Oswego Risk Advisors places life and disability coverage for athletes, business owners, and families — including the permanent total disability, critical injury, and loss of value products written in the specialty and Lloyd's markets.
Blake Dutton, licensed in Oregon, Washington, California & Tennessee
They are frequently confused, sometimes sold interchangeably, and they pay for entirely different things. Here is the honest version.
The base policy everything else attaches to. It responds when injury or illness permanently ends the ability to compete professionally. These policies typically carry an elimination period — commonly twelve months — before permanency is established and benefits become payable. Limits are underwritten against projected career earnings.
A rider on the PTD policy that pays a defined lump sum when a scheduled injury occurs — high-grade ligament tears, rotator cuff damage, significant muscular tears — whether or not the athlete returns to play. Benefits are tiered by severity and usually require surgical repair inside a set window.
Usually written as a rider on a PTD policy, most often for draft-eligible athletes. If a covered injury or illness causes a contract to come in under an underwritten threshold, the policy is designed to pay the shortfall — up to the limit and subject to the policy's terms, exclusions, and proof requirements. The causation standard is strict and claims are contested. We will tell you when it fits, and when it does not.
Every one of them has income that depends on a specific person staying healthy. The coverage differs. The question does not.
College and professional athletes, and the agents, parents, financial advisors, and athletic departments who evaluate and often fund the coverage.
Since 2022, Division I schools have been permitted to fund athlete injury insurance from institutional operating budgets rather than only from Student Assistance Fund dollars — a change adopted after the Supreme Court's 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston. Combined with revenue sharing under the House settlement, that has moved these decisions into athletic department budgets, which changes who we are talking to and what the conversation looks like.
Closely held and family-owned businesses where one or two people carry the revenue, the relationships, or the credit.
Key person coverage, buy-sell funding, and executive disability — sized against the actual obligation rather than a round number that felt about right.
Term and permanent life, and individual disability income for professionals whose earning power is the largest asset on the balance sheet.
Unhurried, no product pushed, and a straight answer about how much coverage is actually enough.
What income is at risk, over what horizon, and what already covers part of it. Team policies, NCAA program coverage, group benefits, and existing individual policies all get counted before anyone talks about buying something new.
Specialty carriers and Lloyd's syndicates for the athlete products, accessed through specialist wholesale brokers; traditional carriers for life and individual disability. Multiple quotes, compared on definitions and exclusions rather than premium alone.
Before signature. What triggers a benefit, what voids one, how a pre-existing condition is defined, and what the claims process actually requires. This is the step most often skipped and the one that decides whether a claim pays.
Annual review as earnings, draft position, or business value changes, and direct advocacy if a claim is filed. A policy sized for a sophomore season is the wrong policy by senior year.
A Lake Oswego native, Blake entered the industry in 2016 and enjoys the challenge of navigating the changing economy. As a third generation entrepreneur, his favorite aspect of his line of work is meeting others to develop lasting relationships while providing first class service for clients. In his free time, you can find Blake on the golf links, throwing a fly in a Central Oregon stream, or cheering on his beloved Ducks and Blazers.
When you work with Oswego Risk, you are working with a group who takes the time to understand your specific situation — whether that is protecting your family's future, funding a buy-sell agreement, or navigating the specialized insurance needs of an elite athlete. Clients can expect clear, no-jargon guidance, responsive communication, and a long-term partner who is invested in getting the coverage right.
The policy you never read is the one that doesn't pay.
Tell us who needs covering and what is already in place. If coverage does not make sense for your situation, we will say so.