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January 27, 2014 at 07:00 PM
Say you have a client (or yourself, perhaps) who’s heavily into fantasy sports. So heavily, perhaps, that he’s one of the 25 million-plus players who fork over more than $1 billion annually for the privilege of putting together a “dream team” of actual football (or baseball or basketball or hockey) players and pitting them against other similarly constructed teams.
While this rapidly growing activity can be free, for those investing actual money in their teams, fees can range from $20 to as high as $500 or even $1,000, depending on the league. And with some devotees “owning” multiple teams, what could be more frustrating (and costly) than—as in real life—drafting a player who ends up sidelined with an injury and missing all the action?
Well, now there’s a solution for that: FantasyPlayerProtect, real insurance coverage for fantasy sports players. The brainchild of Phoenix businessman and fantasy gamer Joseph LaGiglia and the product of a partnership between FantasyPlayerProtect LLLP and MiniCo Insurance Agency LLC, the coverage will reimburse gamers for up to $1,000 in league entry fees and up to $250 for “ancillary expenses” such as subscriptions incurred in the course of “maximizing the value of your fantasy team” should a covered key player be injured and unable to play.
Gamers can insure up to five key players on a team and no more than 10 players in any one fantasy sports season. There are four coverage options for football, relating to the championship games in weeks 14, 15, 16 and 17 of the season. Premiums (yes, the premiums are real too) run between 9% and 13% of a gamer’s league fees. There are restrictions on when coverage may be purchased and on which players, and each player insured is covered according to underwriting for that specific player.
The whole thing, as appropriate for a sport run entirely online (albeit with real player stats), can be handled online; a policy portal at FantasyPlayerProtect.com handles everything from the application to purchase and policy issuance. MiniCo serves as the program administrator for the coverage, and FantasyPlayerProtect provides product design and marketing consulting services for the program. The policy itself is underwritten by carriers rated A by A.M. Best.
