About 15 years ago, I was running on a treadmill in a very exclusive health club when I suddenly flew off the machine, cutting my leg in the process. I’m not sure if the tread on the machine was worn out or if I stepped in a way that contributed to the mishap. Nevertheless, I suffered a bloody gash in my leg that required some minor first aid. There were quite a few horrified witnesses, but no gym staff to be found. I wandered the club, hoping to find an employee. Eventually, I came upon a staff member in an office adjacent to the weight room. His response to the incident was to give me 2 small bandages. I was not asked to fill out an incident report of any kind. There was also no special attention given to the wound. No questions were asked about how the incident happened.

Insurance companies are like athletes in that both entities take risks. But when an insurance company takes a risk on an athlete, the results can be unusual.

Just recently, an insurance company placed coverage of one million dollars to protect the hair on a particular athlete's head. The athlete with the now insured long locks is Tony Polamalu, an NFL player.

University of Hawaii Warriors did well in their football season opener against USC. Although they lost 49 to 36, they certainly held their own. Unfortunately, UH starting quarterback Bryant Moniz suffered a hard hit on the helmet in the third quarter. This seemed very serious to me and I was certainly concerned about whether Moniz would be medically cleared to fly to the East Coast to play their next game against Army. All that I heard on the news was that Moniz sustained a “possible head injury” or an “apparent head injury”. No one was saying that he had a concussion, because to do so might have meant benching Moniz even if it turned out that he did not. Apparently, medical clearance in such instances can take a week or more and this can certainly impact an athlete’s season.