LTA will splash out if rain stops play

Wimbledon organisers claim it is too expensive to insure against the British weather.

The Lawn Tennis Association, who run the Championships with the All England Club, used to take out a policy to cover them for ticket refunds if play was washed out.

Spectators have to be paid back in full if there is less than one hour's play in a day and get half their money returned if there is between one and two hours of competition.

But insurance premiums to cover these costs, which can amount to more than £1million per day, have spiralled and the LTA have dropped their policy.

LTA president Charles Trippe said: "In the past, we had taken out insurance against the cost of rain cancellations.

"But the premiums had been steadily rising and the excess had gone up to a very high level. The real killer was that insurers did lose out on a couple of years. So, we've decided not to insure."

The LTA revealed at their annual meeting they have set up a £2m reserve to protect against the loss of income from Wimbledon in future.

Income from the Championships this year increased by almost £1m to £26.8m despite the loss of two days to rain.