Published on: 22-Apr-2022
From the professional level of sports down to youth leagues, athletes have to accept the risks and dangers that a typical sport like football, baseball, basketball, etc. has. For this reason, insurance is a must.
Athlete insurance has become a recruitment tool for players going into clubs and organizations. Not only that, but athletes give importance to the different aspects of the insurance they are being offered, especially the coverage. This is because failing to account for the likelihood of accidents and injuries that a sport has can damage not only the physical health of the athlete but also his reputation and his livelihood.
If you want to be a successful athlete, one of the things you need to do is to account for all the liabilities and risks that you have to take, both for your fitness and financial security. Thus, athlete insurance is essential for every athlete. But what is athlete insurance, and how does it work, exactly?
What is Athlete Insurance?
Athlete insurance is a rather broad term. It’s like an umbrella term for any insurance policy that covers athletes’ and things and people connected to them. These types of policies can be used for various financial protection for anything or anyone involved with an athlete.
Here are some of the examples:
- Professional athletes/teams, middle school, youth, college leagues, etc.
- Event Organizers, Coaches, Board members, etc.
- League and team equipment, club finances, etc.
- Bystander injuries and 3rd party property damage
- Directors and Officers
- Crime Coverage
Of course, there’s no insurance policy out there that includes all of this coverage, and in fact, there are policies that only cover one specific coverage and specialize in it. In short, you can safely assume that there are policies for every situation that involves a professional athlete.
Here are some of the most common types of athlete insurance you can find.
Disability Insurance
This insurance mainly protects college to professional-level athletes who may lose significant earnings if a temporary or permanent injury prevents them from playing. Also, with this insurance, the policy provider will protect the organization’s financial health.
Loss of Value Insurance
This insurance protects athletes who have injuries or illnesses but are not entirely disabled to compete with the organization. In addition, this contract will protect the athlete’s potential contract value from going below the limit.
For example, if a college player is expecting to receive a contract right after their college career but experiences an injury that decreases their contract value.
Sports League Insurance
Sports league insurance are general athletic insurance policies that protect leagues, clubs, and teams with general liabilities, excess accident medical, inland marine, crime protection, and directors and officers. Crime protection is one of its main aspects.
It protects the club or organization financially from theft, embezzlement, and other crimes involving their athletes and staff. Inland marine protection is also an essential aspect of the policy if the team uses expensive equipment. This helps you get covered financially if your equipment gets damaged during transportation or storage.
Contractual Bonus Insurance
This is relevant for companies or organizations partnered with teams or athletes. Sponsored athletes or teams are usually rewarded a contractual bonus for their excellent performance. However, paying these bonuses can be a massive hit on a company’s profit. But with contractual bonus insurance, both the company and athlete will be protected from getting a hit financially.
What Kind of Insurance Does an Athlete Need?
Usually, top athletes buy three types of insurance, but the most important insurance that every player needs is permanent disability insurance. As mentioned earlier, permanent disability insurance provides financial security for athletes who can no longer play with their team due to their permanent disability. In addition, with this insurance, they are eligible for a tax-free lump sum payout.
Also, since temporary injuries are pretty common at the professional level, they buy temporary disability insurance. This is usually geared for professional tennis players and golfers who get paid for entering and winning competitions. For them, missing out on a few months when they usually have their earnings by playing is a huge loss.
The third one would be the loss of value policy. This is usually the most critical policy for newer professional players who expect to get a big raise or a new contract with a new team. This insurance policy is relatively standard in the NFL during the draft picks. Overall, these are the three most common and most important policies that a professional athlete should have. Although they can still buy Assurance medicare plans online for the health specifically, having at least three of the athlete insurance mentioned above is important.
Final Words
An athlete’s most significant capital is their physical fitness. Their financial security will be threatened when that is compromised, so athlete insurance is an option. Even if they are barred from playing, with athlete insurance they can still protect themselves from a financial loss due to their circumstances.
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