Premises Medical Payments (or simply Medical Expense) can be an important coverage for sports organizations to have on their General Liability policy. Normally, a General Liability policy does not respond unless there is a threat of a lawsuit. However, Premises Medical Payments allows the carrier’s claims department to respond and pay benefits without the threat of a lawsuit.
The purpose of Premises Medical Payments is to appease the injured party by quickly offering to pay their medical bills in an effort to convince them not to hire an attorney.
The normal policy limit for Premise Medical Payments is $5,000. In the event that damages exceed $5,000, the fallback position is to revert back to the Each Occurrence limit for bodily injury liability.
Premises Medical Payments is typically used for minor spectator injury claims. Most policy forms exclude Premises Medical Payment coverage for athletic activities which are defined as practicing, instructing, or participating in any physical exercises or games, sports, or athletic contests. However, this exclusion is not a problem since athletic activities should be covered by an Excess Accident policy.
