5A-5 BC lawsuit against CMA, Max Chess Academy

[Vladimir Drkulec]

From the point of view of the CFC, I just talked to one insurance company that I contacted and they can not offer insurance because we operate outside of Canada by sending teams to destinations around the world. They were a small company who only wants exposure in Canada.

We will look into Volunteer Canada but there is an expense involved in joining that organization.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

We should not be looking into details of individual cases whether each case will win or lose. We should look at the risk of any devastating financial damage to the organization and/or its directors and officers if we get sued and lost (or ruled by count to have shared responsibility). Then balance that risk, no matter how low, with the cost (insurance) to protect against the risk.

Thank you for getting quotes so that we have an idea of the cost. From my experience, joining Volunteer Canada then going with their group insurance (https://www.underourwing.bmsgroup.com/home.html) is one of the cheapest way to get insured.

For our small organization, we only purchased the Directors & Officers insurance, not the Commercial General Liability insurance. The purpose is to protect the volunteers - in rare cases the Directors & Officers could be held personally liable for decisions they made on behalf of the organization. We are a small organization and all of the organization's assets are just a very small amount of cash in the bank. Thus, we are not that concerned about the organization going bankrupt, we can always set up another organization and start from scratch. CFC and other chess federations would have different considerations.

Regards,
Michael

Actually it is not in rare cases that the directors are responsible. In every case where the assets of the corporation are insufficient, the directors are liable. In every case where the directors do not follow their fiduciary duty, they are responsible and liable. It is not a small thing to be a director. The duty of care is that of a prudent person.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

Some of the insurance companies do not like you if you have events which have more than 500 participants.

[Michael Lo]

From the point of view of the CFC, I just talked to one insurance company that I contacted and they can not offer insurance because we operate outside of Canada by sending teams to destinations around the world. They were a small company who only wants exposure in Canada.

We will look into Volunteer Canada but there is an expense involved in joining that organization.

We can try asking for quotes from the BMS Group for premiums with & without joining Volunteer Canada.

[Michael Lo]

Some of the insurance companies do not like you if you have events which have more than 500 participants.

They just limit the coverage, and the rest can be covered by event insurance. We purchase individual event insurance for every tournament we host.

[Vladimir Drkulec]

They just limit the coverage, and the rest can be covered by event insurance. We purchase individual event insurance for every tournament we host.

How much does that cost?

[Michael Lo]

A 3-day OTB tournament of 300 players cost about $200 with 5 million coverage (minimum required by most venue providers, adding them as additional insured).

Paul has a much cheaper source that I never use before, he can provide details.

Some venues already have annual event insurance, thus do not need additional event insurance. Most of the venues we use do require us to purchase event insurance.

[Paul Leblanc]

When we hold events in hotels they do not generally require that we be insured as their own insurance covers the normal types of accidents while on hotel property. That does not include liability insurance for organizers being sued for anything else. Recently we have been using a community recreation centre for rapid events. Their recommended insurance company that is used by other event holders is very inexpensive, something like $10 per day for a group of 40 players. But I suspect it is a case of "you get what you pay for".

[Paul Leblanc]

I am surprised that no one else seems to have liability insurance or any interest in this topic

[Olga Mushtaler]

Parks are considered Ontario public space and are under Municipal Liability Act. If something happens in the park, I can sue the government (i.e. twisted ankle because of a hole in the ground and no sign). Municipal liability also includes streets, highways, sidewalks, and public transportation. You can do the same for pot holes while driving - I think my friend got $500 from the government (for the tire damage because of pot hole).