Looks like American football will soon be discontined in schools due to excessive injuries?
Insurance for school football programs has changed drastically over the decades, shifting from a simple, inexpensive administrative line item to a multi-million-dollar financial strategy driven by skyrocketing liability risks, concussion litigation, and the professionalization of student-athletes.
The evolution of football insurance spans major historical shifts in costs, availability, and policy scope across all levels of education:
1. Exponential Premium and Claim CostsThe baseline cost of insuring football players has seen an astronomical rise:The Early Era (1960s–1970s): Historical data shows that in 1965, the average insurance medical claim for a high school football injury was just $34.72. By 1977, that average climbed to $177.95.
The Modern Era Escalation: Premium costs began doubling and tripling as medical costs rose. For instance, a group of six public universities saw their collective secondary athletic insurance premiums jump from $618,460 in 2013 to nearly $1.4 million in 2014 in just one year.
The Outsize Burden of Football: Because of the high rate of severe injuries, football frequently consumes the majority of a school district's athletic risk budget. In one prominent case, a college district task force found that its football players accounted for nearly one-third of all insurance costs across a massive 200,000-student system, leading the schools to terminate their programs entirely.
2. The "Evaporating" Market and Concussion CrisisFollowing waves of high-profile head trauma litigation in professional and collegiate sports around 2011, the underwriting market fundamentally broke down.
Carrier Flight: Previously, dozens of major insurance carriers competed to cover football programs. Following the concussion crisis, most carriers exited the market.
Exclusions: Many general liability policies written for schools now explicitly exclude head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from their coverage, forcing schools to seek highly expensive specialty risk pools.
Program Cancellations: The sheer lack of affordable carriers has forced numerous youth leagues, high schools, and community colleges to cancel tackle football altogether, citing "plummeting participation and rising insurance costs".
On the bright side: Schools will have more money for education.
The evolution of football insurance spans major historical shifts in costs, availability, and policy scope across all levels of education:
1. Exponential Premium and Claim CostsThe baseline cost of insuring football players has seen an astronomical rise:The Early Era (1960s–1970s): Historical data shows that in 1965, the average insurance medical claim for a high school football injury was just $34.72. By 1977, that average climbed to $177.95.
The Modern Era Escalation: Premium costs began doubling and tripling as medical costs rose. For instance, a group of six public universities saw their collective secondary athletic insurance premiums jump from $618,460 in 2013 to nearly $1.4 million in 2014 in just one year.
The Outsize Burden of Football: Because of the high rate of severe injuries, football frequently consumes the majority of a school district's athletic risk budget. In one prominent case, a college district task force found that its football players accounted for nearly one-third of all insurance costs across a massive 200,000-student system, leading the schools to terminate their programs entirely.
2. The "Evaporating" Market and Concussion CrisisFollowing waves of high-profile head trauma litigation in professional and collegiate sports around 2011, the underwriting market fundamentally broke down.
Carrier Flight: Previously, dozens of major insurance carriers competed to cover football programs. Following the concussion crisis, most carriers exited the market.
Exclusions: Many general liability policies written for schools now explicitly exclude head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) from their coverage, forcing schools to seek highly expensive specialty risk pools.
Program Cancellations: The sheer lack of affordable carriers has forced numerous youth leagues, high schools, and community colleges to cancel tackle football altogether, citing "plummeting participation and rising insurance costs".
On the bright side: Schools will have more money for education.
