An important benefit of being a region, chapter or member of AACA is that you are covered under the master policy for General Liability Insurance. Should a local club purchase this coverage separately the cost of the insurance would be significantly higher. As a chapter or region you simply contact the National Headquarters for a Certificate of Insurance (proof of insurance) which is requested by property owners or government entities where you are holding an event.

Under the AACA General Liability Coverage your region or chapter, and all club members individually and volunteers while involved with club activities, acting both on behalf of and at the direction of the club are covered for claims that may arise out of physical injury to the public or damage to the property owned by the public if the cause of the injury or damage is negligence on the part of the club.

Based on the fact that the national office and our insurance representatives at J. C. Taylor Agencies receive a fair amount of inquiries from members seeking insurance information or clarification this brief article is being included in this month’s Rummage Box to provide you with an overview of the nature of the insurances in place. You are welcome to contact either the national office or our club representative at J. C. Taylor Agencies (Al Callazzo, 1-800-272-6784, ext.348 ) to get answers to any question you may have that is not addressed here.

Your club coverage is automatic for club events and activities. Coverage applies at any premises used by the club for normal activities such as (but not limited to) meetings, static display shows (in malls, shopping centers and elsewhere), tours, picnics banquets and dances. If you are required to show evidence of insurance to a property owner or governing entity you should call the National Headquarters Office in Hershey, PA and request a Certificate of Insurance.

In addition to liability protection your club sponsored coverage provides you with Advertising Liability which applies to suits involving libel, slander, defamation and copyright infringement if they arise out of club advertising. There is also Personal Injury Liability that protects the club and individual club members for liabilities that arise out of libel, slander, false arrest and malicious prosecution. When the club signs a contractual agreement for the rental or lease of a premises, or assumes the liability of a third party in some other type of contract, the policy has Contractual Liability provisions in it to protect them for their indemnification of that third party. You also are provided with Product Liability coverage which applies to liabilities you may incur as a result of the sale by the club (not vendors) of goods or products such as food and clothing at club events.

Two of the coverages you have that we are most frequently queried on and that are frequently misunderstood are Host Liquor Liability and Non-Owned Automobile Liability. We will give each of these its own separate paragraph and try to be clear in our description of these coverages.

Host Liquor Law Liability will protect the club as long as the club cannot be deemed to be in the business of selling, serving or furnishing alcoholic beverages. The use of alcoholic beverages at club events is generally discouraged due to the fact that what constitutes “in the business of” is not defined in the policy but rather has been gradually defined over time by legal case law with very broad interpretation by the court system in determining liability. In order to avoid the potential of being in a situation where coverage would not apply we recommend that you simply avoid the risk by not having liquor at events. When liquor must be a part of an event we recommend that you hire a third party, such as a caterer, restaurant or hotel, to serve the liquor and that you obtain a Certificate of Insurance from that server to verify that they have full Liquor Law Liability coverage in force.

Non-Owned Automobile Liability is an excess coverage (not primary Automobile Liability coverage) that will protect the club when it is brought in to an automobile claim that arises out of a club member’s use of a vehicle not owned by the club and being used for club activities. Under such circumstances the first policy that would have to respond to the automobile liability claim would be the policy protecting the registered vehicle owner. Once the registered vehicle owner’s policy limits were exhausted, and if there was some liability on the part of the club, the Non-Owned Automobile Liability would apply. It is very important to note that this coverage never applies to the registered vehicle owner.

As far as the activities of your club are concerned you should know that coverage applies to your activities that are normal and usual for a car club. All club members must always remain cognizant of their responsibility to obtain and keep in force their own Automobile Liability coverage for their vehicles. In addition to the insurance aspects of this it is usually a requirement of local financial responsibility statutes that a vehicle owner has coverage in force in order to register that vehicle.

With everything said above we must also point out to you that this short article is not a coverage summary and it is not intended to replace the actual policies. All insurance contain terms, conditions and exclusions that can alter or preclude coverage under particular circumstances. Any time you have questions about coverage, limits or applicability of the AACA sponsored General Liability insurances you should feel free to contact either the national club office or our club representative at J. C. Taylor Agencies (Al Callazzo, 1-800-272-6784).

QUESTIONS?

For answers to specific questions about your club sponsored General Liability coverage you can contact:

Al Callazzo
J. C. Taylor Agencies
320 South 69th Street
Upper Darby, PA 19082
800-272-6784, Ext 348
Fax: 610-853-3823
Email: call@jctaylor.com
 

MORE INFORMATION COMING:

In future issues of the Rummage Box we will include a short “Insurance Question and Answer” feature that will highlight significant coverages, exclusions or considerations and which will be reflective of the questions we receive from you.