[Board-2017] Insurance Review

[Roy Briscoe]

Things to think about:

Has PYC ever been sued?

And if so, have they ever gone over the insurance limit?


My opinion is the only ones who will make out with us increasing the limit is the insurance company and if someone does sue us they will now get $5M as opposed to $3M. I think they would go after the lowest hanging fruit which is the insurance limit, going after the board members and trying to get a settlement out of them would be a lot of work and in my case a useless effort on their part. $7K a year is a lot of money to spend and not get any return on it. In 10 years we would have spent $70K and have nothing to show for it but a debit record in quickbooks. I don't think it is worth it, and as you can surmise, I pay insurance companies as little as possible.


Remember insurance is gambling, you are gambling you are going to lose, that is why you pay premiums, and the insurance company is gambling they are going to win and the odds are in favor of the house, the insurance company.


Roy


Sent from Outlook<http://aka.ms/weboutlook>


________________________________
From: Board <board-bounces at portsmouthyc.org> on behalf of dswajda at comcast.net <dswajda at comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2017 5:46 PM
To: Board
Subject: Re: [Board-2017] Insurance Review

Nancy,
Your are correct in your assessment. The firm will be putting the dollar amount on their "time".

I just want to remind the board that we did discuss just increasing the the coverage. We then conversed as to how much is or would be enough if we were sued. I believe I did inform the board that I discuss this with Capt. Nadeau and he said if the cost for additional coverage was reasonable then increase the amount. I followed the board's request to look into the cost of reviewing our coverage and have them make an assessment and recommendations. The current cost for $3,000,000 is $5,130.00 and if increased to $5,000,000 it would be $7,130.00, a $2,000 increase. Please advise which course of action the board wants to take -

David Wajda
Commodore

________________________________
From: "Nancy Gulley" <nancgulley at gmail.com>
To: "Board of Directors" <board at portsmouthyc.org>, info at blueberrybayfarm.com
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 9:03:00 PM
Subject: Re: [Board-2017] Insurance Review

Quick question... The $1500 is a retainer.  As I read your info Dave - I understand that once they see the. info they will then inform us how much more It could cost.  Is this correct?  I think I agree with Ron.  Perhaps just increasing the board and clubs coverage to $5 million would work.
Nanc

On Wed, Mar 29, 2017 at 4:39 PM Ron Laurence - Blueberry Bay Farm <info at blueberrybayfarm.com<mailto:info at blueberrybayfarm.com>> wrote:

Dave:

I very much appreciate your pursuing and efforts so far in this matter, that I brought up. However, while I am not an insurance expert, or an attorney, I’m not sure that a review of our liability insurance by an attorney is money well spent. According to paperwork from Joe Cunningham,  I’m confident that the club and its officers and directors are protected on liability claims up to $3million.  What I’m deeply worried about is a claim, and later an award by a judge or jury, exceeding $3M,  in a case where particularly a child, but even an adult for that matter, lost his/her life, because ambulance-chasing personal liability lawyers for the plaintiff convinced them that the club was negligent.  Remember, a yacht club, and its officers and directors are perceived to be wealthy and this would no doubt enter into a judge’s decision into making an award.  I believe, in the case of whomever of the officers and directors have net worth over $3M, that it’s a simple fact that these individuals are not adequately protected and that their assets are at risk.  While most likely no one wants to reveal their personal  wealth, perhaps if we simply polled the board to find out if increasing our coverage to say $5M or some other number is adequate, and with a unanimous vote, then ask Joe what the cost would be.  [and by the way, I have a suggestion as to how we could pay for the increase]. I think the club has an obligation to both its current and future officers and directors that they are protected in the case of such an unlikely event.


Ron Laurence

Blueberry Bay Farm

38 Depot Road

Stratham, NH 03885

603-580-1612

www.blueberrybayfarm.com<http://www.blueberrybayfarm.com>



From: Board [mailto:board-bounces at portsmouthyc.org<mailto:board-bounces at portsmouthyc.org>] On Behalf Of dswajda at comcast.net<mailto:dswajda at comcast.net>
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 1:59 PM
To: Board PYC <board at portsmouthyc.org<mailto:board at portsmouthyc.org>>
Subject: [Board-2017] Insurance Review



I have been in contact with the firm of Drummond Woodsum, 84 Marginal Way, Suite 600, Portland, ME 04101-2480. Local telephone number is 603-433-3317. I talked with Atty. Tom Watson who actually lives in Portsmouth on New Castle Avenue. He related that a review could take between 3-5 hours and the firm would be asking for a $1500 retainer. Once the paperwork was received, they would review and make a determination of approximate cost. They would send a letter outlining their scope of work and the cost and then ask if we wanted them to proceed.



I would suggest that they review our Constitution and By-Laws regarding ARTICLE XVII - Indemnification of Directors, Officers, Agents and Employees to determine if it is sufficient.



I twice tried contacting the firm of Pierce Atwood at 1 NH Avenue, #350, Portsmouth, NH but was unable to make contact through their automated system.



Please advise if you want to proceed - I gather I am requesting permission to spend $1500 to retain the services of Drummond Woodsum to review our insurance/liability coverage and our Constitution regarding Indemnification.



David Wajda

Commodore

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