PFS

What PFS does

PFS (Pro Financial Services) is a Chicago-based specialty insurance underwriting firm founded in 1980 by Brian Burns to design customized insurance products for professional sports and entertainment figures. Operating as a managing general agent and Lloyd's of London coverholder, in partnership with Everest, PFS underwrites more than $6 billion of high-limit sports disability insurance annually and serves the majority of teams in each of the four major North American professional sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL), plus individual athletes, coaches, executives, and agents across professional, collegiate, and amateur sports.

Its product suite centers on high-limit disability income protection—Permanent Total Disability (PTD), Temporary Total Disability (TTD), critical injury lump-sum coverage, and bespoke products such as split contract, roster bonus, play time bonus, endorsement, and event cancellation coverages—extended into entertainment (actors, musicians, broadcasters, event organizers), business (executives, lawyers, employer-sponsored groups), and medical (physicians, surgeons, dentists, specialists). The technical stack includes a proprietary injury database and automated rating tools maintained by the Director of Analytics, with underwriting capacity secured through Lloyd's of London and Everest partnerships.

Distribution is broker and agent-led, with direct enterprise relationships to teams, leagues, and agents supplemented by event sponsorships (e.g., Reese's Senior Bowl), and the company is licensed as a broker/agent in multiple US states, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As of April 25, 2024, PFS became a subsidiary of Aon plc, integrating its specialty sports franchise into one of the largest global insurance brokerage platforms. The firm employs 11–50 people and maintains headquarters at 500 West Madison St., Chicago.

Name

PFS

Legal name

Pro Financial Services, LLC

Website

https://pfsins.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PFS (Pro Financial Services) is a Chicago-based specialty insurance firm and Lloyd's of London coverholder that underwrites high-limit disability and customized insurance for professional athletes, teams, coaches, executives, entertainers, and healthcare professionals across sports, entertainment, business, and medical verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Disability Insurance

NAICS

Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers (524114)

SIC

Accident & Health Insurance (6321), Insurance Agents, Brokers & Service (6411)

akta.pro primary industry

Individual/Retail Critical Illness & Hospital Indemnity (FSAIAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Disease-Specific & Condition-Specific Critical Illness (e.g., Cancer, Heart/Stroke) (FSAIAKAH)

Keywords

• High-limit disability insurance
• Sports disability insurance
• Specialty insurance underwriting
• Professional athlete coverage
• Income protection insurance

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Insurance Premiums: PFS underwrites high-limit disability insurance policies and collects premiums from individuals, teams, leagues, and organizations. Coverage includes permanent total disability (PTD), temporary total disability (TTD), critical injury, travel accident, and other specialized insurance products.
2. Insurance Brokerage Services: As a licensed insurance broker operating as a coverholder at Lloyd's and with Everest, PFS earns commissions and fees for placing insurance coverage for clients across sports, entertainment, business, and medical sectors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PFS designs, underwrites, and places customized high-limit disability and specialty insurance for athletes, entertainers, business professionals, and physicians. As a managing general agent and Lloyd's of London coverholder (partnering with Everest), PFS delivers tailored PTD, TTD, critical injury, endorsement, event cancellation, and crisis response coverage that standard insurers typically will not issue at the limits required by elite professional clients.

Product overview

PFS (Pro Financial Services) is a specialty insurance company offering high-limit disability and specialized insurance coverage across four main verticals: Sports, Entertainment, Business, and Medicine. The core product is high-limit disability income protection insurance, with coverage types including PTD (Permanent Total Disability), TTD (Temporary Total Disability), critical injury coverage, endorsement coverage, death & disgrace, event cancellation, disaster response, and various business protection coverages. PFS operates as a managing general agent working with insurance partners Lloyd's of London and Everest, underwriting over $6 billion of coverage annually. The company serves individual professionals (athletes, entertainers, executives, physicians), teams, leagues, and organizations through customized insurance solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Athletes' Disability Income Protection High-limit disability insurance for professional athletes covering career-ending injuries (PTD), temporary disabilities (TTD), critical injuries including ACL tears and Achilles tendon injuries, split contracts, roster bonuses, and play-time/performance bonuses, delivered through sports-specialized agents and brokers.
• Professional Teams & Universities Insurance Coverage for professional sports teams and universities including injured reserve salary protection, PTD/TTD, travel accident, key person, death & disgrace, and contractual obligation protection.
• Sports League Insurance League-wide policies covering all four major American sport leagues protecting athletes, coaches, and key personnel against financial risks including large-scale catastrophic losses.
• Coaches & Front Office Insurance Income protection for coaches and front office staff with monthly benefits up to $1,000,000 for up to 120 months, plus endorsement coverage, accidental death and dismemberment, and kidnap and ransom protection.
• Sports Agents Insurance Coverage protecting agents including loss of future income tied to client health, pre-draft signing bonus protection for players, and PTD/TTD coverage for career-ending or temporary injury or illness.
• Youth & High School Sports Insurance Multi-coverage insurance for youth and high school sports programs including general liability, participant accident supplemental health, catastrophic spinal injury coverage, directors and officers liability, and crime coverage.
• Sports Event Cancellation & Prize Indemnity Insurance Coverage protecting against event cancellation due to weather, earthquake, venue damage, terrorism, or communicable disease, plus prize indemnity coverage for promotional bonuses.
• Entertainment Industry Insurance Coverage for actors, musicians, models, broadcasters, and producers/directors protecting against lost income due to inability to perform, event cancellations, lost endorsement deals, and crisis events.
• Broadcasters Insurance Income protection for broadcasters ranging from $5,000 to more than $500,000 monthly, plus endorsement deal protection, accidental death and dismemberment, event cancellation, and kidnap and ransom coverage.
• Entertainment Event Cancellation Insurance Coverage protecting stakeholders from loss of revenue for entertainment events cancelled due to adverse weather, earthquake, venue damage, terrorist threats, or communicable disease.
• Business Professionals Insurance Flexible policies protecting assets and earnings of lawyers, executives, and highly compensated business professionals, including individual and group disability plans.
• Executives Insurance Income protection with monthly benefits from $5,000 to more than $500,000 for up to 120 months, plus buy/sell agreement protection for company owners.
• Employer-Sponsored Group Plans Group disability coverage with monthly benefits from $5,000 to more than $500,000 per individual for up to 60 months, plus business overhead coverage.
• Business Disaster Response / Crisis Event Coverage Crisis event coverage including political threat, wrongful detention, kidnapping, natural disasters, terrorism, civil commotion, bomb explosion, child abduction, disappearance, and hijack, covering evacuation costs, relocation, interpreter fees, search protocols, and crisis response consultant costs.
• Physicians Insurance Insurance solutions for physicians, surgeons, dentists, and healthcare professionals protecting their financial futures with flexible individual and group policies.
• Surgeons Insurance Specialized disability insurance coverage for surgeons protecting their income and financial future.
• Medical Specialists Insurance Income protection for medical specialists with monthly benefits from $5,000 to $250,000+ for up to 60 months, plus business overhead, key person, contractual obligation, and kidnap and ransom coverage.
• Medical Practices / Groups Insurance Comprehensive group coverage including personal income protection ($5,000-$250,000+ monthly), business overhead, buy/sell agreements, company revenue protection, key person, contractual obligation, loan indemnification, and kidnap and ransom coverage.
• Dentists Insurance Income protection for dentists with monthly benefits from $5,000 to $250,000+ for up to 60 months, available as individual or group coverage.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $6 billion of coverage underwritten annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Lloyd's of LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExclusive partnership where PFS operates as a coverholder at Lloyd's of London. PFS underwrites over $6 billion of high-limit sports disability insurance through Lloyd's, providing access to significant reinsurance capacity and specialized underwriting expertise for complex risks.
• EverestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEverest is a key insurance market partner for PFS, providing capacity and support for team sports coverage including injury tracking, claims management, and aggregate/stop loss coverage for professional sports teams.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• K&K Insurance Group (an Alliant company): K&K is a specialty insurance broker/MGA serving sports, leisure, and entertainment risks with custom coverage for athletes, teams, and events. Highly comparable to PFS in distribution model, verticals served, and reliance on Lloyd's-style capacity.
• Holmes Murphy & Co. Holmes Murphy is a large independent risk management and insurance brokerage with a dedicated sports and entertainment practice that designs custom disability, accident, and liability coverage for professional and collegiate sports clients. Comparable in serving sports teams, leagues, and individual athletes with high-limit specialty products.
• US Sports Insurance (USSIC): US Sports Insurance specializes in amateur and youth sports coverage including participant accident, catastrophic, and liability protection for athletic organizations. Comparable niche focus on sports-specialty insurance programs for teams, leagues, and event organizers.

Broad incumbents

• Lockton Companies: Lockton is a global, employee-owned insurance brokerage with significant sports, entertainment, and executive practices. While much larger and broader than PFS, Lockton competes head-to-head for high-limit disability and specialty coverage of professional athletes, entertainers, and executives.
• Markel Corporation: Markel is a specialty insurance carrier that underwrites unique risks across sports, entertainment, and professional liability lines, including coverage for athletes and high-net-worth individuals. Markel acts both as a capacity provider and competitor to specialty brokers like PFS in non-standard disability and accident lines.
• UNUM Group: UNUM is one of the largest U.S. disability insurers and offers individual and group disability, accident, and critical illness coverage. While UNUM serves a different customer base (employer-sponsored groups vs. PFS' ultra-high-limit sports specialty), it represents the broader disability market and is a relevant incumbent benchmark.
• Beazley Group: Beazley is a specialty Lloyd's-aligned insurer that writes accident, sports, and contingency lines for individuals, teams, and events. Comparable to PFS in leveraging Lloyd's capacity for non-standard, high-limit risks in sports and entertainment.
• Hiscox Ltd: Hiscox is a specialty insurer with Lloyd's heritage and a focus on high-net-worth and professional liability lines including disability income, accident, and specialty personal lines. Overlap with PFS in the Lloyd's-based underwriting of complex, high-limit individual risks.
• Alliant Insurance Services: Alliant is a large specialty insurance brokerage that owns K&K Insurance and offers broad sports, entertainment, and executive benefit placements. A relevant incumbent with adjacent specialty sports and entertainment practices overlapping with PFS' verticals.

Emerging players

• Assurity Life Insurance Company: Assurity Life is a smaller specialty insurer that offers individual disability income, critical illness, and accident products targeted at professionals and white-collar workers. Comparable product overlap (individual high-limit disability, critical illness) but with a more mass-affluent distribution rather than PFS' ultra-high-limit sports/entertainment niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about PFS