Frequenty Asked Questions

The following frequently asked questions are provided for the following groups:   Individual Association Members Coaches Director and Officers Liability Equine Association Clubs Individual Association Members     What is considered to be commercial use of a horse? Any equine activity from which you generate an income. This could include horses used on trail rides for the public, sleigh rides for the public, pack trips for the public and stallions used for breeding. Receiving shared expenses for the occasional transportation of someone’s horse is not considered commercial use. I lease out my horse for part of the year. I am paid for the expenses of keeping the horse plus a small extra monthly amount, how does the insurance program deal with this situations? If you receive any value in excess of your actual expenses, the policy will not respond. I own a horse that I let a friend ride. I don’t ask for and am not paid for this, it is simply a favour. Does this create any problems with the coverage? Yes and No. Individual members who allow a non-member to ride their horse are not covered. If your friend is also a member or earns their living in whole or in part from the equine business, then you have no problem. I sometimes trailer horses for friends who sometimes reimburse me with cash for fuel expenses or buy me supper, how does the insurance respond to this aspect of trailering and taking compensation? There is no problem in the case described, as this situation does not represent an activity for profit. What value is this coverage if I have home insurance with liability coverage extended to my horses? Your home insurance may be limited. Many companies restrict coverage to your premises and do not cover riding activities off premises or at shows. Most also charge an additional premium, usually $25 per horse. Membership includes $5,000,000. Liability on all your horses and with no premises restrictions. Are there any deductibles on the liability or transportation coverages? No, but all members should still be cautious when their horse is near other people or vehicles. Does the transportation coverage with my membership cover my horse if it dies during transportation? No. The coverage protects you for your responsibility if someone else’s horse is killed during transit. Who determines the value of a horse after an accident while trailering and how much will be paid? The actual amount paid is established by an insurance adjuster using all available information from you and from the equine industry at large concerning acceptable practices in establishing the value of a horse. ($5,000. per horse, and $10,000. per accident are the maximums paid under the transportation section) I am a member in good standing and compete out of province. Does this coverage follow me? Yes. If your principal residence is in Canada, this insurance is world wide coverage. I teach a friend to ride on my horse and receive no compensation. Is this commercial use of a horse? No. In this case you are covered if your friend is also a member. If not you must carry coach’s insurance. I board my horse at a friend’s place. If she is hurt while riding my horse, is she covered? Am I covered? Are both parties members? If so, the owner of the horse has coverage if the rider injured is a member or is an individual who earns their living in whole or in part from the equine industry and sues for bodily injury. I board my horse at a place near my home. Does my membership insurance cover me if the horse hurts someone at the barn or gets out on the road in the middle of the night causing a car accident? Yes, coverage applies to both situations. I board my horse. Does my membership insurance cover the owner or manager of the boarding facility? No. They must arrange their own coverage for this and the other liability exposures on their premises. Coaches To Top     Why do I need insurance if I use a waiver? Waivers (more commonly now referred to as Release and Acknowledgments) are a very good idea and if they are legally sound they can go a long way to reduce your loss in the event of a lawsuit. However many releases lack the legal strength to afford the protection for which they were intended. Also there are many incidents that might occur which fall outside the scope of your release. No matter how well your release has been written, you will still face the costs of a legal defense if you are sued. Insurance will protect you in situations where your release form is weak, where the accident falls outside the scope of the release and will also cover your legal costs. Use of a release form is strongly encouraged as a Risk Management measure. They contribute to the lower cost of insurance by avoiding and reducing losses. Visit the equine risk management section of our website at www.intercityinsurance.com Can I insure my assistant coaches under this policy? Yes. Student coaches, assistant coaches or people involved in a coach-mentoring program are all treated the same way by your policy. These people are automatically covered under your policy but are subject to certain requirements. They must be 16 years of age or older with a minimum of 3 years riding experience and must be operating under your direction. If they act alone or outside your direction during a coaching session, there is no coverage. Do I have to purchase extra coverage if I lease a facility year round? Yes. The coaches’ policy covers you during your coaching activities only. If you own or lease premises year round you will need to have your coverage extended. This will provide the extra insurance for the 365 days a year exposure that comes with owning or leasing a premises full time. Directors & Officers Liability To Top     I have been told that liability insurance for associations covers directors. Why then is Director’s & Officer’s coverage discussed so much and sold separately? What is this all about? Comprehensive General Liability policies respond to lawsuits which result from a bodily injury or a property damage in which it is felt the association bears some responsibility. Your policy covers this and also covers directors and others associated with hosting association activities for these types of claims. However there are other things for which a director or officer may be sued which have nothing to do with a bodily injury or a property damage. Typically these lawsuits are the result of a wrongful act by a director and are filed by another director, association member or a financial institution. Director’s and Officer’s policies are separate policies with specialized wordings to deal with these situations. What is a "wrongful act"? It is an actual or alleged negligent act, error, omission, misstatement, misleading statement, neglect or breach of duty by the Directors and Officers, individually or collectively, in the discharge of their legal duties solely in their capacity as Directors and Officers of the society. Why buy D&O Liability insurance? The purpose of a D&O liability insurance policy is to provide coverage for damages, judgments, costs and defense of legal actions, claims or proceedings. The coverage provides the following protection: Protection of personal assets, as well as spouse’s, The need for defense regardless of whether or not allegations are true Resources for defending the claim (liquid assets available...Who’s) Reduction of reliance on corporation: Bylaws contain indemnification provisions to protect the Directors & Officers. Despite these provisions, several circumstances exist where indemnification may not occur: (a) the society is financially impaired/insolvent (b) derivative actions. What are my legal responsibilities under the law? Under the law Directors & Officers must (1) act in good faith and in the best interest of the society (2) act with duty of care as a reasonably prudent person (3) perform duties in accordance with applicable statutes and your own charter. Under what statutes can a director or officer be liable under? The following are Federal and Provincial Statutes a Director or Officer can be liable under: Income Tax Act Employment Standards Act Bankruptcy Act Pension Benefits Act Competitions Act Unemployment Insurance Act Discrimination Act and more What are some examples of claims? Negligence of account procedures and mishandling of funds; Personal benefit by a Director; Jeopardizing tax-exempt status; Interest that should have been collected and distributed; Failure to adopt and implement appropriate safety and operational procedures at a facility causing the facility to be shut down by regulators. Our association is interested in Directors & Officers Liability insurance to protect our directors. This coverage is not part of the basic insurance program though and we are wondering about the need and the expense. The protection provided to directors under most Society Acts has weakened over the past few years as cases are tested in the courts. We are able to arrange Director’s & Officer’s liability insurance for your association. Often directors are reluctant to vote for the expense of buying this coverage for the board because they feel it may be considered somewhat selfish. The members of an association on the other hand should support this purchase and protect the people who freely offer their time to the running of association affairs. Equine Association Club Insurance To Top     What if we have someone who is a non-club member participates in our show? It is not a problem for non-club members to participate in your open shows. Will our club be denied insurance if it is found that not all of our participating members are provincial association members? It is a condition of this insurance that all your members who are active riding (or driving) members will also be provincial association members. This does not apply to social or honorary members who no longer ride (or drive) in club-associated activities. Our club is allowed to use municipal properties to hold events from time to time but we are asked to add the municipality to our insurance. Can we do this and does it cost extra? These groups are automatically added to your policy at no additional premium. The policy states that owners of private or public land are added as additional insureds with respect to losses arising out of the activities of a provincial association member club on those lands. I know that alcohol cannot be part of a fund raising event but what about our club Christmas party? Alcohol at a members banquet or awards night is not a problem provided you comply with all the required laws and do not use the sale of alcohol as part of a fund raiser. Clubs can conduct clinics using an instructor who is not CEF certified. How do you determine if the instructor’s competence or experience is sufficient to satisfy the insurance program requirements? The instructor used by clubs to conduct a clinic must meet the following criteria to enable the club to be covered for the clinic exposure. The instructor should have conducted similar clinics in the past or be recognized in equestrian circles for his or her expertise on the topic of the clinic. Generally clubs have some discretion in this area to assist them and it is recognized there would be little value of conducting a clinic using an instructor who had little to offer. Also the clinic setting is usually of short duration and in a controlled setting allowing for this discretionary benefit. It is important to note that the club insurance covers the club and not the outside instructor. The outside instructor or coach would be wise to arrange their own insurance. I have been told that liability insurance for clubs covers directors. Why then is Director’s & Officer’s coverage discussed so much and sold separately? What is this all about? Comprehensive General Liability policies respond to lawsuits which result from a bodily injury or a property damage in which it is felt the club bears some responsibility. Your policy covers this and also covers directors and others associated with hosting club activities for these types of claims. However there are other things for which a director or officer may be sued which have nothing to do with a bodily injury or a property damage. Typically these lawsuits are the result of a wrongful act by a director and are filed by another director, club member or a financial institution. Director’s and Officer’s policies are separate policies with specialized wordings to deal with these situations. Our club is interested in Directors & Officers Liability insurance to protect our directors. This coverage is not part of the basic insurance program though and we are wondering about the need and the expense. The protection provided to directors under the society act has weakened over the past few years as cases are tested in the courts. We are able to arrange Director’s & Officer’s liability insurance for your club. Often directors are reluctant to vote for the expense of buying this coverage for the board because they feel it may be considered somewhat selfish. The members of a club on the other hand should support this purchase and protect the people who freely offer their time to the running of club affairs.