Ridecamp: [RC] Liability

K S SWIGART   katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Laurie D. said:

> They said they cover us IF we or friends ride our horses and
> no money changes hands. As soon as I do any for profit
> activitiy or make any money they would cancel our policy and
> not cover any incident.

Generally speaking, a homeowner's policy includes a certain
amount of personal liability insurance, and engaging in horses
as a hobby and letting your friends ride your horses comes under
the heading of personal activity and would be covered under such
a policy.

Additionally (and this is one of the reasons that years ago I
joined), the AHSA (now USAEq) provides an automatic $1,000,000
personal liability policy for any horse related incident to all
of its members, as a benefit of membership.

However, Laurie's insurance agent was correct, that as soon as
you start charging money, it ceases to be a personal activity
and becomes a professional activity, for which you would need
either a professional liability policy and/or a commercial
liability policy (and I mentioned this in my response to Miranda
when she asked about charging for crewing).

This does not mean that your friends cannot appreciate your
sharing your horses with them and going out and buying them hay
and carrots to feed them when they come to visit.  Nor does it
mean that they can't help out with the chores around the barn. 
Nor does it mean that they can't take you out to dinner
afterwards.

So, if you are intending to engage in the horse business
professionally (and that includes boarding horses in your back 
yard), if you don't want to be personally exposed, you need to
check into a professional liability policy...and here is the
most important thing.

Be honest with the insurance agent about the extent of your
activities, because if you lie on the application, then you have
no insurance no matter how much you have paid in premiums.

Also, it is worthwhile to note, that (if you care) doing this 
revokes your amateur status with competitive organizations that
care about such things (the AERC doesn't but the AHSA does).

Making the jump from amateur hobbyist to professional is not a 
decision to be taken lightly.  However, if you do do it, there
are many insurance companies that provide liabiltiy insurance to
professionals.

kat
Orange County, Calif.


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