I. ACCIDENT INSURANCE

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1 ACA is responsible to all of its members for both liability insurance as well as to ensure that accident insurance for FIS racers meets the requirements set out by FIS. ACA membership is 25,000 members in its 228 ski clubs and has 600 FIS licensed racers. A number of questions have been raised by various Alpine Canada members as to Alpine Canada s requirement that all FIS racers have accident insurance that covers circumstances arising while out of their home province or out of country. I. ACCIDENT INSURANCE A. FIS Requirements It is a specific and direct requirement of the FIS that : Furthermore : With the issuance of a licence and race entry, the National Ski Association confirms that valid and sufficient accident insurance for training and competition is in place for the competitor and assumes full responsibility. (ICR 204.2) All racers participating in FIS events must carry accident insurance in sufficient amounts to cover accident, transport and rescue costs including race risks. The National Federations are responsible for adequate insurance coverage of all their racers sent and inscribed by them. The National Ski Association or their competitors must be able to show proof of the respective insurance coverage at any time on request of the FIS, one of its representatives or the Organizing Committee. (ICR 212.4) B. Background For a number of years, the insurance above was provided by Ingle Life & Health on a no charge basis as part of their sponsorship of the Nor-Am Cup series throughout Canada. Ingle Life and Health withdrew from its sponsorship in September 2001 and sold its business. As a result, Ingle was no longer able to provide the required accident coverage as it had committed to do. Therefore, ACA has the obligation to ensure (and guarantee that it has) that every FIS carded racer will have medical/accident coverage for any injury sustained outside of the 1

2 racers own medical coverage if such exists and that such coverage will cover all emergency costs incurred. In Canada s case, most Provincial medical plans do not provide such coverage or provide restricted coverage that will not meet the requirements of the FIS rules. The insurance that Alpine Canada must ensure that every FIS carded racer will carry must be able to pay for any and all medical expenses incurred as a result of an accident that otherwise would not be covered by their own professional medical scheme. The various provinces do not have identical medical coverage. Some provinces have moved to user fees for certain treatments, some pay for medical services on stipulated fee plans based within their own province, some do not cover ambulance, helicopter evacuation, and some have limitations on the type of hospital care, medication and other costs related to this injury. Finally, most provinces do not cover all of the medical costs and emergency care incurred while outside of Canada. C. Problem With approximately 600 FIS carded athletes, it is impossible for Alpine Canada to meet its obligations to the FIS race organizing committees and other National Federations by permitting each racer to arrange their own insurance or to rely upon each individual s current provincial medical plan. This would put Alpine Canada in the impossible task of having to review each and every racer s existing insurance to determine whether or not it is acceptable and affords the necessary protection required. Then ACA has no control over expiry or non-renewal of such insurance. We know from experience that most providers of medical services want the assurance of payment immediately and we also know from our experience that if this is not done, Alpine Canada are immediately billed pursuant to the ICR regulations. Finally, very few athletes have the means to pay on the spot for ambulance, excess hospital or air evacuation leaving ACA to pay these costs. Again, it is ACA that will be put into the position of making payments and then trying to collect. D. Solution Accordingly, in 2001/2002, Alpine Canada did solicit quotations from 6 specialized agencies including the Canadian Athlete Insurance Program to provide this insurance for its 600 FIS carded athletes. The only valid quote received was from HSP Direct Health Insurance Brokers. 2

3 They quoted on group rates for two groups Class 1 - high performance athletes, and Class 2 remaining athletes. The quoted coverages are : Out of province/out of country coverage $1,000,000 aggregate per year $25,000 AD&D benefits (accidental death and disbursement) $500 limit for physiotherapy ($25 per treatment to maximum of $500) Hospital/medical services, extended health, emergency air ambulance, emergency return to home (with limits) Excess to provincial medical plan For Class 1 Alpine Ski Team (CAST), 30 days out of province/country at any one time: Cost - $ per person (including taxes) For Class 2 FIS racers not CAST, 8 days out of province/country any one time: Cost - $ per person (including taxes) Alpine Canada is currently soliciting quotations from other markets for the competition year commencing November 1 and the costs of the insurance listed will then be considered additive to the competitor card fees. It is hoped that this coverage for 2002/2003 will be less than that above but this is totally contingent upon the claims expenses in 2001/2002. All FIS carded racers will be required to carry such coverage in order to be licensed and will have to have appropriate coverage in order to get ACA approval to compete out of country. In the event of an accident, the racer or coach will only be required to supply provincial medical plan details and the excess out of province/country card and have the treatment facility contact the insurer. II. LIABILITY INSURNACE AND EVENT/ACITIVITY SANCTIONING A. Requirements It is a specific FIS requirement that all organizers of FIS races have in place for all FIS events liability insurance (insurance to provide defence and pay any damages) for all members of the Organizing Committee (which includes all Jury members) of a minimum of $1 million per event (ICR212.1, 212.2, 603.4). 3

4 It is also proper and prudent business practice for any organization to provide its members with liability insurance while carry out their specific duties and functions. Indeed, the Directors and Officers of any organization failing to provide liability insurance coverage to its members would likely be found negligent. B. Background It is far more economical, with increase purchasing power to purchase one single $15 million liability policy than to purchase fifteen $1 million liability policies. Accordingly, for many years, ACA has led all Canadian snow sports (except cross country) in purchasing an all embracing liability policy to cover all approved and sanctioned activities for Alpine, Freestyle, Snowboard, CADS, etc. This annual policy covers all members of these organizations both individual and club (including employees) and covers all recognized and sanctioned activities usual to each Discipline. It also covers casual volunteers and upon request will cover the ski area for its liability arising from the sanctioned event. What is critical in order to maintain this insurance at the best possible rates is the requirement for the NSO to demonstrate exactly who its members are, the specific events and activities that take place, and to demonstrate that the NSO exerts quality control over such members and their activities. In the event of a claim by anyone against a member, employee, club, etc, the insurer will first insist on reviewing the NSO calendar, whether the parties involved are members in good standing and whether the event has been sanctioned by the NSO. Each year when renewals are negotiated or when quotations are requested, we must provide details of events and activities as well as membership in order for the insurer to evaluate the risk. At present, the total cost of liability insurance is risk allocated in accordance with a formula devised by the general managers and insurance experts to each province. C. Event Sanction The NSO is obligated to ensure that all activities scheduled will fit within the insurers expectations and that these events/activities will be run in accordance with the rules, regulations and policies of the NSO. This includes races, training, dry land, etc. The NSO is also obligated to advise its members of any activities or events proposed that will not be covered so the member may take appropriate steps to obtain their own protection. 4

5 D. Future As a result of September 11 and other economic factors, insurance costs are rising rapidly and the available insurance markets are shrinking. It is essential that ACA has a list of all of its members and that it has a calendar of all activities to be insured. Each of 228 clubs should provide their calendar of activities to the PSO who in turn must provide a master calendar for their region. This should include National and entry level races and specific camps/dry land summer training camps that fall outside of their normal scheduled winter training program. ACA, in order to protect its 25,000 members, volunteers and 228 ski clubs, is preparing a proposal to bundle all of its insurance requirements Accident Liability including non-owner auto Property Event cancellation and to prepare a report for quotation (RFQ) or request for proposal (BFP) to ensure that all products are the most economical as well as the best possible protection for its members. 5