08.21.09 INSURE YOUR FANTASY TEAM…NO, SERIOUSLY

Anthony Giaccone and Henry Olszewski are insurance brokers at Long Island’s Intermarket Insurance Agency, Inc. And they officially are also the greatest inventors ever, having crafted a way for fantasy football owners to take out insurance policies on their star players. Where were these guys last year when I had Tom Brady?! Actually, that Brady injury in Week 1 of last year was the very impetus behind what is now FantasySportsInsurance.com.

Before the first weekend of the NFL season, the fantasy owner selects the player he wishes to insure — let’s say it’s his top pick, Peyton Manning of Indianapolis. He then enters his league entry fee ($250 for this scenario, though FSI offers claims up to $1,000), transaction fees ($0), and money spent on additional expenses, like magazines and online subscriptions ($15).

FSI then determines the cost of the policy based on those numbers, with every top-50 player — from the chronically-injured Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams to the Atlanta Falcons’ relatively sturdy Michael Turner. In this case, insuring Mr. Manning for a 15-game fantasy season would cost $29.87. For just under $30, an owner who loses Mr. Manning to injury for 10 of his 15 fantasy games would recoup the entire $265 he spent on his fantasy team from FSI. And he could still replace the star quarterback with a waiver-wire pickup and salvage the season anyway. via.

Terrific. Now can I buy insurance that will bring me new friends if they decide I’m too obsessed with fantasy sports and they stop talking to me? Eh, I’m only kidding. Like I have any friends… Thanks, flubby.