USFA Club Insurance

[Recover]

My college fencing club has recently decided to become a USFA club for various reasons. I was reading through the enrollment form and was wondering if there was a way that I could get my hands on the insurance policy before sending in our info.

Also, I was curious as to whether or not the owner/principal officer assumes any kind of personal liability should anyone decide to sue the club.

Thanks!

[oiuyt]

Originally Posted by Recover

Also, I was curious as to whether or not the owner/principal officer assumes any kind of personal liability should anyone decide to sue the club.

Fencer A from a club gets a sword into his chest from Fencer B. Expect Fencer A's lawyers to name as defendants Fencer B, any coach(es) connected to the club, the owner of the building, the school in the case of a college club, the club itself, the USFA, possibly the FIE, the manufacturer of the blade, the manufacturer(s) of the jacket and plastron, the vendor(s) of the above, and anyone and everyone else s/he can think of, probably including a couple of John/Jane Doe's just in case the lawyer wasn't creative enough in the first place.

Whether or not any of the cases will SUCCEED is another thing. Meanwhile defending oneself is expensive and time consuming. And prohibitively expensive if one loses. Yea for the US court system! With the USFA insurance, the insurance company takes on the responsibility and costs of defending against the claim. This can be very useful to you as a coach/owner/operator of a club. If you have a "coach" membership in the USFA you get personal liability coverage for all fencing-related activities as an included benefit of your membership. If you are the owner of a club, but not a coach, separate personal liability coverage would be a good idea, as well as organizing the club in some limited liability form (incorporate, LLP, etc.). In collegiate settings the college/university likely also have coverage that might cover the people you're asking about. Not willing to trust that, I have carried liability coverage on myself (at my cost prior to it becoming an included benefit of a coach membership this season) anyway.

Standard disclaimers: I am not a lawyer, nor an expert on liability law. Please do you own due diligence into what you will require in your own personal situation and talk with a professional of your choosing before acting on any statements or advice given here.

-B

[Recover]

Thanks for the response; I was sort of figuring it was something along those lines. I think that the school covers personal liability for all of the students in the club. The only non-students are alumni that act as assistant coaches (plus our coach), most of whom aren't registered as coaches; they are the ones that I would imagine are at the most risk. Thanks again for your help.