According to a report by Yahoo! writer Kevin Iole, Zuffa - the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) - is set to offer fighters accident insurance to cover pre-fight injuries. All fighters under contract will be eligible for the coverage and Zuffa has pledged to pay all premium costs.
UFC To Offer Accident Insurance For Pre-Fight Injury
Fighters who compete in the UFC are independent contractors, not employees, which reportedly makes them ineligible for comprehensive coverage. But fighters who pull out of bouts not only lose purse money, they also face gigantic medical costs. Zuffa is attempting to avoid this hugely problematic scenarios with pre-fight injury coverage that not only accounts for injuries in training, but non-training injuries as well. The policy takes effect June 1.
Fertitta said Zuffa has paid expenses for fighters who suffered training injuries previously, but noted that by getting a carrier – Houston Casualty Insurance Company, an A+ rated carrier by A.M. Best – the new plan will guarantee that all are covered.
The insurance the fighters are being provided is separate and distinct from health care insurance many workers get through their employers, which pays for things like doctor’s visits, hospitalization and prescription drugs. Zuffa is not offering the fighters that type of coverage.
But the accident coverage would have been helpful to former light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz several years ago. He injured his back in a fight and filed a claim under the UFC’s plan. But because Ortiz had done an interview in which he said the injury occurred in training, the insurance carrier denied the claim.
With the policy Zuffa is providing its fighters as of June 1, the injury Ortiz suffered would have been covered. And because it is accident insurance, the plan will cover a fighter if, for example, he slips while walking on ice and sprains an ankle.
"This will cover accidents that occur while a fighter is under contract with us," Zuffa general counsel Lawrence Epstein said. "Those accidents could occur in training or it could also be something like an automobile accident. A fighter could be driving to the grocery store and gets involved in an automobile accident and has an injury. This policy would cover him.
Adam Swift remarks:
Barrier for entry in MMA just got higher. Short of offering employment contracts not sure how you can be more fighter friendly than Zuffa.less than a minute ago via web 
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Adam Swift
adammswift
I find the gesture of paying 100 percent of the premiums to be an act of generosity without precedent. However, there are still a few questions in play:
1. Do steps like these undercut need for a fighters’ union? Typically the formation of a union is where guarantees between labor and management result in health care coverage. Is Zuffa undercutting the need for fighters to band together for mutual gain?
2. Will this have any effect on fighters pulling out of contests to take advantage of the insurance? Without healthcare coverage in the run-up to fights, fighters often carry injuries into the cage so they can be treated by the existing insurance coverage after the fight. Now that they’re able to pull out of a fight and still receive care, will we see more withdrawals? The fighters still will not receive their purse money.
3. What are the general costs to Zuffa to launch this coverage?
4. Is it fair to say this amounts to a pay raise for UFC fighters? By cutting out what can often by huge medical expenses, UFC fighters are augmenting the reach of their purse money by not having to carry into future training camps for medical coverage.
5. What would determine “pre-fight”? In other words, are injuries covered the entire time fighters spend between fights or is there a more precise window of coverage that’s anchored on fight time?
6. Is there any combat sports promoter who has ever gone this far in trying to provide healthcare coverage for fighters?
More on this story as it develops.
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