<VV> Insurance, Waivers, Lawyers and Officers (long)

[peter koehler]

First off, let me say that I am not an expert. I am not a 
lawyer. I am not an insurance agent. And thankfully I am 
no longer a club officer. At one time I was an officer and 
I aspired to that post because of the insurance vs. 
required membership debate.

There is a lot of discussion about the value of requiring 
local club members to also belong to the National 
organization here on VV. My first exposure to this issue 
was back in 1979 when I was made an "honorary member" of 
one of the local CORSA chapters that pre-dated the 
formation of the National: CCE. At that time I worked at 
the Chevrolet Chicago Zone Office and the club was 
"sponsored" by Chevrolet. That meant CCE could hold their 
meetings at the GM Training Center in Hinsdale, IL. I was 
supposed to go and "sponsor" the activity.

One thing lead to another and I became active in the club. 
The issue of requiring CORSA membership of all CCE members 
was not popular with CCE. So I ran for the CORSA BoD and 
got elected. Within a few years I was on the Executive 
Committee and I followed the insurance issue very closely. 
I found that our insurance carrier did not require 100% 
membership. Now this was back in the early 1980's so you 
would have to check the current policy. But I think you 
will find that there is still no 100% requirement from the 
insurance aspect.

Lets look at the waiver issue. I agree that at times a 
waiver will not protect as you may think it does. Can you 
get sued? One of my favorite sayings is, "There is a 
lawyer somewhere who take your case". And the officers 
would be named in the suit. And you might be required to 
defend yourself (read that: Pay for your own lawyer). A 
good defense against that would be to take out what is 
called a "Blanket Policy" to protect yourself from 
spurious lawsuits generated from your participation in the 
club. Is this the end-all cure-all? Heck no. You still 
might get sued.

Is 100% CORSA membership a good idea at this time? 
Probably. I still think it would be better to get members 
because they want to join - not because they have to join. 
But 100% still might be the best alternative now in 2009.

Just remember, it is not an insurance requirement. But it 
still could be a good idea. - Pete Koehler