Zurich North America, a commercial insurance provider, and Players Health, an athlete safety and insurance solutions company, have partnered to launch a new Critical Injury Protection Insurance product designed specifically for the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of college sports.
The new solution is aimed at colleges, universities and collectives that make NIL payments to student-athletes, helping protect their financial commitments if an athlete suffers a serious injury that disrupts their season. As NIL agreements become more common and valuable, institutions are increasingly exposed to financial risk when injuries occur.
The Critical Injury Protection Insurance policy provides cover for NIL contract payments already made or still owed if an athlete is injured during official play, practice or training and is forced to miss a significant portion of the season, typically 40% or more. The surplus-lines policy is customisable and aligned to the value of individual NIL contracts. A separate version of the offering can also provide cover to athletes for the potential loss of future NIL-related income caused by injury.
The policy is underwritten by Zurich North America and distributed exclusively through Players Health. It is also available through an integration with Teamworks, a sports operating system used by the majority of Division I athletic departments globally.
In addition to insurance cover, the partnership gives institutions access to injury and sports risk insights based on Players Health’s extensive injury database. The company has tracked athlete injury data for more than a decade and uses this information to support safety strategies and risk mitigation across the sports ecosystem.
Players Health founder and CEO Tyrre Burks said, “Every major change in college athletics should start with one question: does this make the game safer and more sustainable for athletes? This partnership allows us to answer ‘yes’ in a tangible way.
“I started Players Health to create the safest and most accessible environment possible for athletes to play the sport they love. As Players Health has grown, we’re excited to take this next step with Zurich. Working with a leading commercial insurance provider to fulfill an emerging need is a force multiplier that helps us protect more organizations and athletes as the playing field gets more complex.”
The policy launched during the college football season and is now being marketed for men’s and women’s college basketball, reflecting the growing professionalisation of collegiate athletics.
Marty Banaszek, head of group accident at Zurich North America, said, “The Zurich-Players Health NIL offering is about much more than insurance. It’s a relationship born out of Players Health’s broader mission to support athlete safety and Zurich’s commitment to help organizations and individuals to meet tomorrow prepared.”
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