Las Vegas, Nevada – Zuffa, LLC, owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship® brand, announced today that nearly 350 UFC® and STRIKEFORCE® independent contractor athletes will now be eligible for customized accident insurance coverage. The coverage will be underwritten by Houston Casualty Insurance Company and complement existing event coverage the company already provides its athletes. Never before has a combat sports promoter provided coverage to nearly 350 athletes, and this unprecedented policy will cover accidental injuries suffered by athletes while training, as well as non-training incidents such as automobile accidents.
To date, Zuffa event-related insurance has always met or exceeded Athletic Commission requirements and has covered all injuries sustained during competition. After exploring the purchase of “training insurance” for its athletes for several years – much of which was met with difficulty in finding an insurance company willing to insure mixed martial artists – Zuffa officials were able to secure a comprehensive plan through A+ rated Houston Casualty.
The new policy adds 24-hour worldwide medical life insurance and dental coverage, as well as emergency medical evacuation. Zuffa will pay 100 percent of the premiums for its athletes and have an employee dedicated to handling and filing all claims.
“Our athletes are some of the very best in the world and we’ve committed significant financial resources to provide them with insurance that complements the gold standard we have set for event-related coverage,” UFC Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said. “We’re pleased to provide coverage that enables our athletes to seek and receive treatment for injuries sustained while preparing for bouts.”
“As this sport continues to grow, we have been working hard to secure additional insurance coverage so that our athletes can perform at the highest levels,” UFC President Dana White said. “We’re proud to give our athletes access to this type of insurance.”
For more information, or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com.
About Ultimate Fighting Championship®
Owned and operated by Zuffa, LLC, and headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., UFC® produces over 12 UFC live Pay-Per-View events annually around the world. UFC programming is distributed in the United States on Viacom, Inc.’s Spike TV and on Comcast, Inc.’s VERSUS network. UFC content is distributed commercially through Joe Hand Promotions in the U.S. and Canadastar in Canada. Globally, UFC programming is broadcast in over 135 countries and territories, reaching 597 million homes worldwide, in 21 different languages.
UFC® also boasts a powerful presence online, with UFC.com attracting over six million unique visitors per month, while also possessing one of the most powerful social media followings in all of professional sports. To date, UFC has over five million fans on Facebook and over 250,000 followers on Twitter. In addition, UFC President Dana White is one of the most accessible and most followed executives in sports with over 1.4 million followers on Twitter. On January 22, 2011, UFC continued to set trends in social media, becoming the first major sports league to stream live, broadcast quality action on Facebook.
Ancillary businesses include the best-selling UFC “Undisputed” videogame franchise distributed by THQ, UFC Gym™, UFC Fight Club affinity program, UFC Fan Expo™ festivals, branded apparel, trading cards, articulated action figures and other media including best-selling DVDs and a bimonthly magazine.