Controlling The Non Owned Auto Exposure In Sports

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

Thousands Injured In Gyms And At Home In Pursuit Of Fitness

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/

What Should a League Do If a Registered Sex Offender is a Parent or Spectator?

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.

Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance For Sports Organizations

AED’s: Does General Liability Provide Coverage For Negligent Use?

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

Are Electronic Signatures Accepted on Waiver Release Forms?

Actual Client Question:

We were wondering if you require hard signatures on the release of liability form, player parent contract, code of ethics? We do registration on line to where everyone has their own password to login to their childs registration, in which we have \”I Accept\” buttons.  In the past we have had the parents click those buttons and then we have printed the forms and had the parents come to another registration to supply a hard signature. Do you require a hard signature for Insurance purposes or would the trigger button hold up in the event of a claim? What is the guideline for electronic signatures?

 Of course, it goes without saying that the waiver / releases must be properly worded to be given weight by a court. So many of them violate the basic principles of contract law. A copy of a sample waiver /release can be found under the Risk Management section of our website at www.sadlersports.com/riskmanagement.

John Sadler