Cheer Gym vs. Competition Cheer Squad Insurance

Source: sadlersports.com - Cheer Gym vs. Competition Cheer Squad Insurance
Author: John M. Sadler

What’s the difference?

Cheerleading is no longer simply a group of girls jumping and yelling along the sidelines of a ball game. It’s a performance sport that has exploded with nationally televised cheer competitions and even big screen movies about cheerleading. This expansion has led to competition cheer squads that go head-to-head for recreation and cheer gyms that are in the businesses of teaching cheerleading and building cheerleading groups for major competitions.

A point of confusion that we encounter when reviewing cheer insurance applications is whether the group is a competition cheer squad or a cheer gym. It is vitally important that the correct insurance coverage is written for the organization and their specific exposures.

Making the determination

Six questions that we always have to ask are:

1. Are membership dues paid monthly, quarterly, once per season, etc.?


2. Is the organization’s facility owned, a long term lease, private, etc.?


3. Is the organization cheering for one team or a competition squad?


4. How are the coaches compensated?


5. Is the organization a 501c3 non-profit?


6. Does a board of directors oversee and run the organization?

We understand that not all applicants fall clearly into a competition squad or cheer gym category, but these questions allow us to make an educated assessment of the needs of the organization and provide the correct cheer insurance coverages.

A cheer squad typically pays fees once per season, uses school/local facilities, cheers as a squad for sporting teams, and is coached by volunteers. A cheer gym usually pays monthly dues, owns or has a long-term lease for a facility, cheers strictly in competitions and pays coaches a salary.

The factors few people take into consideration

There is a difference in premium cheer squad and cheer gym insurance premiums for good reason. The typical cheer squad is exposed to participant and coach injuries. Coverage is provided for the cheer squad itself as well as for the volunteers. Cheer gyms have a much greater risk of exposure than a cheer squad. The following points are taken into account when determining exposures of cheer gyms:

• The operation or long-term use of a facility creates a property exposure for anyone that comes onto the property and sustains a premises-related injury.


• Some cheer gyms provide extra services, such as private lessons, birthday parties, after school programs and/or soft play areas.


• Being run as a business means the coaches of cheer gyms are considered experts in the sport of cheerleading. This increases the standard of care owed to the participants and the bodily injury liability exposure.


• A professional liability exposure may result if the participant of a cheer gym sues over not being offered a college scholarship, or other expected benefits due to improper coaching.

Being under insured is just as risky as being uninsured. The cheer gym owner/trainer can lose personal assets, future earnings and even their business in the event a lawsuit arises and the correct coverage isn’t in force. No cheer gym owner should take the risk of losing everything in the event of a devastating injury resulting in lawsuit in order to save a few dollars on premium.

Please visit our website for more information on Cheer School & Cheer Gym Insurance and Cheer Squad Insurance.

 

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/cheer-gym-insurance-vs-competition-cheer-squad-insurance/

The Gamble of Being Underinsured

Source: sadlersports.com - The Gamble of Being Underinsured
Author: John M. Sadler

The risks can be catastrophic

Being underinsured is just as big a mistake as being uninsured. It’s no secret that insurance is one of those necessary purchases that buyers resent. But it’s also no secret that purchasing the correct coverage has protected countless people and organizations from potentially catastrophic financial circumstances.

Sports organizations are often run by volunteers who aren’t aware of the potential risks to which their league and players are exposed. This often results in lack of coverage – for all the wrong reasons. Thinking ahead is your insurance agent’s job. He or she has seen it all and knows anything can happen to anyone at any time.

What’s behind the lack of insurance?

Many sports administrators mistakenly believe that they don’t need to buy Accident and General Liability insurance to cover their sports programs for various reasons. After more than 25 years in the sports insurance industry, I’ve heard every excuse in the world for such decisions. Here are the top four:

• “We’ve never experienced a serious injury or lawsuit.”  The fact is that sports lawsuits tend to be infrequent but have a high potential for severity in terms of potential damages owed. Some sports organizations may go over five years without a serious incident, but it’s just a matter of time.

•  “Our waiver/release forms will prevent lawsuits.” The use of a well-drafted waiver/release form is a great tool under some circumstances. However, it won’t prevent a lawsuit from being filed. Even if the waiver/release does result in the lawsuit eventually being dismissed, it may still cost $10,000 to $20,000 in legal defense fees to get to that point.

•  “Volunteer immunity statutes will prevent lawsuits.” State and federal volunteer immunity statutes are a positive step in the right direction. However, they typically have too many loopholes and exceptions that limit their effectiveness. For example, most immunity statutes exempt protection in the event of grossly negligent behavior, willful or wanton conduct, or the reckless disregard for the safety of others. Most lawsuits make these allegations and the judge has to sort out if they have any merit. All this takes time, and the more time it takes to sort this out, the greater the legal fees. In addition, these statutes don’t protect paid staff and the sports organization as an entity itself.

•  “Our employees/volunteers/administrators provide their own liability policies.” Many sports organizations will leave it up to the individual volunteers or administrators to protect themselves through Homeowner’s Liability, Personal Umbrella, or Coach Certification Liability policies. This can be a dangerous strategy for many reasons. Homeowner’s Liability and Personal Umbrella policies may include an exclusion for lawsuits arising out of activities of the insured person as a sports volunteer. Furthermore, they won’t protect against the non-bodily injury or non-property damage lawsuits that a Directors & Officers policy may protect against such as discrimination, wrongful termination, failure to follow own rules or bylaws, etc.

The insurance policies sports organizations need

Below is a list of the most important insurance policies that most community-based sports organizations such as teams, leagues, and municipal recreation departments should carry.

• Accident insurance pays medical bills on behalf of injured participants.

• General Liability responds to lawsuits arising from bodily injury, property damage, and personal/advertising injury.

• Directors & Officers Liability (or Trustees Errors & Omissions for municipal recreation departments) responds to certain lawsuits not covered by General Liability, such as discrimination, wrongful suspension or termination, failure to follow your own rules/bylaws, and violation of rights of others under state, federal, or constitutional law.

• Property/Equipment insurance covers buildings, contents and equipment against loss due to fire, vandalism, theft, etc.

• Crime insurance covers employee or volunteer embezzlement of funds or theft of property; forgery or alteration of checks by outsiders, and theft of money and securities by outsiders.

• Workers’ Compensation may be required by state law for organizations with three or more employees. It pays benefits to injured workers for on-the-job injuries including medical bills, lost wages, disability lump sums, disfigurement lump sums, and death benefits.

• Business Auto insurance covers liability and physical damage to owned, non-owned, and hired autos.

There are other types of policies that some organizations may require. For much more detailed information on this topic, please see 7 Critical Mistakes to Avoid When Buying Sports Insurance.

For assistance in determining which policies your organization needs, to have your questions answered, or to receive a quote, please call us at (800) 622-7370.

 

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/excuses-why-sports-organizations-dont-buy-insurance/

Frivolous Lawsuits in Sports

Source: sadlersports.com - Frivolous Lawsuits in Sports
Author: John M. Sadler

It could happen to you

Frivolous lawsuits take place all the time and the world of sports is by no means immune.  We get calls from people who want information on insurance because they are required to have it, not because they want it. Wear hear these comments all the time:

• “We’ve never had a claim.”


• “It wouldn’t happen to us, everyone likes our league.”


• “We make everyone provide their own insurance, so we’re not responsible.”

Wow! Simply WOW!  These days, it’s no longer a question of if you’ll get sued, it’s WHEN you’ll get sued.   And as often as not, it’s not what you did or didn’t do. It’s what someone perceives that you did or didn’t do that that can land you or your organization at the defendant’s table in a courtroom.   If you are involved in any capacity, whether as a coach, administrator, player, or volunteer, there is no other option than to make sure that your organization has coverage to pay in case you need the defense.

Below are just a few examples of  lawsuits that will make you make you say, “Hmm?”

• Rodney Carroll, coach of the 16 & under Brunswick (Ohio) Cobras baseball team, was sued for $2000 by the father of his catcher after a 0-15 season in 1999. The grounds? Crummy coaching

• Jason Abbitt sued the Vallejo (California) Babe Ruth Baseball League for 80 percent of his signup fee in 2002 because he only played in 20 percent of the games.  He sought $65, or $65 for every hit he had that season.

And these two stories were featured in Liable to Laugh 2004 (American Specialty Companies):

The parents of players on opposing teams became involved in a fistfight during a youth soccer game. The loser of the fight (who also was the aggressor) filed suit against his opponent and the soccer league because of his moderately severe injuries.  He alleged that the soccer league was negligent because it failed to control his behavior when they realized, or should have realized, that he was out of control. The soccer league, by the way, was for 5- and 6-year-old girls.

A child was playing in the outfield in a youth baseball league when he missed a fly ball that struck him in the face, causing facial fractures.  The parents sued the league and the coach, claiming that they knew or should have known that the claimant had sight problems and, therefore, should not have been allowed to play in the outfield.

And then there are the crazy claims that never make it to the court room, such as the woman who tried to file a claim because, as she was driving by a youth baseball field,  a baseball flew over the fence and through her back window hitting her bird cage  and releasing her prized pet.

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/frivilous-lawsuits-in-sportscould-it-happen-to-you-2/

Intentional Under Reporting of Sports Teams Insurance

Source: sadlersports.com - Intentional Under Reporting of Sports Teams Insurance
Author: John M. Sadler

 It’s not just fudging the numbers, its fraud.

The risk manager of a large municipal rec department called me recently. He had a league’s certificate of insurance in his hands that was issued by us. He was concerned that the league using his fields had over 30 teams, but our certificate indicated that coverage was only purchased for five. He asked if the coverage would be in force in the event of an injury. I had to break the news to him that coverage may not be in force – and that we had a big problem if his facts were correct.

Sports teams or leagues purchase Accident and General Liability insurance that is typically priced on a per team basis. The authorized representative of the sports organization completes an online or paper application and reports the number of teams in each age group. Accurate reporting, which is a fundamental part of the rate structure, depends on the “honor system.”  Intentional under reporting is flat out insurance fraud, and can result in claim denial, and definitely results in unwarranted rate increases.

The best way for the insurance carriers to scientifically predict the dollar amount of likely losses and needed rates is to study past loss history and assign expected losses per team. When the number of teams is intentionally under reported, the insurance carriers don’t collect the premium necessary to offset the risk of loss. When losses increase as a percentage of premiums collected, the insurance carriers must apply rate increases across the board.

Steps being taken to prevent under reporting

In an effort to maintain competitive sports insurance programs, the following steps are being taken to keep under reporting of teams in check:

1.  The number of teams reported on insurance applications will be cross referenced with association membership registrations.


2. The number of teams reported on the insurance application will be cross referenced with the team/league website.


3. At the time a claim is reported, claims adjusters may investigate the proper reporting of team figures before a claim is paid.


4. Sports insurance programs may require a roster of team names.

Please do your part to make sure that all of your teams are reported and accounted for when you apply for coverage. And remember, intentional under reporting of teams hurts not only those who depend on the claims being paid, but also drive up rates for everyone.

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/impacts-team-insurance-fraud/

2014 AYF/AYC Insurance Program Released

Source: sadlersports.com - 2014 AYF/AYC Insurance Program Released
Author: John M. Sadler

The gold standard that is the envy of the competition

The American Youth Football and American Youth Cheer endorsed insurance provider, Sadler Sports Insurance, has released the new 2014 insurance program for teams /associations /conferences.  Detailed 2014 coverage and rate information  is now available on our website Our online enrollment will become operational on May 15, 2014.

The 2014 offering is, once again, the gold standard in youth football and cheer insurance with an unbeatable combination of low rates, broad custom coverages, and best-in-industry automation that allows instant online enrollment and issuance of proof of coverage documents and certificates for field owners. But that’s not all: the program also provides best-in-industry risk management resources to prevent injuries before they become claims and groundbreaking studies on safety in youth football and cheer.

Apply, pay, and print proof of coverage documents and certificates in as little as 10 minutes

Our advanced automation is so simple and fast that you can complete the entire insurance purchase transaction and print all your documents in as little as 10 minutes. Many competitors require the completion of forms and days of waiting just to get a quote. Then, once the quote is bound, it can take several days to get the proof of coverage document sand certificates for field owners. Or, they could charge $100 extra for next day rush delivery.

After the purchase, we provide our clients access to our website so that they can self-issue certificates for new field owners 24/7. It’s so easy and our clients love this benefit.

Beware of competing programs that seem too good to be true

We often hear stories about a competitor offering cut-rate policies with a per team rate that is too low to be believable. Whenever this happens, something ends up being defective with the offering, which illustrates that if something is too good to be true, it usually is. We’ve seen cases where the quoted price did not include the cost of both the Accident and General Liability policies, where the organization never reported the transaction to the insurance carrier and no insurance was in force, and where a big corporation was going to foot the bill for the insurance (dream on), etc. After a little bit of digging, these schemes fall apart.

What is being done to combat the risk of concussion/brain injury and related litigation?

Sadler Sports Insurance has released a new Football/Cheer Concussion Awareness Risk Management Program (short form) that is strongly recommended for all teams/associations/conferences. This free program can be downloaded from our risk management page. This program consolidates accepted risk management practices into a three-page document for easy board adoption and implementation. An important element of this program is the new Tackle Sure coach training program, which is endorsed by AYF. The cost is $5 per coach and covers effective and safe tackling techniques on a step -by-step basis. It is important for all teams/association/conferences to thicken their shields by adopting and fully implementing a comprehensive concussion/brain injury risk management program. The future of our sports depends on this action and it’s the right thing to do to protect the kids.

What is being done to combat sex abuse/molestation post Sandusky?

We introduced a simple one-page Child Abuse/Molestation Protection Program – Administrators (short form) that, if adopted by your board and fully implemented, will greatly lessen the chances of an incident occurring within your program. The free program can be downloaded from from our risk management page.

Best-in-industry risk management resources (free)

We have an incredible line up of free risk management resources including articles, legal forms, risk management program templates in  Microsoft WORD format for your easy adoption and customization, and training videos for administrators and staff. This includes the newly created document entitled Sample AYF/AYC Advanced Plan, which is a comprehensive risk management program customized for AYF/AYC organizations and is available exclusively to our current clients in the password protected section of our risk management page.

Be a part of groundbreaking injury studies

If you purchase your insurance through the endorsed insurance program, all Accident claims automatically become part of the database where our custom software analyzes the information to produce meaningful injury reports. This has led to groundbreaking studies on  the comparison of injuries in age only vs age/weight categories and the incidence of concussions within AYF/AYC.

 

Read Full Story: http://www.sadlersports.com/blog/2014-ayfayc-insurance-program-released/