Zurich North America, a commercial insurance provider, and Players Health, an athlete safety and insurance solutions company, have partnered to introduce a new Critical Injury Protection Insurance product designed for the name, image and likeness (NIL) era of college sports.
The new solution is aimed at colleges, universities, collectives and student-athletes receiving NIL payments, offering protection for institutional investments when an athlete suffers a season-disrupting injury.
Under the Critical Injury Protection Insurance policy, cover is provided to a college or collective for NIL contract payments made or owed to an athlete who sustains an injury during official play, practice or training.
The injury must result in the athlete missing a significant portion of the season, typically 40% or more. The surplus-lines coverage is customisable and tailored to the value of individual NIL contracts. An alternative version of the product can also provide cover directly to athletes for the potential loss of future NIL-related income caused by injury.
The policy is underwritten by Zurich North America and is distributed exclusively through Players Health. It is also available via a recent integration with Teamworks, an operating system for sports used by 99% of Division I athletic departments and more than 6,500 elite sports teams worldwide.
Beyond insurance coverage, the collaboration provides colleges with access to injury and sports risk insights derived from Players Health’s extensive injury database. Founded more than a decade ago by a former college football player, the Minneapolis-based company has tracked athlete injury data since inception, developing an injury probability model used to support risk mitigation and athlete safety strategies nationwide.
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 debuted during the college football season and is now being marketed for men’s and women’s college basketball, forming part of both companies’ broader strategies to support institutions navigating NIL-related financial risk.
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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