The Iowa High School Athletic Association and its title sponsor, the Iowa Farm Bureau, are proud to have secured the HeadStrong Concussion Insurance program for the 2018-19 school year.

HeadStrong provides “first-dollar” insurance coverage for all students (males and females) in grades 9-12 participating in the practice or play of interscholastic sports sanctioned by the IHSAA. These include: baseball, basketball, bowling, cheerleading (non-competition), cross country, football, golf, soccer, swimming, tennis, track and field, and wrestling.

The Iowa Farm Bureau is sponsoring the premium expense for every IHSAA participant in the program. Coverage will run from August 1, 2018 to August 1, 2019. The insurance carrier for this policy is Nationwide Life Insurance Company, with K&K Insurance serving as a third-party administrator.

“The IHSAA and the Iowa Farm Bureau believe providing this insurance puts Iowa at the forefront of providing quality care for student-athletes who sustain a concussion in one of our sanctioned sports,” said Alan Beste, executive director of the IHSAA.

“We hope this insurance removes the financial barrier students and their parents or guardians may have when it comes to seeking care for a concussion.”

HeadStrong was developed to insure student-athletes from the high cost of concussion treatment and potential neurological follow-up. It provides student-athletes with $0 deductible and $0 co-pay coverage for concussion assessment and treatment and serves as a secondary or excess policy to other primary and collectable insurance. It will become the primary payor if no other insurance is available.

The IHSAA is now one of seven state high school athletic associations providing coverage for 100 percent of participants, joining Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. More information and guides to the program are available through the links below.

IHSAA: http://www.iahsaa.org/information/sports-medicine-wellness-info/

Dissinger Reed: http://www.dissingerreed.com/high-school-programs/