Event Coverage Liability for Car Show Incidents?

Looking for info from people who run events. When a Non profit puts on a car show is there any liability for one participant damaging another? Parking incident, Burnouts leaving show etc.? If so, is there insurance for that? I am looking to step into an organizer role for a group I belong to and the question came up. Thanks

 

The answer is YES. Read this:
Why You Want to Consider Special Event Insurance for Your Car Show (mfeinsurance.com)
When our club hosted car shows we always had insurance coverage covering anything including a speaker falling on a
spectator to a host of other possibilities. Don't put on a how without it.

 

If they are free gatherings in a parking lot it would be a tough call. Who is really responsible? If it’s a shopping center that enjoys the business it could be a problem; normally it’s the type of gathering I attend and never gave it much thought. I have a pretty high personal insurance on liability for my vehicle and personal coverage.
Free/Open spectators always are a concern so I’m extra careful when leaving or arriving. I’m assuming the shows you pay to attend have liability insurance….I’m going to start asking..

 

If I remember correctly the national for groups like EFV8, MARC and MAFCA used to provide insurance for their chapters. Either at a good rate or free, I don't remember which. It might even be good to have insurance for your meetings.

Charlie Stephens

 

Whoever is the organizer is liable by law normally in regard to injury or negligence.

Each state is different though. parking lot hangouts that are NOT promoted by club or individual are normally exempt.

Side note:::: Alot of tracks, events have people sign a insurance wavier to cut out the BS.

Event insurance policies are not terribly expensive, it's an added coverage to save your company or family or both from civil suits etc.

 

When our club hosted the Spring Water Festival we took out a policy, it came in handy when a participants child broke his arm, kept the club from being sued. HRP

 

I used to be the President of a car club that put on an annual indoor spring car show. The venue owner (city) required that we had a few million dollars of liability insurance for the show weekend. It was never terribly expensive, only covered a few days, and I don't remember ever having to file a claim.

 

Likewise with our club, we put on a show in a city park every year, we have to give the city proof of liability insurance to use the park.

 

Like Jim said, you really need proof that you have adequate insurance, it protects the club and individual members if someone is injured or property damage. HRP

 

^^^^ This. The club purchases a policy which can be either an 'event only' policy or for a bit more you can get full year coverage for all club activities. Our policy is about $350 per year for full coverage, it's only $50 less for an event only policy. Where you are will affect the price. These policies as a general rule WON'T shield a member from any individual negligence or stupidity THEY may commit, only the 'organization'. They will cover you in any issues between participants. You do need to 'police' your event to the best of your abilities.

 

we had an incident where somone started a burnout in the gravel and tossed rocks and gravel everywhere. Who is liable for that? Especially if you don't get the plate on the guy.

 

I help do 2 different car shows a year for non profits. Both shows carry insurance, part of doing business.

 

As someone who brings these actions on the part of individuals who get injured, the answer is very complicated, and as other have said, State specific. However, some general principles are typically of universal application.

YES, you need insurance. There are simply too many things that can happen. You need to be protected.

The question of who is responsible if/when something occurs is not a question for us to decide, even though we may have a pretty good idea of who it is. Ultimately, that's for a jury to determine, and to apportion negligence as they see fit. It's for this reason that lawyers cast a broad shadow when pleading cases, EVERYONE gets sued, and then who and who isn't liable comes out in the litigation. As an attorney, if I don't plea an entity as a defendant thinking that they're probably not liable, and it turns out that they are, and the Statute of Limitations passes, guess who's responsible then? The lawyer, for legal malpractice. So I have an ethical obligation not only to my client, but to myself to cover my own ass, and be overly inclusive of who gets brought into a case. In a scenario where an individual is injured at a show or event, that show's promoters and organizers are definitely going to be defendants. If that happens, with insurance, the insurance company will step in on your behalf, provide a legal defense, and indemnify your organization up to the limits of the policy. Without insurance, even if your entity is not responsible at all, if they're brought into the action, you'll have to retain counsel on your dollar to defend the case. The cost to defend and win will be exponentially higher than simply buying the insurance.

Insurance "waivers" are persuasive, but not the be-all, end-all of avoiding liability. There are any number of reasons as to why a waiver would not be enforceable.

 

That’d be for your insurers to agree/argue. One of the advantages of having the insurance.

 

Just a guess, but if a NON-Profit organization puts an event on, how could they be out any money in a law suit ?
Don't a lot of "companies" list themselves as LLC's so there is nothing to gain in a lawsuit? Again, just speculation on my part.

 

I was pres. of a car club for a while , and the insurance cover for events usually only covers bodily injury. If some peanut walks blindly between 2 tents and trips over the guy ropes, trips and breaks their arm, they are covered. ( This happened at an event here), but if someone damages a car, the event insurance does not cover it. We leave that to the "participants" who catch the "offender" (once they can walk again)

 

Some local shows have started having the participants sign waivers. They covered your own behavior expectations, vehicle damage, and personal injury. Not sure if it would hold up in court.

 

Insurance is the only way to proceed, waivers might scare off a few but basically they’re not worth the paper they are printed on.

 

As I don't know their insurance situations I don't know the reason for the waivers or who drafted them.

 

Non-profit does NOT mean no money, and it does NOT mean no liability.
Here are the top 5.
https://www.nonprofitlists.com/blog/-5-biggest-non-profit-organizations-in-the-united-states
Do you really think The Salvation Army doesn't have insurance and lawyers?
https://revealnews.org/article/salvation-army-faces-lawsuit-over-labor-violations/

LLC does shield owners and individuals a lot, but as noted by 57joe, having a valid argument does not mean you won't end up in litigation. Do some searching on 'piercing the corporate veil'
EXAMPLE:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil

 

Blanket waivers are often like non-competition clauses, where it is used to offer a first level non legal out for a company or group VS an individual. Many do not stand legal scrutiny and none will shield the club from any and all lawsuits.
https://www.thimble.com/event-insurance/event-liability-waiver

 

Yes, on the big scale, non-profit means an organization that all the people running it are drawing big salaries,taking lavish trips, generally funneling money to things other than the needy people while supposedly making no money. While I won't mention any names, one organization purportedly pays the people soliciting money 90% of the donations and keeps only 10% for their charity.

On a small scale like a hot rod event on one weekend, if the proceeds are for charity....and thats where they end up...............and all the people are volunteers who don't own any part of the club..........who does someone sue?

Not disagreeing with your assessment of things in general, but if insurance is purchased and people know it, they are more likely to sue than if they have to ferret things out. There must be someway, because a lot of rod runs charge no entrance fees. But again, I'm just guessing.

 

You can also think of this the other way. If the people soliciting the money don't get "paid", they simply don't do it, and that means the charity gets nothing. Surely that is a worse outcome.

As for the insurance question, get the policy and cover your ass.
Wise words to live by: "Trust everyone........ but brand your cattle..."

 

As mentioned, the lawyer will blanket the area in the brief. Who?


A drunk driver hits and kills someone. The list will include the driver, the insurance company, the bartender who served the driver, the bar and owner and any other party that has anything that can be assessed. It's one of the sane reasons that police/governments have qualified immunity (as opposed to all the insane reasons), because they might have been across the street and caught the driver.

 

I go to a weekly cruise at a church, we donate $2 at the gate and the event pulls 300 + cars on a nice day. I guess the church's general insurance covers anyone there. There have been incidents on the street out front, accidents and injuries due to idiocy.

My model car club, we do an annual show and the venue needs to see proof of insurance before we set up. The club is affiliated with an IPMS chapter and we fall under the general umbrella. The insurance goes through them and is very reasonable.

Our monthly meetings are at a town hall, insurance is provided by the town. In 25 years, I cannot recall someone being injured.

 

Thanks everyone, we will definately look at the insurance. No there isn't a lok of money ot be had, but answering a lawsuit for something like a show car paint job could be devastating in legal costs even when you win. Clearly we will be posting "No Burnout" signs next year.

 

I think there's a tendency to assume that "Limited Liability" means "NO liability". It seems to me that any show organizer should expect to have to assume at least some liability for their actions. And should have the responsibility to carry insurance to cover their liability.

 

My firefighters union has our 501c3. And we carry a liability policy to cover our fundraiser and other activities. So I brought the union to Lloydfest for more than just corndogs if you know what I mean lol. Once at the HRR my canopy blew into the car next to me and damaged it, Hagerty paid for the damage. Anybody can sue, doesn't mean they'll win.

 

We had insurance every year for the Hunnert Car Pileup and Hunnert Car Heads Up. It was required by the venues. I think we also posted signs at the entrance saying something to the effect of you enter at your own legal risk and we are not responsible. Better safe than sorry. When I hosted the White Knuckle Scramble (vintage go kart & minibike track racing) the venue covered the insurance, but we had every participant sign waivers just in case. I'm not sure how much legal weight those signs and waivers carried, but at least it was something we could point to. Food vendors all had to be licensed and inspected by the county, too.

 

Same here, food vendors have to possess a handling license from the health department. And as far as a waiver goes, I've been told that in Kentucky you can't legally sign your rights away. I was asked at Lloydfest about the sign that said "no alcohol", but that's just to cover the track owners hind end, and gives him a reason to throw you out if you lack respect when you're drinking.