Insurance industry mad about basketball

It’s March Madness and the insurance industry is getting in on the game.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Monday announced it will once again fund a “bracket contest” for its employees and some of its owned subsidiaries, awarding $100,000 to the employee who picks the winner of the most games correctly prior to picking a game incorrectly.

If an employee picks all first-round games correctly, all 32 games played on March 19 and March 20, the prize will be increased to $1 million. However, if an employee is able to pick all first- and second-round games correctly, all 48 games played between March 19 and March 22, the prize will be increased to an annuity paying $1 million a year for the remaining life of the employee. Finally, if Berkshire’s favorite basketball team, Creighton, is one of the last four teams remaining in the tournament, the winner’s prize will be doubled, according to the announcement.

Risk analytics company Archipelago Analytics Inc. is also sponsoring a March Madness bracket to raise money for the Spencer Educational Foundation, which provides scholarships to those studying the risk and insurance fields. According to that announcement, Spencer needs 3,000 brackets filled out by the industry to raise $10,000.