Superstars and Health Insurance

[Bone Daddy]

Anyone know how it works?

I know WWE doesn't pay for it, but do they pay for surgeries and stuff like that?

I imagine premiums are pretty high when you're throwing yourself through tables 3 nights a week.

I know there was a story in Foley's book about L.O.L policies, but I don't really remember the details

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

WWE pay for surgeries, in part due to the fact that most health insurance companies won't touch wrestlers with a ten-foot pole.

[Deleted]

Dec 26, 2012 12:19:32 GMT -5 Bone Daddy said:

Anyone know how it works?

I know WWE doesn't pay for it, but do they pay for surgeries and stuff like that?

I imagine premiums are pretty high when you're throwing yourself through tables 3 nights a week.

I know there was a story in Foley's book about L.O.L policies, but I don't really remember the details

WWE pays for anything for everything related to injuries suffered in-ring. Anything else (injury suffered at home; medical expenses for spouse or children) is up to the wrestler. They also recently started a policy of not hiring anyone who doesn't have health insurance.

[Mayonnaise]

WWE takes care of work related injuries and has a doctor that travels with them that helps with illness as well. If i remember right, they require the wrestlers to carry insurance though and helps them find coverage though they don't pay for it. The announcers, agents and I think refs are all full employees that are offered benefits though.

[Deleted]

Dec 26, 2012 12:44:21 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

WWE pay for surgeries, in part due to the fact that most health insurance companies won't touch wrestlers with a ten-foot pole.

In one of his books, Foley talks about how some insurance companies used to insure wrestlers thinking that it was completely fake and Rick Rude and a bunch of other guys cleaned up before they wised up and stopped insuring wrestlers.

[Allie Kitsune]

One wonders if companies are more or less willing to insure MMA fighters than they are wrestlers...

[lovingway]

Dec 26, 2012 12:54:53 GMT -5 @akeem said:

Dec 26, 2012 12:44:21 GMT -5 Mighty Attack Tribble said:

WWE pay for surgeries, in part due to the fact that most health insurance companies won't touch wrestlers with a ten-foot pole.

In one of his books, Foley talks about how some insurance companies used to insure wrestlers thinking that it was completely fake and Rick Rude and a bunch of other guys cleaned up before they wised up and stopped insuring wrestlers.

Yea a good chunk of the Minnesota guys likes Perfect and Animal did as well

[Legion]

I remember Bret Hart talked about Lloyds of London at one point as his insurance company, so I wonder if they still insure wrestlers

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Dec 26, 2012 13:13:36 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

One wonders if companies are more or less willing to insure MMA fighters than they are wrestlers...

I'm thinking they're more willing to insure MMA fighters.

A particularly skilled fighter who could finish fights quickly, or even a crappy fighter who always gets creamed in the first round is probably less likely to get a serious injury than a wrestler, who will be constantly taking bumps.

[YiHammer]

MMA fighters get less injuries.

[Mayonnaise]

Dec 26, 2012 13:42:15 GMT -5 Legion said:

I remember Bret Hart talked about Lloyds of London at one point as his insurance company, so I wonder if they still insure wrestlers

Nope. Rick Rude, Hawk and Curt Hennig ruined that.

[HMARK Center]

Yeah, MMA guys work a lot less shows and have shorter bouts. It's real, obviously, so the chance for certain types of injuries is high, but wrestlers tend to work hundreds of nights a year, constantly taking bumps, accumulating injuries over time that wind up costing more to treat than simple lacerations or a quick broken bone. For insurance companies, it's the long-term, accumulating injuries that pose the greater risk.

[EvenBaldobombHasAJob]

WWE pays for surgeries out of pocket. it's almost impossible for a wrestler to get insured. that Lloyds of London company did it and almost went bankrupt paying out the claims.

[Crappler El 0 M]

Dec 26, 2012 13:13:36 GMT -5 Allie Kitsune said:

One wonders if companies are more or less willing to insure MMA fighters than they are wrestlers...

Maybe it is because Dana White and Zuffa fought hard and expended actual effort to try to get their fighters covered. He and UFC WANTED the fighters to have a degree of health insurance. It doesn't cover illnesses. It just covers injuries, regardless of how they were attained, whether it was during a fight, practice, falling down the stairs, car accident, etc. I think if Vince and WWE were as committed to getting it done, they could get their superstars a similar insurance package. If Vince REALLY wants something, he will fight and fight until he gets it. I think the problem is that Vince just doesn't want to get this for the superstars as badly as Dana wanted to get it for his fighters.

[NOwave]

Maybe it is because Dana White and Zuffa fought hard and expended actual effort to try to get their fighters covered. He and UFC WANTED the fighters to have a degree of health insurance. It doesn't cover illnesses. It just covers injuries, regardless of how they were attained, whether it was during a fight, practice, falling down the stairs, car accident, etc. I think if Vince and WWE were as committed to getting it done, they could get their superstars a similar insurance package. If Vince REALLY wants something, he will fight and fight until he gets it. I think the problem is that Vince just doesn't want to get this for the superstars as badly as Dana wanted to get it for his fighters.

This is a large part of the answer. I am personally heavily involved with the health insurance business currently, and know this for a fact: Anybody can get an insurance policy for the right price.(Gosh, that reminded me of the Million Dollar Man). The problem is that the price for insuring a pro wrestler is astronomical because it's a virtual guarantee that they WILL need serious medical attention, due to their work. It's really more cost-effective for a wrestler to self-insure; that is to take the money you would pay for an insurance premium and invest it in a safe place, with the intention of using it when you get hurt. The problem is that you could get hurt before you have a significant amount of money saved.

The WWE is basically self-insured, as are many large corporations or other institutions. Their reserves and/or other investments are large enough and structured such that they can be accessed to pay for health care for employees.

WWE and TNA have refused to extend additional benefits to wrestlers solely because they know they can get away with it. Wrestlers will not complain, and no government body cares. Lawmakers and other governmental figures in the US who would have the ability to regulate the industry and mandate health insurance to wrestlers generally look down their noses at the business, and don't want to get involved. Further, they get no pressure from constituents on this topic, so it's easy to ignore.

Until US wrestlers get the guts to organize in some fashion, they will not have insurance or other benefits.

[HMARK Center]

Dec 27, 2012 13:16:38 GMT -5 NOwave said:

Maybe it is because Dana White and Zuffa fought hard and expended actual effort to try to get their fighters covered. He and UFC WANTED the fighters to have a degree of health insurance. It doesn't cover illnesses. It just covers injuries, regardless of how they were attained, whether it was during a fight, practice, falling down the stairs, car accident, etc. I think if Vince and WWE were as committed to getting it done, they could get their superstars a similar insurance package. If Vince REALLY wants something, he will fight and fight until he gets it. I think the problem is that Vince just doesn't want to get this for the superstars as badly as Dana wanted to get it for his fighters.

This is a large part of the answer. I am personally heavily involved with the health insurance business currently, and know this for a fact: Anybody can get an insurance policy for the right price.(Gosh, that reminded me of the Million Dollar Man). The problem is that the price for insuring a pro wrestler is astronomical because it's a virtual guarantee that they WILL need serious medical attention, due to their work. It's really more cost-effective for a wrestler to self-insure; that is to take the money you would pay for an insurance premium and invest it in a safe place, with the intention of using it when you get hurt. The problem is that you could get hurt before you have a significant amount of money saved.

The WWE is basically self-insured, as are many large corporations or other institutions. Their reserves and/or other investments are large enough and structured such that they can be accessed to pay for health care for employees.

WWE and TNA have refused to extend additional benefits to wrestlers solely because they know they can get away with it. Wrestlers will not complain, and no government body cares. Lawmakers and other governmental figures in the US who would have the ability to regulate the industry and mandate health insurance to wrestlers generally look down their noses at the business, and don't want to get involved. Further, they get no pressure from constituents on this topic, so it's easy to ignore.

Until US wrestlers get the guts to organize in some fashion, they will not have insurance or other benefits.

Not going to get into the politics of it for obvious reasons, but that about sums it up: if major wrestling companies wanted to have their workers covered, then they could be.

It's a big reason why I have a lot of discomfort watching a lot of mainstream wrestling. Say what one will about the shady business dealings and what have you during the territory days, but back then most mainstream wrestlers lived more of a true "independent contractor" lifestyle, and when working specific territories they didn't have the same sort of travel or work schedule that wrestlers since the 1980's have had to endure.

These days, these guys are employees in just about everything but name only, yet they still get the territory business treatment in many cases. Improvements certainly have been made, but it's unfortunate that most of them had to come in the wake of the Guerrero and Benoit deaths, and not in a pro-active fashion. Plus, there are still many miles to go before things are truly put right.

[Evil Homer]

getting insurance on your own, runs you about $2000 -$3000 a month considering your income, I'm sure most WWE wrestlers make $100,000 or more a year, thats 20 -30% of their income right there

[joebob27]

Those prices are a little high, but you have to wonder what it goes for, when someone takes that kind of abuse week in/week out. Obviously if you get dropped on your head, the company picks it up, but for the nagging type of injuries? And what happens when you're done working?