Participant Liability Coverage

Are you a coach, a tour guide, do you run an athletic program, or does your organization have any activities that involve athletic participants?  If so, read on. There is a significant gap in your General Liability policy that could potentially be catastrophic.

A common coverage problem that the sports & recreation industry experiences is the existence of the Athletic or Sports Participant Exclusion in General Liability policies.  This exclusion is very common and can potentially seriously impact an insured if they are not aware of its existence on their policy, as it excludes lawsuits arising out of injuries to program participants.

Coaches, tour guides, instructors & sports teams usually carry a standard General Liability policy to protect themselves and satisfy contracts.  However, due to this dangerous exclusion, these standard policies do not cover the participants taking part in those activities. This is where Participant Liability coverage can fill in the gaps.

Who is covered under a Participant Liability Policy?  It varies slightly depending on the carrier, but typically all participants, staff & volunteers of the policyholder are covered while participating in supervised activities.  When your customer gets hurt during their guided tour, watersport lesson, sports instruction, or a team event, Participant Liability can defend you in case of a lawsuit and/or pay the medical claim, whereas a standard General Liability policy wouldn’t.

If you’re a coach, a tour guide, or run an athletic program, give one of our experienced brokers a call, and we can do a free diagnostic on your current policy to ensure you AND your participants are appropriately covered.