For more than two decades, Monument Sports Group has serviced the sports industry like few others, providing risk management services that have enabled facilities, teams, and other sports-related entities the peace of mind and, of course, the insurance necessary to fulfill their respective missions.
So, when a pandemic swept across the United States and the rest of the world, it did not phase Monument and its leadership team, which stepped up to the plate and provided solutions.
That dedication drew us to Monument and an interview with President Mark Grossman and Claims & Risk Management Coordinator Zach Morgan, which follows below.
Question: How has the pandemic changed the needs of your customers?
Answer: It has changed sports, recreation, and entertainment businesses in every conceivable way; from immediate premium reductions, payment deferrals, changes to waiver language, cleaning protocols, and trying to anticipate revenue loss by line item. These are just some of the challenges we have helped our clients face.
Q: What has been your response to their needs?
A: We immediately reached out to the insurance carriers to react to all of the issues mentioned above. To their credit, most carriers showed a lot of humanity, and helped in every way possible. Of course, it is somewhat self-serving as they want to keep clients from cancelling coverage. But still they really went above and beyond to help. We continue to have regular meetings with the carriers as the pandemic has played out.
Q: Can you give us a specific example?
A: Sure, we had every one of our clients file a claim for loss of income, aka business interruption even though we were aware that the claims would be denied due to virus type exclusions on almost all policies. Our theory in doing this is that if the government were to offer some type of financial back stop to the insurance industry in a second phase of PPP or other bill, then it would be good to already have a claim filed. So, we tried to respond to every immediate need while thinking it forward.
Q: What is the lasting lesson(s) that sports facilities can take from this pandemic?
A: Consider purchasing coverage for a pandemic if it ever becomes available even, though the cost is likely to be extremely high.
Q: What changes do you anticipate at Monument with regard to your offerings in 2021 and why?
A: We will continue to scour the market and push our carriers to offer some type of coverage that might help in situations such as this going forward. As far as Monument Sports is concerned as a business it probably behooves us to look for a larger client base in sports and recreation that is not so prone to Armageddon! We are not sure that there are that many potential insureds who meet that definition.
Q: Tell us about the relationship with the Climbing Wall Association and how it came about?
A: We were introduced to the CWA by a friend and client in the sports consulting business in 2013. The CWA’s insurance program was cancelled, and the CWA and members found themselves in a real jam. We were able to take advantage of a great relationship with a friend and years of a working relationship to convince them to take a chance on the CWA. He had faith in Monument as a company due to our emphasis on rolling up our sleeves and doing a lot in the area of risk management, claims analysis, and very thorough underwriting practices. It also helped that Chris Fox, our business partner, and Will Jorgensen from our company are both veteran climbers. That first-hand knowledge helped us gain trust with the CWA, and with the gyms. We helped a lot of gyms out of some awfully bad spots, and seven years later we have created a program built for the long haul. Our insurance partner the Specialty Insurance Group underwriting for The Everest Insurance Company have been great partners, and they have really stepped up in all of the necessary areas.
Q: What is the best thing about working in the sports and recreation industry?
A: As sports people it is really great to work with sports that you love, and with clients who are dedicated to it. Premiums are always foremost on people’s minds, but we feel that the knowledge that we provide to the CWA, to our indoor sports facility program, and to our professional sports clients is equally important to them. We have also owned an indoor soccer and multi-sport facility in Richmond (Virginia) for 13 years, so not only do we really understand what our clients are dealing with, but they trust us even more as we’re in the game with them. It is simply a great environment to work in, with a lot of loyalty on both sides of the table.
