue said:

Summary please -paywall

Insurance companies will do anything and everything to avoid paying out, including data searches etc. Typical scum behaviour.

Be interesting to find out the details of the policy. Surely the AFL didn't go full cheapo.

Unfortunately club cannot afford the financial sacrifice of losing a sponsor. Barely found one last year

Pity, what absolute scum

2 hours ago, Satan said:

And the [censored] continues

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/angus-brayshaws-desperate-plea-to-insurance-giant-zurich-over-concussion-payout-battle/news-story/d6ecff52866991f2389fe87ff7bafe2c

Gist?

Heartbreaking to hear what Gus is suffering post concussion. To think he’s now having to battle this insurance scam makes me so angry.

1 minute ago, Jaded No More said:

Heartbreaking to hear what Gus is suffering post concussion. To think he’s now having to battle this insurance scam makes me so angry.

Insurance 101. Deny everything

I said in the other thread we should jettison these [censored]

Haven’t changed

I [censored] loathe Maynard

Loathe

Edited August 25Aug 25 by Superunknown

People here are jumping at shadows. I battle insurance companies every day in my professional life and this isn't on Zurich.

Workcover is state based and legislated by each state. Zurich doesn't hold a liscense to provide that cover.

They are providing an accident an illness cover for the league which is completely different.

Read my post history on Maynard and Brayshaw I'd be up there with the filthiest posters on that incident and hold a grudge.

But Zurich are not in the wrong here. He has been medically retired by the AFL. It sucks he was one of my favourite players and a legend of this football club.

Zurich should not have to indemnify him for this. It's completely outside of their accident and injury intentions. If he lost an arm or an eye it wouldn't be in dispute. But he has been concussed and told he can't work as a footballer again.

That comes under work cover or the AFL' professional liability insurer. If that is Zurich I'll start throwing grenades like everyone else but there is no information saying it is and they can't legally be the work cover insurer in victoria

I'd almost rather be sponsored by a betting agency or pokies operator than an insurance company when you hear how they conduct their businesses.

At the end of the day the business models of both are based around screwing the little guy as much as possible.

14 hours ago, Wrecker45 said:

Workcover is state based and legislated by each state. Zurich doesn't hold a liscense to provide that cover.

They are providing an accident an illness cover for the league which is completely different.

Workcover doesn't cover professional sports people anyway.

Professional sportspeople or sporting contestants are ineligible to receive compensation for injuries sustained as a contestant in a sporting activity.

Sporting contestants (with the exception of jockeys and other riders as below) are not eligible to receive compensation for injuries sustained while:

• participating as a contestant in a sporting or athletic activity

• engaged in training or preparation with a view to so participating or

• travelling between a place of residence and the place at which the person is so participating or en

  https://www1.worksafe.vic.gov.au/vwa/claimsmanual/Claims%20Manual/2-claims-management/2-1-workers-and-injuries/2-1-4-3-specific-work-types.htm

Here's an interesting article on Concussion, insurance and the AFL.

Reading between the tramlines I'd be worried if I was the AFL. The real question is can the players get up a class action. The AFL will fight tooth and nail for individual trials thus making it uneconomic for most.

https://in-magazine.com.au/concussion-test/

21 hours ago, sue said:

Summary please -paywall

It’s pretty long so hard to summarise. There’s a few different articles. Also, after reading @Wrecker45 post, they understand insurance far better than I do. That being said, I’m disgusted at the tactics they’ve used—as in obtaining passwords to the player’s social media and all accounts and using it as leverage to avoid paying claims. Using Gus’s wedding and speech last year as evidence he’s not as impacted as he may be, etc.

Concussion victims Angus Brayshaw, Nathan Murphy and Paul Seedsman at centre of multi-million dollar insurance stoush

They were once healthy AFL footballers. Now, these high-profile concussion victims are at the centre of a multi-million dollar insurance stoush. Jay Clark has the details.

Jay ClarkChief football writer

@ClarkyHeraldSun

5 min read

August 16, 2025 - 5:00AM

News Sport Network

Three of footy’s most high-profile concussion victims are at the centre of a multi-million dollar insurance stoush amid claims they have been unfairly delayed.

Financial watchdog ASIC has begun inquiries on insurance giant Zurich for making three former AFL players – Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw and ex-Magpie Nathan Murphy and ex-Crow and Pie Paul Seedsman – wait more than one year for their concussion payouts.

In a deepening of the AFL’s concussion crisis, the Herald Sun can reveal the trio have been left in limbo for more than 12 months as part of a delay which has caused increasing mental health concerns for the players and their families.

Despite being medically retired by an independent expert AFL concussion panel, the players have been forced to fight for money and have been subject to “tactics” including the use of online data collection to track their lifestyles, according to their specialist insurance advisor Adriana Oreskov.

The players’ complaints have been raised with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which has been provided with extensive material and evidence relating to the three players’ payout waits.

Pending assessment, the financial regulator could take action against Zurich which remains a major sponsor of Melbourne where favourite son Brayshaw, 29, won a premiership in 2021 and played 167 games between 2015-2023.

The three players are pursuing a personal insurance claim with Zurich which is separate to their six-figure club contract payouts.

Australian law requires insurance suppliers to act honestly, fairly, and reasonably in all dealings with policyholders.

ASIC confirmed on Friday it was aware of the AFL players’ concussion complaint.

“ASIC is aware of concerns raised by AFL players in relation to insurance claims with Zurich and will assess relevant information that may come to our attention as part of our normal operations,” an ASIC spokesperson said.

Jon Ralph believes It's up to the AFL to invest in concrete safeguards for concussion at a grassroots level.

“In line with our normal processes we are unable to comment further.”

Oreskov, who is the managing director of OSE Insurance and is advising the trio, said the significant delays without legitimate justification had been harrowing for the players and put them at further risk.

These practices appear to be systemic rather than isolated, raising serious concerns of non-compliance with both statutory obligations and the Life Insurance Code of Practice.

“Such conduct causes ongoing financial and emotional hardship to players, undermines trust in the industry, and warrants immediate regulatory scrutiny.”

It is a delicate situation for Melbourne Football Club as Zurich remains a major partner of the Demons after re-signing last year.

As part of the claims, the insurer must make detailed assessments of the players’ potential cognitive impairments from on-field hits and brain injuries sustained over their careers.

The players have been subject to full neurological assessments after being advised by the AFL’s independent concussion panel to medically retire from all levels of contact sport.

Zurich can also test cases as part of an internal and external dispute resolution process, delaying payouts.

But the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has already recommended Zurich payout one of the player’s claims and backdate interest on the payment to September 9, 2024.

The verdict was delivered on July 8 this year on the grounds the player’s symptoms had a “significant impact” on his daily life.

The AFCA recommendation stated “a review of the information indicates the complainant met the policy terms and a TPD benefit should be paid”.

VFL club Southport Sharks recently found out what BrainEye is all about – the new weapon in the battle against concussion, starting at the grassroots level.

Seedsman, 33, has previously revealed the devastating impacts on his life since his career-ending concussion, saying he was at times “in agony” amid the frequent “headaches, nausea and dizziness”.

“I haven’t been able to work for three years,” Seedsman said on ABC earlier this year.

“Every day I’m symptomatic, it just (depends) on the severity and longevity of it.

Football’s concussion crisis is the biggest problem facing the game with the AFL bracing for class actions which could cost the code more than $1 billion in compensation over claims of historical negligence.

Last week, former Western Bulldog Aiden O’Driscoll, 20, who retired without playing an AFL game due to one horrific pre-season blow to the head, told the Herald Sun he had struggled in the aftermath of his retirement.

“It is a tough one to swallow because of the mental health side of things, to be honest,” O’Driscoll said.

“That has been a big factor. I have been struggling with that a lot, at times.”

Former Swan and St Kilda big man Paddy McCartin, ex-Bulldog and Brisbane Lion Marcus Adams and former Demon and Sun Kade Kolodjashnij received significant payouts last year.

McCartin in 2019 said “I’m sort of just a shell of a person that I was” due to his on-field brain injuries and battle with sensitivity to light and sound and sleeplessness.

“I’ve sort of lost my footy identity a little bit, but then also my identity as a person as well, just because I can’t do stuff,” McCartin said.

Last year, the Herald Sun revealed Zurich introduced a blanket concussion exclusion for new clients, angering the football industry.

Senior figures including leading player manager and TGA/TLI boss Tom Petroro said it was a blow for the game.

“To have this taken away is disappointing in the sense that what is there to protect our players?” Petroro said last year.

Zurich also sponsors the AFL Coaches’ Association’s ‘Tackle your Feelings’ program, a mental health initiative designed to help support the league’s coaching staff.

The insurer this month posted a group operating profit of $4.2 billion for the financial year.

Zurich said in a statement: “In order to protect the privacy and confidentiality of our customers, Zurich does not comment on the specifics of individual cases or claims.

“All cases are assessed individually in accordance with Zurich’s standard claims process and relevant policy terms, which may include consideration of available evidence and could involve engaging an Independent Medical Expert (IME) to undertake an objective assessment.”

Brayshaw retired in February last year after scans showed microscopic changes in his brain following his last hit in the 2023 qualifying final loss to Collingwood.

At last year’s Brownlow Medal count, Brayshaw delivered a heartbreaking speech about the challenge of starting a new chapter post-football.

Angus Brayshaw gave a heartfelt toast and touching speech to the retiring class of 2024.

“The absence of football has left a very deep void. Days that were planned to the minute and filled with purpose need to be replaced. And in time, they will be,” Brayshaw said.

“Football is all consuming, no matter how long your career was, how successful it was, or even how well you prepared for the next stage.