NYSSA has received word from the NYS Insurance Department that Northfield will cancel
all policies effective October 1, 2003. Refunds will be made to clubs on a pro-rata system. Please read
below before to see the progress being made albeit in baby steps. After reading below one
can read the insurance industry is interested in offering a master policy at least as their first choice.
With everyone's coverage ending at the same time this will give us the ability to offer
a policy that would have a common policy period for all clubs.
There is no doubt we have start making faster progress on insurance than what we
have done so far but in my opinion we are still ahead of last year's pace. The fact that clubs will have
refunds will give clubs an extra boost to start the season.
Remember we all need to work together to avoid a similar crisis as last year. We already
have the attention of Assembly staffers that our insurance is being canceled. One could say the ball is
now in their court to help us solve this issue. Let's turn this cancellation into something
positive for all snowmobilers in NY.
-Jim Jennings- President, NYSSA
Insurance Note to All Clubs
The Insurance meeting on June 19 with NYS Insurance Department, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historical
Preservation, NYSSA and representatives from the insurance industry was very positive.
All at the table agreed that a statewide master policy was the appropriate way to go. They are aware that
any decision to move forward on it will require approval of the NYSSA membership through the BOD.
The need was stressed for availability of groomer iability coverage and an individual
club aggregate. The policy for the whole state would not be terminated if any club reached its aggregate
limit. An insurance policy is a contract and at this level its terms and coverage's
are negotiable. The interested companies will receive the loss runs directly from the NYS Insurance Department
and use them to determine what the premium can be offered. They need to know what coverage's
we need, what deductible would be acceptable and what specific terms we need included in the policy. There
is no set standard for a trail liability policy so we have the opportunity to build one from
scratch to suit our needs.
This policy would only be available to NYSSA member clubs. It could also be paid
for directly from the trail fund eliminating the need for each club to secure and pay for its own individual policy. It would be paid for up front by all snowmobilers, not just the clubs, eliminate
a lot of paperwork and lower the cost of insurance for trails. Please talk with the insurance savvy people
in your clubs and forward any pertinent information regarding coverage you feel should
be included to me as soon as possible. I will be talking with the interested providers over the next few
weeks. Parks has agreed to provide interested carriers with statistics and trails program information.
The NYS insurance dept will provide available loss runs. If your clubs have not already
sent in their ins carriers for the past 5 years please do so immediately, policy numbers are not as important
as the name of the carrier and the club for each year. Please send this information
to Jim Jennings.
