After a career-ending knee injury, the $1-million Ed Chester received gives him peace of mind.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published July 27, 2003
When his position coach approached Ed Chester five years ago about obtaining a college disability insurance policy, the former Florida all-conference defensive lineman didn't take the conversation seriously.
"(The premium) was $8,000," Chester said. "My parents aren't rich, so to me it sounded like a lot of money. It seemed like a good idea, but I didn't really see it as a big deal. Being a college kid, you don't really think (bad) things are going to happen to you."
Chester, a Spring Hill native, never had heard of disability insurance for college athletes. As a projected top draft pick, he figured the NFL would take care of his future.
But at the insistence of a family friend and Gators defensive tackles coach Rod Broadway, Chester and his parents secured a loan and hired Gainesville chartered life insurance underwriter Keith Lerner, who brokered a $1-million policy from Lloyd's of London.
It turned out to be the investment of a lifetime.
Six games into the 1998 season, his career ended when he sustained a nerve injury in his knee on the first play of the Gators' 22-10 win over LSU.
"Most definitely it was a good thing," said Chester, 27, who lives in Gainesville. "I can do some things that I want to do instead of things that I have to do. For instance, my job. I can do a job that I love and not have to worry about money. And at the beginning, I didn't have to struggle like most people coming out of college."
Chester is teen director at the Northwest Boys and Girls Club in Gainesville, but his job allows him to work with children ages 6 and older. It's not a high-profile, high-paying job, but the insurance money gives him the luxury of working for something other than the need to pay bills.
Chester met Lerner through UF officials when he inquired about getting insurance and became Lerner's first client to collect on a policy. During the past 15 years, Lerner, 41, has brokered policies for some of the biggest names in college sports. One of his earliest clients was Miami quarterback and 1992 Heisman Trophy winner Gino Torretta. He has earned a reputation as a broker who can secure big-money policies and take on the hard cases.
"When I got into the financial services industry - insurance and financial planning - I had no idea that 15 years later it would turn out to be a niche market where there are enough college and professional athletes out there that if you can get some business with some of them, it can be a career," said Lerner, who also does financial work for pro athletes. "I had just gotten my charter insurance license and heard there was this product out there. When I looked around, I didn't really see anybody providing this service for college athletes."
Word of mouth and good results, such as that of Chester, have helped Lerner parlay disability insurance into a successful business venture.
Two years ago he wrote policies for seven of the 33 first-round picks in the 2002 NFL draft, including Miami's Jeremy Shockey and Bryant McKinnie, Boston College's William Green and Florida's Jabar Gaffney. He insured six of the top 34 picks in this year's draft.
Chester's hope is that more players will have a relationship with Lerner.
"I recommend (a policy) from the fourth-stringer on up to the first-stringer," Chester said. "If you can get it, it can't hurt."
