Our insurance program for Mountain bike clubs has changed this year and there have been some confusion about these changes. Below is an updated email from our President, Dan McKay, explaining these changes. As always, we are committed to the bicycling community and will work hard to find solutions to your risk management needs!
Dear Mountain Bike Club Officer:
Recently you received correspondence from our office and from IMBA. The IMBA correspondence contained several inaccuracies and left out critical information about your renewal.
We want to refer you to the renewal packet that you recently received in the mail. Please note that the endorsement that IMBA referred to in its email is printed in full here:
Trail Maintenance and Construction Exclusion – THIS IS NEW FOR 2009-2010 POLICY TERM
Exclusion:
1. Building, designing or maintaining any trails for bicycling, hiking or any other use.
2. Operation of power machines in the conduct of club activities. This includes: motorcycles, ATV’s, power saws chippers, Dingo’s and any other power unit.
3. All features built on trails owned, leased, designed by or maintained by the club.
Except for the volunteer activities to maintain trails not owned or leased to the club and the club is covered by the landowner’s insurance coverage as volunteers. (Such as – Adopt a Trail programs or trail cleanup programs sponsored by the trail landowner or lessee.)
I call your attention to the highlighted area in the endorsement. This provides incidental trail maintenance and upkeep coverage as a volunteer activity. We do not and cannot provide coverage for construction operations under a “Sports” insurance program.
As we mentioned in our renewal packet coverage may be available on an individual basis and that you should contact our office if a quote is requested. We currently are working with several companies that have agreed to look at individual submissions for the construction exposure. This is required as the level and types of construction vary significantly from club to club.
For over fifteen years our agency has provided insurance and risk management services for the Mountain Bicycle community. We look forward to continuing to serve the insurance and risk management needs in the Silent Sports community.
If you have questions or concerns, please email or call me and we can discuss your particular situation or provide you with the appropriate application to get a quote for your unique needs.
Happy Trails!
Dan McKay
Certified Insurance Counselor
McKay Insurance Agency, Inc.
106 East Main Street
P. O. Box 151
Knoxville, Iowa 50138-0151
641-842-2135 or 800-942-0283
FAX 641-828-2013
www.mckayinsagency.com
Philadephia Insurance has published a loss control report on how to stem transmission of the swine flu. We hope this is helpful to our bicycle clients who are bringing in participants for tours. You can get the document here: http://www.phly.com/ebrochure/LossControl/LC_SwineFlu.html
Find me on twitter! Username is mcandz.
The official results of our very unscientific poll tell us that more of you are seeing increases in your participant numbers, rather than decreases. Let us see your comments on why you think participation in bicycing is up!!
During RAGBRAI last year, the Iowa Department of Transportation fined a shuttle service over $2000 because they did not have the proper filings. Since the shuttle service drove passengers across the Iowa border into Nebraska, it was considered a Motor Carrier under federal law. This means the mandatory insurance requirements increase greatly.
These laws also apply to bicycle clubs that are renting a truck and carrying their members and/or their gear for a fee. They have not been enforced much in the past however, now that it has come to the attention of the federal authorities, we think there will be more attention paid to it on RAGBRAI in 2009 and the heightened enforcement may spread as word gets out to other state DOT’s.
Following on our previous posts about auto insurance for bicycle clubs and tours, I thought it would be good to share an article I saw in my Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa Newsletter this week. One more reason to make sure you have good auto coverage for your club or tour.
Rising Unemployment May Result In More Uninsured Drivers To protect against financial damage or injury from an uninsured (UI) or underinsured motorist (UIM), it is important to buy adequate amounts of UI/UIM coverage. A new study by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) indicates there is a strong correlation between the percentage of uninsured motorists and the unemployment rate. Based on current unemployment rate projections, the IRC forecasts that the percentage of uninsured motorists will likely rise from 13.8 percent in 2007 (latest data available) to 16.1 percent in 2010.
According to the most recent data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the average uninsured motorist coverage claim was $1,481 for property damage and $19,650 for bodily injury in 2005. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2008, that one in five of all pedestrian deaths were the result of a hit and run accident.
For more information see: http://www.ircweb.org/News/IRC_UM_012109.pdf
In the last post we talked about the issues with subcontractors from a workers compensation standpoint, but what about liability coverage?
The standard general liability policy provides coverage for your organization and its employees and by endorsement your volunteers. But what about independent contractors? Probably not, because by definition they are independent and should have their own liability coverage in force.
But what if they don’t? If I was the tour operator, my first question would be why not? My second question would be, do I really want them guiding my tour? And then I would start looking for someone else.
Have you ever hired someone to lead a tour for you? Were they an employee or a subcontractor? Reflect on that answer…. are you sure?
Many tour operators call their tour guides subcontractors for tax purposes and pay them with a 1099. But this doesn’t mean they are an independent contractor for insurance purposes, especially workers compensation. Each state varies a little bit so it is wise to check with an attorney in your local area but often you will have to prove that they are truly independent. For example, do they set their own schedule, provide their own equipment and do they bill you for services? Do they do work for other tour companies or just yours?
If it appears that they are an employee, you may be subject to workers compensation statues make you responsible for any medical and lost work time expense due to an on the job injury. If so, you may want to consider a workers compensation insurance policy or work with your contractors and an attorney to make sure they truly are independent.
