Fantasy Football Insurance Guarantees Injury Won't Plague Your NFL Season

As reported in The Wall Street Journal, a new insurance company, Fantasy Sports Insurance, will allow fantasy football players to take out an injury insurance policy on their fantasy football season.

Inspired by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's season-ending torn ACL in game one of the 2008 season, Fantasy Sports Insurance will cover your league fee if your fantasy stud misses significant time.

As laid out on FantasySportsInsurance.com, fantasy football players are given a choice of three coverage options:

1. One key player missing 10 of the first 15 games
2. One key player missing 8 of the first 15 games
3. Three key players missing a combined total of 18 of the first 15 games

The insurance covers the top-50-ranked fantasy football players, and covers league fees, any intra-season transaction fees, and additional expenses like draft magazines. According to FantasySportsInsurance.com, to cover your team after spending $250 total, you will have to pay $28.33 up front. It works out to around 10 percent to cover your league fees.

Fantasy insurance is obviously not for everyone. The majority of fantasy players play for free. Only die-hard fantasy players will spend some amount of money to get into a league, and usually there's a chance for pot winnings. A lot of fantasy sports leagues are played among friends in free leagues with a league pot under the table. The notion of paying a league fee will be as foreign to some people as the notion of fantasy insurance.

It's because of this that many are doubtful this insurance company will last very long, because it does not cover anything under a $25 league fee. With a weak economy, the premium leagues won't be as populated as in previous years, and volume is what drives insurance.

Another element, which may be a morbid one, is the possibility of users essentially putting money on the line, hoping they will predict a season-ending injury. They might not even be in a fantasy league, but putting down $100 to win $1000 may be very enticing to some hardcore gamblers who will be watching the Sunday games, praying for another Joe Theismann-like moment. However, like in any casino, the house ultimately has the advantage.

eMediawire.com has reported in 2008 that the fantasy sports hobby generates around $800 million dollars a year, so it makes sense that an insurance industry can thrive off a hobby. Fantasy sports make every game more interesting, and some like to add money to make it even more interesting.

If Fantasy Sports Insurance proves successful in its inaugural year during the football season, this Long Island-based insurance company promises to offer coverage in Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Basketball, and Fantasy Hockey.

Personally, I'd like to buy some liability insurance when Fantasy Fantasy Sports Insurance Company comes around. Fantasy sports are built around risk. If your quarterback goes down in the first week, you can still have a Cinderella season. If you know how to properly draft a good football team, one player getting injured won't ruin your season.

Wall Street Journal, "Fantasy Football Insurance: A New Kind of Pocket Protection"
Emediawire.com, "Fantasy Sports Industry Grows to a $800 Million Industry With 29.9 Million Players"