AKC Webinars Presents Club Insurance 2025

AKC Webinars hosts Diane Lesher, President of Equisure Inc. Insurance for a webinar presentation on the topic of insurance. Diane will discuss the importance of insurance, the responsibilities clubs have regarding coverage, and actions clubs can take to protect themselves. Register here.

The Club Insurance 2025 webinar is on Wednesday, June 18th from 6pm to 7pm Eastern Time.

Would a claim against your club be covered by insurance? Have you thought about this question? If your club didn’t have insurance coverage for the claim, how would the club defend the claim andpay any settlement or judgment? Has a member of the Board of Directors discussed your club’sinsurance coverage with the club’s broker/agent?

These are questions that all clubs should be asking and addressing with their insurance broker/agent. Your insurance broker/agent is the person who will assist the club in making sure the club’s insurance needs are met. What do you need to tell the insurance broker/agent? You should tell the insurance broker/agent about all the club’s activities. This includes advising the insurance broker/agent about the competitions the club offers be they conformation dog shows, agility trials, field trials, and the like. Remember each event type carries different risks, such as field trials which, by definition, are in a field likely with uneven terrain. Other club activities can include, but are not limited to, offering training classes, club meetings, club dinners or other such gatherings, fundraising activities, operating a website and/or managing social media accounts, dog rescue, issuing awards, using volunteers, club members transporting judges, club disciplinary matters, activities required by AKC such as Event Committee disciplinary hearings, and the like. In addition, you should advise the insurance broker/agent about any affiliated organizations of the club. The club’s discussion with the insurance broker/agent is key to being sure the club is purchasing the appropriate insurance coverage to meet the club’s needs. It is the club’s obligation to inform and keep the insurance broker/agent informed of the club’s activities and any new activities that the club offers.

Remember, if the club is not insured, a potential claim will need to be defended and any settlement or judgment would need to be paid out of the club’s assets. Would your club be financially prepared in a such a situation? What would happen if your club did not have the assets to handle a claim?

What insurance should the club consider? Again, a discussion with your insurance broker/agent detailing all the club’s activities is paramount. If you do not provide complete and accurate information to your insurance broker/agent, they will not know what type of coverage to discuss and offer you.

There are a variety of insurance policies that a club should consider including, but not limited to, General Liability, Accident and Medical, Workers Compensation, Directors & Officers, Crime, Property, Cyber, Media Errors and Omissions and Auto. What do these policies cover? This article will discuss the generalities of what the policies cover but be aware that an insurance policy is a contract between the club and the insurance carrier, and what is covered is what the policy specifies is covered. Not all insurance policies are the same, so if you are only shopping by price you may want to dig deeper. Get the details and do a side-by-side comparison. The policy must be read in its entirety, and questions should be addressed to the broker if it is at all unclear to you. The policies will address who is covered, what is covered, what is excluded, definitions of words used in the policy, the limits of the policy, and the retention or deductible. You should be aware that what may be covered under the policy may be modified by an endorsement or exclusion. Endorsements or exclusions are typically located at the end of the policy.

General Liability insurance typically covers bodily injury and property damage. These will be defined terms in the policy. You should not assume that how you define bodily injury or property damage is how the policy defines those words. Who is typically insured under such a policy? Club members and Directors and Officers. The club will want to be sure that volunteers are covered if the club uses volunteers in any capacity. Again, the policy will state who is covered and only those stated in the policy will be covered. A General Liability policy will typically cover defense costs. This means that the insurance carrier will pay the costs the club incurs in defending the claim. You should be aware that the insurance policy will likely contain a provision that allows the insurance carrier to appoint counsel to defend the claim. If the club wants to be able to choose its own counsel, that needs to be included in the policy and the request should start with a discussion with your insurance broker/agent. Some insurance policies have a deductible or retention. Deductible or retention means that amounts incurred in defending or paying claims under those amounts are solely the responsibility of the club. Business Interruption coverage can be added to the club’s
General Liability policy. Business Interruption coverage covers claims related to business income lost due to a direct physical loss or damage to property.

Accident and Excess Medical coverage provides payments for deductibles or co-insurance payments so that the injured participant or volunteer incurs less out of pocket expenses. This is not meant to replace existing medical coverage. Typically, club members, volunteers, and judges are covered. Read the policy carefully to be sure.

If the club has employees or its other insurance policies do not cover volunteers, the club should consider and may be required by state law to have Workers Compensation coverage. A Workers Compensation policy typically covers injuries to employees and volunteers.

Directors and Officers coverage are policies to typically cover directors, officers, trustees, employees, committee members, and volunteers. The policy will typically cover breaches of a duty, neglect, errors and omission, and misstatements or misleading statements. This is the policy that will typically respond to claims involving the disciplinary process either with respect to the club’s own disciplinary process or those mandated by AKC.

A Crime Policy typically covers losses sustained by the club resulting from the theft or forgery committed by a covered individual. Again, the policy’s language controls, and a covered individual can include, employees, volunteers, executives or a fiduciary. The club should be sure that the policy covers the treasurer or other club official that has control of the club’s assets.

A Property policy to cover club owned property which may include the club’s real property or business personal property. The club should describe to its insurance broker/agent all of the property the club owns to be sure that the appropriate insurance coverage is obtained.

A Cyber Liability policy will typically cover lost business revenue and data recovery costs due to a breach or extortion threat and privacy breach. The club should discuss with its insurance broker/agent the club’s computer systems including websites, social media accounts and what information is collected by the club through those systems and sites related to the club’s activities.

A Media Errors and Omissions policy typically covers claims related to scheduled media activities of the club. The club would likely need to provide a list of media activities it engages in, such as its website and social media accounts.

Does your club own any vehicles? Do your club members use their personal vehicles for club business? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, your club should consider auto insurance coverage. If the club does not own a vehicle but has club members use their own vehicles for club business, the type of insurance to discuss with the club’s insurance broker/agent is Hired & Non-Owned Auto insurance. This type of insurance typically covers bodily injury and property damage caused by an employee of an entity while using a personal or rental vehicle. The club should make certain that the policy would cover volunteers driving their personal vehicle.

AKC strongly encourages clubs to have the following insurance and limits: 1) General Commercial Liability Coverage not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate; 2)Directors & Officers Coverage in the minimum amounts of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate; 3) Workers Compensation Coverage in statutory amounts and for volunteers, if volunteers are not covered under another policy, with $500,000 Employers Liability coverage; 4) Automobile Liability Coverage for owned, non-owned and hired vehicles not less than $1,000,000; AND 5) Crime Policy in an amount to cover the assets of the club.

You should be aware of the following general insurance issues and terminology when evaluating the club’s insurance options and policies. Are the policies claims made or occurrence policies? Claims made policies cover claims made during the term of the policy, regardless of when the claim event occurred. Occurrence policies cover losses that happen during the term of the policy, regardless of when made. Endorsement/Exclusions alter the general terms of the insurance policy.
Insured versus insured exclusions are typically included in all insurance policies and are an anti-fraud protection for the insurance carrier. This exclusion means if both parties are covered under an insurance policy, the insurer will not pay claims or defend claims asserted by one insured against another insured. An example would be one insured’s dog biting another insured’s dog or the other insured. A clause in the insurance policy that it is excess over other collectible insurance means that all other insurance coverage will need to be exhausted prior to the policy responding. A clause involving extended reporting means that claims can be made either going back in time or forward in time based on the wording of the policy. This clause can assist clubs in acquiring coverage for which it was not previously insured in order to cover that gap in the club’s coverage prior to a claim being made.

All insurance companies will require that the club submits an application for each type of insurance coverage. Care must be exercised in completing each application. The applications will typically become part of the insurance policy and the club will be held to those responses. The applications will contain language about the representations made and the consequences for inaccurate responses.

Clubs must be honest and forthright when meeting with their insurance broker/agent. Clubs must also be thorough in the review of all insurance policies.

This article contains information statements regarding insurance coverage and is for general discussion purposes only. Insurance coverage is subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions, limitations, and other provisions of the applicable policy, as well as any applicable law, regulation, underwriting requirements, rules, or plans. The information provided herein does not constitute coverage opinions or legal advice, and should not be relied upon for any reason.

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Posted by Liz on Jun 11 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.