Reshaping a Club in NYC (insurance dilemma)

[BrazoLoco]

Hi,

we are restarting (or reshaping) a polo club in NYC, and I was looking for input into how other clubs get organized.

Of particular interest to us is insurance.
Do other clubs get insurance? If yes, with whom? What does it cover? Is there something out there besides ACA and USACK?

Do other clubs open to the public regularly? If yes, is the public automatically insured. If so, PLEASE give me the info of your insurance company!

Also, we need new people to keep our program running, how do other clubs attract new people?

Thanks for the help,

Felix

[Patrick]

Originally posted by BrazoLoco
Of particular interest to us is insurance.
Do other clubs get insurance? If yes, with whom? What does it cover? Is there something out there besides ACA and USACK?
Felix, our club is fortunately affiliated with UCLA and we are covered by their insurance when conducting activities on campus. We have run events off campus through both the ACA and USACK for our insurance needs.

Do other clubs open to the public regularly? If yes, is the public automatically insured.
Yes, our club is open. For on campus activities yes. For off campus non-ACA or non-USACK members must fill out a waiver form and pay a $5 event fee.

Also, we need new people to keep our program running, how do other clubs attract new people?

We struggle with the same thing and we have 35,000 students and 20,000 faculty/staff to draw from.

[Albert]

Originally posted by BrazoLoco

Of particular interest to us is insurance.
Do other clubs get insurance? If yes, with whom? What does it cover? Is there something out there besides ACA and USACK?

Do other clubs open to the public regularly? If yes, is the public automatically insured. If so, PLEASE give me the info of your insurance company!
Felix

Felix,

Here in San Francisco, we just waded thru these issues in starting up a separate advanced session in addition to our novice nights At a different pool we just went thru this.

USACK...u suck! They won't do weekly events. They are good for tournies and such but not practices. ACA is ok but with both you are looking to have as many members signed up with ACA/USACK which is difficult with beginners or very infrequent attendees.

You can easily spend more time dealing with insurance than you do on the water at the venue. This was the case for me for many months while setting it up. Insurance certs are a big pain and learning experience for me.

USUCK charges $15/event. We got around this by calling our events "Practices for US Nationals", etc. But still a huge pain.

Best, what I did, was to get a local kayak company to umbrella us under their policy (Yeah CCK!!!). Now (theoretically) I only have to deal with the paperwork once a year and the cost is cheaper too!

Of course this is for pools that require it. If you want to just practice on public water, we don't deal with insurance.


albert
#12
Richmond Plungers & Golden Gate Breakers

[BrazoLoco]

Thanks. I think we will go with ACA.
We'll have to force people to get ACA membership if they come more than twice a year. It looks like the best option we have.
I will also look into obtaining insurance under the umbrella of a kayak company. Until now, we belonged to a bigger kayaking club and did not have to deal with this.

Thanks for the hint on the "Practices for US Nationals". It's a good idea.

Felix

[JW Lester]

Yes. It would be a great idea if you sent a team to Texas this year for Nationals!!! :thumbup: :welcome:

[BrazoLoco]

Originally posted by Albert

Best, what I did, was to get a local kayak company to umbrella us under their policy (Yeah CCK!!!). Now (theoretically) I only have to deal with the paperwork once a year and the cost is cheaper too!


Hey Albert,

did you join the policy of CCK as a club or you had to name every individual player that went to the pool? Were you then open to the public, to people that had not played before ? And were such new people covered by your (CCK) insurance?
Did they have to sign waivers?

Thanks for your help again,

Felix

[Albert]

I listed the activity "Kayak Polo"

I don't understand it all, but the insurance, kayak company and pool all accepted the $1 million policy.

I'm not asking any questions or pointing anything out it took a lot to get here.

albert

[BrazoLoco]

Originally posted by Albert
...we just waded thru these issues in starting up a separate advanced session in addition to our novice nights At a different pool we just went thru this...

I was just wondering if, when you joined the policy under the umbrella of CCK, you still had the novice nights, and if, when you got that insurance, you had to list every member of your club in the insurance policy of CCK.

If I understand what you are saying, you just listed the activity into the policy (kayak polo) and you did not have to list the participants? Is this correct ? Every one had to sign a waiver though, right?
I am sorry for so many questions. It's a pain to deal with this. :confused:

Thanks,

Felix

[Albert]

Originally posted by BrazoLoco
If I understand what you are saying, you just listed the activity into the policy (kayak polo) and you did not have to list the participants? Is this correct ? Every one had to sign a waiver though, right?
I am sorry for so many questions. It's a pain to deal with this. :confused:


This is correct. You can message me direct for more info

albert

[Larry]

I am the administrator for the United States Canoe Association's (USCA) insurance program. I have authorization to explore insuring kayak/canoe polo if you are interested. If so, you may contact me at LLiquori@jacka-liquori.com, or call me at (631) 269-9696. We might be able to help you out of your dilemna.

BTW, the USCA does not require that all participants become USCA members, only that the sponsoring organization take out a club membership ($30).

Larry