Dangerous Games.(sports officials now need insurance)

As the threat of violence rises on the playing field, in the workplace and at school, insurers are creating specialized policies for sports officials, workers and educators.

In an incident that shocked the nation in July, a Massachusetts father and volunteer hockey coach was fatally beaten by another parent after the assailant complained that his son's practice session was getting too rough.

Last December, Cleveland Browns' offensive tackle Orlando Brown was suspended for shoving a referee during a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The referee had thrown a penalty flag that accidentally hit Brown in the eye and caused severe vision damage that led to the team releasing Brown in September.

And some years earlier, an angry wrestler at a high school bout near Spokane, Wash., head-butted the referee, knocking him unconscious.

With these and similar incidents, the rage factor seems to have gotten so bad in professional and amateur sports that 14 states have passed legislation to boost penalties against those who assault sports officials. At least nine other states are considering similar bills.

"We have seen an increase in bad behavior by fans, coaches and players specifically directed at officials," said Bob Still, spokesman for the National Association of Sports Officials, a voluntary organization of 19,000 members that's based in Racine, Wis. "It's not verbal abuse--although the tenor of that has changed--but physical violence is much more prominent. We see a lot more cases reported where this crosses the line."

To assure its members that they have some kind of protection on the job, the association provides them with an additional benefit: They are automatically enrolled in a tailored insurance program that covers sports officials who are attacked by a spectator, fan or player while performing their officiating duties. The membership--mostly umpires and referees--officiates at various levels, from children's leagues all the way up to the pros.

Nora Stransky, president of Special Markets Insurance Consultants Inc. (SMIC), Stevens Point, Wis., designed the program after association leaders contacted her in 1997. "They wanted something very specific for …