Every personal trainer wants to see their clients get results from the training that they provide, but where does the training and advice stop? A case that has made it to the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, NY detailed in the article Health Club Sued for $320 Million gives a closer look as what can happen when a trainer goes too far.
Category : Personal Trainer, Risk Management
Category : Auto Insurance, Business Auto, Risk Management
Its a must for most sports and recreation organizations to carry Non Owned And Hired Auto Liability insurance which can be a stand alone policy or part of the General Liability policy. Very few sports administrators understand the importance of this coverage and what they should be doing to protect their insurance carrier from ever having to pay a claim.
A non owned auto is one that is not owned by the sports or recreation organization, but is instead owned by a staff member (employee or volunteer) or borrowed from an organization such as a church. When these non owned autos are involved in an accident while on association business: the following parties can normally be sued: the owner of the vehicle, the driver, and any organization for whose purpose the errand is being run. In other words, the sports organization can be sued for their vicarious liability of their staff member.
Its important to note that Non Owned Auto Liability insurance does not cover the driver or damage to the vehicle. It only covers the association that is the named insured on the policy. The driver will have to rely on his or her own Personal Auto Insurance Policy to provide liability and physical damage protection.
I just came across some excellent loss control material from Philadelphia Insurance Company on the topic of controlling the Non Owned Auto Liability risk in the sports and recreation context. This exposure represents an infrequent, but high severity risk where damages can easily exceed $1,000,000. The insurance carriers that insure sports and recreation organizations are very concerned about this exposure because its difficult to collect the proper premium for a low frequency – high severity risk. Sports organizations need to take this risk very seriously and implement the recommended controls.
Here are some links that you will want to check out:
Case studies on actual Non Owned Auto Liability losses in the non profit association context where damages exceeded $1,000,000: http://image.exct.net/lib/fecd15717367027c/m/1/InvestigationForm2.24.10.pdf
Personal vehicle usage precautions: http://image.exct.net/lib/fecd15717367027c/m/1/Employee-Volunteer.Use.of.PersonalVehicles2.19.10.pdf
Driver eligibility criteria: http://image.exct.net/lib/fecd15717367027c/m/1/Driver+Eligibilty_4400.pdf
Driver training and motivation: http://image.exct.net/lib/fecd15717367027c/m/1/Driver+Training+and+Motivation_2200.pdf
Source: Philadelphia Insurance Company, Hired And Non Owned Automobiles, Large Loss Lessons Learned
Category : Equipment, Health Clubs, Injury, Instructors, Personal Trainer, Risk Management
Fitness Instructor Insurance and Health Club Insurance is in high demand due to frequent gym injuries.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the following injury statistics occurred in 2009:
* 1500 emergency room visits resulting from equipment related
mishaps in gyms
* 50,000 emergency room visits from home exercise equipment
incidents including treadmill falls, exercise ball falls, elastic stretch
band hits to face, and dropping free weights on feet.
* Treadmills are the number one cause of equipment related injuries
with 575 occurrences of falling off, tripping over, and tripping on.
* Weight machines and free weights caused 224 injuries.
* Common gym equipment related injuries include broken ankles,
fractured arms, fractured legs, and fingertip amputations.
Fitness instructors cite the following reason for gym/exercise related injuries:
* Inattention due to Ipods, cell phones, and reading.
* Using equipment for the first time without proper instruction
* Working out too hard, too soon after a period of inactivity.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35127528/ns/health-fitness/
Category : Abuse/Molestation, General Liability, Legal, Molestation, Risk Management, Sex Abuse
In many of our national organizations, criminal background checks of coaches and volunteers are required in order to screen for sexual offenders. Throughout our risk management materials you will find that regardless of a requirement, these screenings are highly recommended. But what should a league do when the known sex offender (per public record) is a parent or a spectator?
The first direction would be to consult your local attorney since they would be familiar with the particular states laws. Also make sure that the organization is following its own rules and bylaws. The general liability policies that we write for the national organizations may require that volunteers be screened, but not the parents that are not volunteers. This is because as a general rule, only a volunteer who has repeated access to youth is in a position to “groom” them for molestation.
Whether background checks are required or not, a lot can be accomplished by educating the team/league, the volunteers and the parents on inappropriate boundary invasions. More information can be found in our article Protecting Children Against Sexual Abuse and Molestation.
Part One
Sexual abuse and molestation has been a huge issue in youth sports insurance over the past ten years. The sports insurance carriers that write General Liability have been decimated with a number of large settlements and adverse jury verdicts.
As a result, most carriers are not willing to extend coverage for abuse / molestation unless risk management controls are in place. In other cases, the coverage is only available by tapping into custom programs for larger governing and sanctioning bodies that have significant negotiating power.
Coverage for abuse / molestation is important because all directors and officers will be sued in addition to the alleged abuser. The directors and officers will be sued on the basis of failure to screen out staff with criminal backgrounds, failure to respond to an allegation, and failure to implement policies and procedures such as the use of a “buddy system” and a prohibition of overnight sleepovers whenever possible.
As a precondition of coverage, many insurance carriers will require mandatory background checks on all staff with access to youth as well as the adoption of a risk management awareness program.
For more information on the various types of background checks and the strengths and weaknesses of each: www.sadlersports.com/riskmanagement/
For more information on a simplified Abuse/Molestation Protection Program: www.sadlersports.com/riskmanagement/
Source: John Sadler
Copyright 2004-2009 Sadler & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Category : General Liability, Risk Management
Several state’s have enacted legislation requiring sports organizations to make available Automatic External Defibrillators (AED’s) at the ball park as well as training persons in their location and use.
The question that often arises is “does our General Liability policy provide coverage in the event that something goes wrong and the sports organization and the person administering the AED are sued?”
The applicable provisions in most General Liability policy forms are as follows:
1) Does the policy have a professional medical services exclusion that applies to the sports organization as an entity itself and to all other insured persons?
2) To what extent does the policy limit the scope of coverage for employees and volunteers as follows:
Section II — Who Is An Insured
2. Each of the following is also an insured:
a. Your “volunteer workers”….. or your “employees”….. However, none are insureds for:
(1) “Bodily Injury” or “personal and advertising injury”:
(d) Arising out of his or her providing or failing to provide professional health care services.
According to K&K Insurance Group, the simple answer is that the standard General Liability policy form will likely respond to such a lawsuit if the AED is administered by a lay person. This situation is considered to be more like the rendering of first aid rather than a professional health care service. On the other hand, if the AED is administered by a nurse or doctor, their own Professional Liability policy would likely provide primary coverage. Of course, they add the normal disclaimer that coverage for any claim will stand on its own unique circumstances and all policy coverages, exclusions, limitations, conditions, and definitions will apply.
Apparently, AED technology is greatly improved to the extent that it is almost impossible to make an error in its use. The later models will only activate if no heart beat is detected or if the heart is so out of rhythm that the patient is in a life threatening situation.
Source: Sadler Sports & Recreation Insurance
