Sports Insurance Blog » volunteers

Named Insureds Under Sports General Liability Policies

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 13:00:15 +0000

The named insureds under the General Liability policy for a sports or recreation organization should include the legal entity itself and its directors, officers, managers, employees, and volunteers.

All of the above mentioned parties are covered by most late edition General Liability policy forms. However, many prior policy forms which are still in use neglect to add coverage for volunteers.

It is of critical importance to correctly list the name of the legal entity for the sports or recreation organization. For example, if the organization is incorporated or is a limited liability company, Inc. or LLC should appear in the name. In other words, the name should be listed exactly as the entity was chartered with the appropriate state governmental office. Failure to correctly list the name of the legal entity could possibly result in coverage denial based on a technicality.

Independent contractors that perform services for your sports organization and are paid on 1099′s are not covered under the standard policy forms unless specifically endorsed onto. However, the sports or recreation organization and other insured persons are covered if the negligent acts of the independent contractor results in a lawsuit against any named insured.

Source: John Sadler

Covered Persons Under Sports Accident Insurance

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:00:53 +0000

An Accident policy customized for sports and recreation organization should cover all players and staff whether paid or volunteer.

Staff typically includes all head coaches, assistant coaches, managers, umpires, referees, concession workers, scorekeepers, field maintenance workers, and league officials such as directors and officers. Our statistics indicate that approximately 6% of Accident claims occur to non player staff.

Your General Liability carrier may require that Excess Accident insurance is carried on all “participants”; otherwise, General Liability coverage may be voided in the event that the injured participant files a lawsuit. The definition of “participant” must be referenced in the General Liability policy. Typically, the definition will include all persons that are granted access to restricted areas where the public is normally not allowed. Therefore, your Accident insurance policy must cover all players and staff.

Some may argue that paid staff should be covered by Workers’ Compensation. However, Workers’ Compensation laws vary from state to state and most state laws exempt certain employments where payment is less than a certain threshold. In addition, very few private sports organizations carry Workers’ Compensation.

Source: John Sadler

Sports Officials Under Assault

admin-sh — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:06:31 +0000

Attacks on sports officials continue, despite efforts of national governing bodies and sports organizations to emphasize sportsmanship. Today, not only are officials at risk, but coaches have faced similar verbal and physical attacks by overzealous parents and players. The National Association of Sports Officials (NASO) published a Special Report: Officials Under Assault giving examples from all levels of sports and the steps that are being taken to prevent attacks on sports officials. If they do occur the assailant could be banned from sports, fined or even jailed.

Protect Your Kids From Predators in Youth Sports

admin-sh — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:32:26 +0000

When sending their children to practice on youth sports team, do parents ever think that they are handing their children to a sexual predator? For many, it is the last thing that crosses their mind. They assume that they can trust the people that are being put in contact with their children because they have been able to secure a spot as a coach or administrator on a local youth sports league. It is the responsibility of the league administrators to do all in their power to protect these children. It is unfortunate that not everyone is aware of the dangers that sexual predators pose nor are they aware of how this battle to protect our children can be fought. In September 1999, Sports Illustrated published an article entitled “Every Parent’s Nightmare”. No other article that we have come across has been as in depth and in your face about this harsh reality. The article goes inside the heads of not just the average sexual predator, but the head and thought process of predators that found their victims on the ball field. They are making a combined effort to say, “This is HOW we got your children and this is WHAT you need to be on the lookout for.”

Although there is no “fool proof” way to fully prevent sexual abuse and molestation, we can work together as a team to put safeguards in place in order to protect these children. In collaboration with attorneys, insurance underwriters and national risk managers, we have developed information to provide our youth sports league administrators, coaches and volunteers with the tools needed in order to put a risk management program in place. The Risk Management section of our website provides a Child Abuse and Molestation Protection Program, Child Abuse and Molestation Handout for Parents, as well as, specific information on how to perform criminal background checks and where to find them. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information.

Is stealing from your local league really a crime?

admin-sh — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:36:00 +0000

How can a youth sports league protect themselves from embezzlement and theft from its volunteers when it is growing quicker than people may notice or care to see? It is no longer just a corporate problem. The economy is failing, people are losing their homes and vehicles and are pulling at strings to find a means to pay for their lifestyles. Unfortunately, it is not just an innocent rearranging of funds, it is now a matter of stealing from children. Although we have stressed the importance of Risk Management in local leagues for years, even national organizations such as the National Alliance for Youth Sports have begun awareness of the swindling of funds in their publication, Sporting Kid Magazine “Wanted: Trustworthy Volunteers”.

When we speak to leagues in regards to the risk management for league funds as well as crime insurance in the event that the unthinkable does happen we often get comments such as, “It would never happen to us.”, “We have measures in place for that.”, or the newest one “I’m the only one in control of the money, and I wouldn’t take it.” Unfortunatelly, we are not fully in control of other people’s actions. More so than ever, we are seeing individuals going to great lengths to get to funds and no one, even the treasurer, sees what is going on until it is too late. For information on this, as well as other risk management materials, please visit our website.