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IndyCar deal creates series-branded insurance plan

January 5, 2011

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Auto Racing, Health Care & Insurance, IndyCar Series, Insurance, Insurance Benefits, Insurers, Motorsports, Naming rights/sponsorships, Sports Business

The IndyCar Series recently signed a three-year agreement with Dallas-based Global Corporate Alliance, a wholesale insurance buyer that will offer IndyCar-branded health insurance to fans.

The deal makes GCA the official insurance program of the open-wheel series. The company will offer members of the series' fan club, the IndyCar Nation, an insurance plan called IndyCar MD-Now for $19.95 per month. The plan provides doctor consultations by phone. Additional plans carrying a greater cost will offer more complete health care coverage.

Details on costs and benefits for those additional plans have not been made available.

The deal makes the insurance company a presenting sponsor of the series, said Terry Angstadt, president of the series’ commercial division. It also gives GCA branding opportunities at fan-interaction zones at tracks, puts its logo on IndyCar Series transporters and includes advertising on the series’ website as well as during ABC-TV and Versus race broadcasts.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources close to the series valued it at $1 million to $1.5 million annually.

One of the most important elements of the agreement, said a source with knowledge of the deal, is GCA’s access to the IndyCar Series’ fan-club database.

Under terms of the agreement, IndyCar Nation members will be automatically enrolled as members of the North American Consumer Alliance, which is a not-for-profit membership group that purchases insurance as a wholesaler directly from various insurance carriers.

GCA manages the North American Consumer Alliance and receives a monthly management fee from the alliance for every member, which gives the company an incentive to help grow the series’ fan club through marketing and promotional efforts of the IndyCar Series.

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Consulting online

JerrichoJanuary 14, 2011 9:41 AM
It is true that we are saving time and money because in most cases there are free sites where consult online is simple. In my case I suffer from back pain and I remember I did a query on Findrxonline about side effects vicodin may cause my nervous system and the doctor told me which were adverse drug reactions and what should be done to prevent them. I think it is a right way to ask the questions without losing time and especially money.

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Perfect

Brett in IndyJanuary 8, 2011 3:00 PM
They should get Sam Schmidt as a spokesmen.

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Can't get rid of you!

A.J.January 5, 2011 10:50 PM
I removed the "Score" from my list of readings but kept the IBJ news feed. Now, I'm still getting your articles, and even worse, your off-based post-article commentators. Looks like I'll remove the IBJ news feed now, too.

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yep

ChiefJanuary 5, 2011 6:26 PM
Do Indy but forget the rest of the abominable series.

It's a gimmick, just like everything else the IRL/IZOD does.

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The Voice of Reason Among Children

Defender of IndyCarJanuary 5, 2011 4:55 PM
Every 1 or 1.5 million counts. Who knows, given the state of the economy and employment, people might be able to use the program. Sponsor spend in Indy Car grew to over $80 million in 2010 and 2011 projections are much higher.

Attention panic stricken, obsessed chicken littles: The sky is not falling. Pop some Paxil and chill out.

Lonely Planet came out with their top ten things every human must do in 2011, and the Indianapolis 500 is on the list.

It's all good. Let's try growing up, shall we children?

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Not so good the news

Hideki HattoriJanuary 5, 2011 3:18 PM
With the cheering masses of this once-great sport of diminished nature, the fathers of the series endeavor to fill the void so it appears. This is but a small offering to those faithful to the speedy chariots and their courageous pilotos, no? A small aside to the IndyCar Nation it would appear, which give membership benefits of such nature as to give the illusion of inclusion as it would seem. There is the vicarious element to which observers from the grandtans can say they, too, are insured by the Indy Car Series as the great pilotos are too, although this is not so. But all must be done. The truth of the matter thusly, the GCA uses the series to access private information of the oberservers of the racing sport. This, in the twist of turn, can be sold to institutionally-oriented firms. So is this opportunity of clever nature. Another way of explanation of endeavor is nature that all these numbskulls will be signing up to get the crap Spammed out of them, Idiots.

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OH the Humanity

ChiefJanuary 5, 2011 2:13 PM
This is how desperate the IRL is. Get the name on anything...great work Terry.

Yet Firestone leaving the series gets no press. Looks like the Versus deal isd worth its weight in gold!

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IndyCar Health Insurance

reddogJanuary 5, 2011 1:37 PM
Yeah right...what a snow job. I can link to webmd.com free. I bet the restrictions say no coverage at the track, no coverage for beer drinkers, no greasy food oand no tattos. That pretty well excludes the majority of insureds. Sucker.

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Who cares?

Jake DelancyJanuary 5, 2011 1:17 PM
Really. This series is close to dead, so these types of stories make it in. Indy Car racing is pretty much history.

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