Lance Armstrong hits $10 million road bump

Disgraced cycling superstar Lance Armstrong’s admittance to using performance-enhancing drugs has turned into a long-tailed insurance liability.

An arbitration panel slapped the former two-wheeler dealer with a $10 million penalty Monday, stemming from his spinning the truth on collecting sports insurance policies with incentives tied to his success, according to media reports.

Dallas-based sports and prize insurance company SCA Promotions Inc. had paid Mr. Armstrong bonuses for winning the Tour de France in 2002 and 2003, reports state. But Mr. Armstrong sued SCA after the company refused to cough up the 2004 winner’s bonus, claiming it didn’t have to pay because the cyclist had cheated.

When Mr. Armstrong denied wrongdoing under oath, the case was settled in arbitration in 2006 with SCA paying $7.5 million, according to USA Today. But SCA’s investigative efforts are credited with starting the process that lead to Mr. Armstrong’s eventual downfall when the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency banned him for life and stripped him of his Tour titles in 2012.

After he finally admitted his transgressions to Oprah Winfrey in 2013, SCA promptly took legal action, leading to the latest $10 million penalty award.

Mr. Armstrong’s vowed appeal of the award could be an uphill battle.

“Perjury must never be profitable,” the arbitration panel’s 2-1 majority wrote in its ruling.