Originally Posted by
rdenney
It depends on the nature of your activities. If people meet in regular public places that do not require prior arrangement, then there's probably little liability. So, a group that gets together socially at a restaurant can usually hide behind the restaurant's liability insurance. But if a photography club meets at a school, the school administration will probably demand insurance indemnification.
The issue is when someone plans an event at a private or normally inaccessible public location (like a school or the meeting area of a community center) that is not their home. (At home their homeowner's insurance would provide liability protection). If you plan an event, and someone outside the club is injured at the event, or in any way because of the event, the person who planned the event may get sued. Even if the injured person doesn't want to sue, their insurance company that covered their medical expenses may sue for reimbursement outside their control. Even if the suit is without merit, the cost of defending against it will often be more than the person can afford.
Protection from individual liability is one of the main reasons clubs that hold such events incorporate, and one of the main reasons they buy insurance. Every community band I've been in, for example, was incorporated and carried insurance. In part, the insurance was required to hold public performances in public spaces like schools. And in part, it was to protect the officers from personal liability. The cost of one such group that performs in public half a dozen times a year is several hundred dollars to provide the required $2M in liability coverage.
It's all about risk, and risk is about exposure and consequences. If the exposure is low enough, even severe consequences might be so unlikely that the risk is supportable.
Rick "past and present officer of several simiilar organizations" Denney
Bookmarks