Utah company offers new solution for insuring sports accidents

LEHI — Pro snowboarder Pat Milbery spends the ski season launching himself 50 feet in the air and sailing with the greatest of ease back into the belly of that no man's land of winter sports — the halfpipe.

Over and over, almost with every run, he relents to the urge to push himself a little higher, to attempt a few more spectacular tricks. And at almost every turn, his fear of a spectacularly bad landing gets a little louder.

The thought of turning himself into a heap of broken bones isn't what scares him. Rather, it's the financial free fall that would accompany any serious injury.

He, like thousands of professional and amateur athletes, is playing a kind of cat-and-mouse game with the injury odds, forgoing expensive medical insurance plans that don't cover a lot of injuries they're likely to sustain.

"I don't like thinking about the what-if's while I'm out there trying to concentrate," Milbery said.

"I hate living in fear and thinking about the bad things that could happen, and they're pretty bad with snowboarding," he said, adding that worrying about it throws off his concentration, which adds even more risk to a risky sport.

Most regular medical insurance plans through work, where most Utahns get their coverage, only minimally cover sports-related injuries. Some sports, such as motocross racing and boxing, aren't covered except by the most expensive, tailor-made plans, which most people can't afford.

"I couldn't figure out why no one offered this kind of insurance, and turns out, there's not a good reason," said Robert Scott, CEO and founder of what could well be the first insurance plan exclusively for sports accidents and injuries in the country.

Scott's plan — Extreme Sports Insurance — is supplemental insurance, although it offers a variety of benefits and customized coverage. There are no co-pays, big deductibles or pre-existing condition tests used by other insurers, and it uses the one thing Utah's larger ongoing health care system reform plan is banking on: the free market.

"It's not a hard concept to come up with," Scott said. "Let people choose what fits them best, make it financially attractive — individual plans start at $12.50 per month — and people will sign up. I thought, 'It's such a good idea, surely it's being done all over.' "

It isn't. Most insurers believe there's too much inherent financial risk to cover sports accidents. Someone sliding into third base could break an ankle, and that could turn into surgery, possibly amputation and an expensive artificial limb.

Insurance underwriters regard playing sports as an optional activity, not necessary in day-to-day life. Plus, risks vary from person to person and sport to sport, making it a nightmare to plot on an actuarial table.