Hello Paddlers
Just wanted to give you an update on the insurance investigation. I am still gathering information and starting to work on the overview email I intend to send you as well as next Thursday's Zoom presentation.
Zoom Meeting: Thursday, October 19th at 7pm
Zoom Details: (Same as our monthly meeting)
us06web.zoom.us/j/82042351004?pwd=WDR6b0tCWld4cGVTcHZxL08vd1FGZz09
There were two issues facing us. One, we were under the assumption that the ACA insurance did not cover Board of Directors and Officers (D&O). That has been determined to be false - primarily due to non-standard wording in the ACA insurance document. After going to the ACA's insurance provider, Sadler Sports and Recreation Insurance, we can say that yes, ACA Insurance does cover directors and officers. There is additional D&O insurance that can be purchased but that is primarily for larger organizations and we do not need it.
So, we do not need to purchase Director and Officer insurance. This issue can be laid to rest. No further discussion or action will be taken on this.
The next couple of emails and posts will concentrate on our search for the best liability insurance which is the second issue.
What started this whole discussion is that it is felt that the ACA requirements are too restrictive and costly. People have grumbled about it for years but it really came to head a couple years back.
But let's qualify what the problem is with ACA: it is the combination of the ACA insurance and their own organizational requirements. I don't think the insurance company required that ACA do away with the family insurance plan.
I don't know why this club became an ACA club in the beginning but it might have been because it was realized that we needed insurance to do what we wanted to do. ACA, by virtue of their size, has been able to offer very cheap insurance. Of course, again, it meant we had to follow their rules as well as whatever their insurance required.
It goes without saying that all insurance policies have restrictions. You can't light a fire in your living room and expect your home insurance to pay for the damages. Stormchasers can't expect their car insurance to pay for damage they get from driving into a tornado.
Likewise, whatever insurance we get will come with requirements, restrictions and paperwork. We will have to decide what we are willing to put up with for the price and we need to do it soon since coverage is January to January.
In the next couple days, I will send you a summary of what I've learned about the two liability insurance providers we are looking at: ACA's and Paddlesports Risk Management, LLC. This will give you the opportunity to look at the supporting documents if you so choose.
We will have a discussion at next Thursday's (10/19) Zoom meeting and unless there are some major issues that must be resolved, I will send out a survey/vote via email. Everyone can then choose what they can live with for the next year.
And please note: It's for the next one year. We can evaluate in six months and decide if it's working or we need to look again.
If you have strong feelings about what liability insurance we purchase and it's requirements, please attend the meeting. If you can't, after, after you get the explanatory email and background documents and still have questions, let me know.
Thank you
Eileen Lenkman
The Pres