Kelly Whiteside

USA TODAY Sports

Shaun White has misplaced his Olympic medals. Once his mom even took one to the dry cleaners because the ribbon was dirty. Luckily it came back on a hanger, draped in plastic.

But what about the medals that never come back laundered and pressed? The ones left on the plane? Stolen from the top dresser drawer?

To replace a lost or stolen Olympic or Paralympic medal, an athlete has to file a request through the U.S. Olympic Committee and foot the bill for a replacement.

Olympians and Paralympians no longer have to worry about replacing a medal gone missing. Thanks to a new insurance policy with the U.S. Olympic Committee, Liberty Mutual will insure the medals of every 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete, the company announced Friday.

If speedskater Patrick Meek brings home a medal in his Olympic debut, he doesn't want to keep it under lock and key. "My friend Travis Jayner doesn't consider his Olympic medal his. It's the U.S.'s. He passes it around. It gets chipped. He gives his medal for people to hold. That's what I would do. It's the nation's medal," he said.

And now if a medal won in Sochi doesn't find its way back to an athlete's neck, at least they'll be covered.