Athlete Loss of Value Insurance
First-party protection for a professional athlete's own contract or draft value if a covered injury or sickness drives it down.
This is an estimate, not a bound policy — a licensed VAB producer confirms final terms before coverage starts. Sgt. Savings can answer questions but can't quote, bind, or guarantee coverage.
A draft-eligible or professional athlete's future earnings depend heavily on staying healthy at the right moment — a pre-draft or pre-contract injury can measurably lower what the athlete is worth on paper, even after they recover. Athlete Loss of Value Insurance pays the documented gap between the athlete's protected value, set at the start of the policy, and the diminished value after a covered injury or sickness. It's a first-party benefit to the athlete, with no third-party liability component.
Who This Is Really For
The ideal buyer.
The ideal buyer is a draft-eligible college athlete heading into a draft class, or a professional athlete entering a contract year, at the specific moment their future earnings are most concentrated in a single health-dependent event. The trigger is calendar-driven and highly predictable: a season winding down ahead of an upcoming draft, or a contract negotiation opening while the athlete is still playing and therefore still exposed to the injury that could reset the number on the table. This buyer, or their agent, has almost always already priced their market value through scouting reports, comparable contracts, or draft projections, because that existing evaluation is what the policy's protected value gets built on. What makes this the right fit over relying on existing disability coverage is that disability insurance replaces income lost to being physically unable to work — it says nothing about an athlete who recovers fully but whose draft slot or contract offer dropped anyway, which is the specific, narrow gap this line is built to close.
- A draft-eligible college or amateur athlete whose draft stock represents real, quantifiable future earnings
- A professional athlete negotiating a new contract whose value could be diminished by an injury before the deal closes
- An athlete returning from a serious injury whose market value hasn't fully recovered even after clearing to play
- An athlete, agent, or advisor who wants a protected value locked in ahead of a draft, trade, or contract year
- Anyone whose personal disability or health coverage doesn't address the specific risk of a contract or draft-value drop
What It Covers
Coverage, broken down.
Ascertained Net Loss Benefit
Pays the documented drop in the athlete's evaluation or professional contract value below the protected value set at the start of the policy, when that drop is caused solely by a covered injury or sickness during the policy period.
No Third-Party Liability Component
This is strictly a first-party benefit to the athlete — there's no duty to defend and no coverage for a liability claim brought by someone else.
Illustrative Scenario — How This Coverage Responds
Illustrative scenario — a pre-draft injury
A draft-eligible athlete suffers a covered injury in the months before the draft, and independent evaluation shows the injury measurably reduced the athlete's projected draft value from where it stood beforehand. Athlete Loss of Value coverage pays the ascertained net loss — the documented gap between the athlete's protected value and the diminished value — as a first-party benefit to the athlete, not a liability payout to anyone else.
Illustrative example for education only — not a claim outcome or a promise of payment. Every claim depends on the actual policy issued and its terms.
More Than One Way In
More scenarios.
Real coverage doesn't fit one story. Here's who else this shows up for.
The college senior heading into the draft
A college senior projected as an early-round pick locks in a protected value with VAB based on current scouting evaluations before their final season begins. The policy runs through the pre-draft window, when a single injury could otherwise cost real, quantifiable draft position.
The veteran renegotiating after an injury-shortened season
A veteran professional coming off an injury-shortened season enters a contract year still needing to prove their health to negotiate a new deal. They set a protected value reflecting their pre-injury track record before the season starts, rather than negotiating unprotected against another setback.
The international prospect signing a first pro contract
An athlete competing internationally ahead of signing their first professional contract works with an agent to document a protected value based on current form and interest from prospective teams. Coverage is put in place before the signing window opens, when a single injury could otherwise reset the negotiation entirely.
Know The Gaps
What this doesn't cover.
Every policy has limits. Knowing them before you buy is how you avoid a denied claim later.
A pre-existing medical condition
The policy protects against a new covered injury or sickness, not a condition the athlete already had going in.
A known circumstance not disclosed when the policy was written
Undisclosed pre-existing issues can void the very protection the athlete is counting on — full disclosure at application matters here more than almost anywhere else.
A drop in value from skill, performance, or selection factors alone
This covers a genuine injury or sickness — not simply performing worse, being passed over, or a team's roster decision unrelated to health.
Voluntary withdrawal, retirement, or a holdout
The athlete's own choice to step away isn't the kind of loss this coverage is built to address.
League discipline or ineligibility
A suspension or eligibility ruling is a separate risk from a covered injury or sickness.
Alcohol, drug, or self-inflicted injury issues
Standard carve-out — the coverage responds to injury or sickness, not conduct-driven harm.
Use as disability, health, or income-replacement insurance, or as a financial guaranty
This is a specific, narrow benefit tied to contract or draft-value loss — it isn't a substitute for real disability or health coverage, and it doesn't guarantee any dollar outcome.
Behind The Quote
What goes into the decision.
What actually moves your price and your approval — no black box.
Independent evaluation of draft standing or contract value
The protected value has to be grounded in a real, defensible evaluation — scouting reports, draft projections, or comparable contract data — set at the start of the policy, because that number is what any future loss gets measured against.
Full disclosure of pre-existing conditions
Because undisclosed pre-existing issues can void coverage entirely, complete medical disclosure at application is arguably the single most important factor an athlete controls in making sure the policy actually pays if needed.
Timing relative to the draft or contract window
Coverage is most valuable, and most closely underwritten, in the specific window where an injury would actually move a real decision — right before a draft or during an active contract negotiation.
Nature of the covered injury or sickness
The evaluation process at claim time has to isolate a drop in value caused solely by the covered injury or sickness, separate from performance or selection factors — which makes clear, contemporaneous medical documentation of the injury itself important.
Existing disability or health coverage
Since this runs alongside, not instead of, disability and health insurance, underwriting looks at what other protection the athlete already carries to understand the full picture of their coverage, not just this one policy in isolation.
Getting Covered
How it actually works.
- Set the athlete's protected value with VAB based on an independent evaluation of draft standing or contract worth.
- If a covered injury or sickness happens during the policy period, an evaluation documents any drop from that protected value.
- The ascertained net loss — the documented gap between protected and diminished value — is what the benefit pays.
- This runs alongside, not instead of, any disability or health coverage the athlete already carries.
Let's get you covered.
Tell us what you need on Athlete Loss of Value Insurance — a licensed VAB advisor follows up personally. No bots, no runaround.
Looking for a session that's already scheduled? Browse upcoming webinars.
Availability
Available in all 50 states, written individually around the athlete's protected value.
Questions, answered straight
No jargon on athlete loss of value insurance — just what you're actually asking.
It's agreed at the start of the policy based on an independent evaluation of the athlete's draft standing or contract worth.
No — the drop has to be caused solely by a covered injury or sickness, not by performance or selection factors on their own.
No. Disability insurance replaces income when you can't work; this pays a documented drop in contract or draft value specifically, and doesn't replace disability coverage.
Voluntary retirement or withdrawal isn't a covered cause of loss under this policy.
No — league discipline or ineligibility is excluded, regardless of the circumstances behind it.
It's documented through the evaluation process set out in the policy at claim time, comparing the protected value to the diminished value after the covered injury or sickness.
Beyond This Coverage
What people in your situation also need.
Personal Banking
An athlete about to receive a large draft or contract payout benefits from personal banking built for that kind of concentrated income event.
ExploreLegacy & Estate Planning
Protecting a future contract's value is a natural pairing with planning for how that future income actually gets structured and preserved.
ExploreRelated Coverage
Coverage people pair with this.
Animal Mortality Insurance
First-party protection against the death, humane destruction, or theft of a valuable animal — livestock, breeding stock, or a competition animal, not a routine vet-bill policy.
Learn moreClassic & Antique Collector Auto Insurance
Agreed-value coverage for the classic, antique, or limited-production car you collect — not the one you commute in.
Learn moreTrack Day Vehicle Coverage
Physical damage coverage for your car on track days — because your regular auto policy won't touch it.
Learn moreReady to talk it through?
Get a quote in minutes, or ask Sgt. Savings a straight question first — no pressure, no runaround.
Insurance products described on this page are marketed by The Veteran Alliance, a licensed insurance producer, and underwritten by one or more separately licensed insurance companies, which may include Corgi Insurance Company and its affiliates. The insurer that actually underwrites your policy, its licensing status in your state, and any state-required notices will be identified in your quote and policy documents. Coverage, limits, eligibility, and pricing are determined by the underwriting insurer, may vary by state, and may change. Nothing on this page is a quote, an offer of insurance, a binder, or a guarantee of coverage — coverage takes effect only when a policy is issued.
