Athletic Medical Insurance Practices at NCAA Division I Institutions

As the cost of athletic medical insurance continues to rise, athletic departments are searching for ways to continue to provide quality insurance coverage while keeping costs contained. There are few published articles dealing with the specific topic of the daily operations of maintaining an athletic medical insurance program. We sent an 18-item questionnaire to the 295 active NCAA Division I head athletic trainers to ascertain the current trends in athletic medical insurance. Of these, 207 (70%) responded. Of the respondents, 85% were primarily responsible for the administration of their athletic department's insurance coverage, although they had received no formal training in insurance management. Most athletic departments carry secondary policies and many report having a deductible. A wide range of insurance coverage and premiums were reported.