Just curious as to how injuries work on smaller shows, if hospital bills are covered by promoters or not. My understanding is the UFC covers fight night injuries but ?? for training injuries. I figure there's a wide range of answers for smaller shows, different by promoter, but I'd love to be able to get a feel for how it works at the lower levels, and how that affects people participating in the sport in the US.
As well, I'm curious as to if people who train or fight in the sport have used their work insurance to cover injuries sustained training / fighting, if that's something that needed to be kinda kept secret from the insurers to collect or if it wasn't a big deal at all.
I've always been curious about how the threat of medical bills affects people's ability to participate in the sport or curbs their careers etc. What's the deal?
state athletic organizations force promoters to have insurance coverage up to a certain dollar ammount.
Great question, I am interested to hear responses as well.
I go to smaller shows (pro and amateur) almost every weekend and usually sit in on the rules meeting. Generally they tell the fighters that if they get hurt they must fill out the proper paper work that night before they leave the venue. If they don't and wake up the next morning and realize something is wrong... too bad because it's too late.
again, in order for a state athletic organization to sanction an event, the promoter is responsible for having insurance coverage up to a certain pre-determined dollar ammount for the event to be a go.
like one of the other posters mentioned, there are some situations where you are required to fill out proper paperwork that night, and if you want til' the next day you are fucked.
that's not too uncommon with a lot of shady fight promoters out there.
Thanks MTomlinson! I guess it's like any other insurance ... if it's used, the cost goes up the next time, so this is why shady promoters try and avoid as much as possible.
Regarding regular medical insurance, I imagine including 'cage fighter' on your insurance isn't a great idea. Maggie Hendricks at Yahoo once wrote in an article that none of the fighters she's talked to has insurance, but that seems pretty crazy. I'm sure full time fighters must be able to afford some kind of coverage, and smaller show guys are probably often covered by their day jobs, but probably only in very specific ways.
One thing I often think about is injuries during training. If you've got insurance through your work but injure yourself training, is that gonna get covered? I suppose it all depends on if you've got a shady provider but again I'd love to know if anyone has any info on this stuff.
You should really ask your insurance company these questions....
I have been injured training and my work-sponsored insurance covered it. I've had no problem getting insurance and thankfully I don't use it much, so the only time it's gone up is when I started moving up in the age brackets.
Also, I believe USA Boxing offers a very limited insurance to member gyms that will cover you if you are injured while in the ring boxing.
On a related note, I do have vague memories of a local fight where one fighter was taken to the hospital by the on-site medics, but while the ambulance was gone another fighter was injured and had to wait for another ambulance to arrive.
thats the reason I only pajama grabble
no insurance=cant afford getting face fixed
Does anyone know if you have previous hospital bills, then u get a job that offers insurance, the insurance takes care of the bills you had before??
cluster, thanks for the info! I'm Canadian so all this stuff doesn't apply to me, but i was just curious as to the kinds of financial risks fighters put themselves in when they train or fight in the cage.
CARI0CA
Does anyone know if you have previous hospital bills, then u get a job that offers insurance, the insurance takes care of the bills you had before??
giggle
speaking for the show I used to be a part of, Icon Sport in Hawaii...
we purchased insurance for our fighters long before the State installed official rules and regulations to do so. certain companies will provide 24-48hr medical insurance for fighters. i believe it was about a $75-$150 expense per fighter, depending on the size of the deductible. fighter medical insurance doesnt seem overly-expensive, but it adds up quick when you have a card with 20+ fighters. but its definitely worth-while.
insurance aside, i'm always more shocked to see small mma and kickboxing shows that dont have ringside doctors or on-site EMT/Ambulance coverage. at Icon we never had less than 6 doctors at ringside and we had EMTs at ringside and in the locker room treating and reporting all injuries.
MTomlinson - state athletic organizations force promoters to have insurance coverage up to a certain dollar ammount.
In states where the AC regulates MMA, this is typically the case.
definately dont get covered if ya get hurt in training...i knew a male nurse who had the hook-up on some vicodin n muscle relaxers so since i didnt have insurance i got pain pills for my broken collarbone n muscle relaxers when my back got a lil fucked up n boom good as new
almost. haha
Generally speaking states that sanction professional MMA require a minimum level of coverage that is for injuries that happen the night of the event. Some amateur MMA regulating bodies also require fight insurance. The coverage is generally secondary coverage, meaning that if you have other insurance coverage, that will be billed first.
In state's where there is no regulation, there is obviously no requirement to have insurance. The one amateur fight I had was at an event with no insurance. I broke my ankle, and my primary insurance coverage (through work), paid for it, even though the doctor was well aware of what caused the injury.