Insurance Requirements

[squishall]

I cannot see people shooting each other repeatedly and not have some sort of insurance coverage. Is this something that Tournaments require of each person or Group? If so, is there some company that specializes in this?

Cheers,

squishall

[naminator]

First off insurance is usually purchased for events. When you sign in at an event you normally sign a waver provided by the event host, on behalf of the insurance company. That way you can't sue someone over getting hurt.

It is like down hill sky resorts. They make you sign a waver before you can get a lift ticket or rentals. If you hurt yourself you cannot sue the sky hill. However there are ways around this but the waver is a deterrent. Unless you are playing on 100% private property, any business, corporation or event should have insurance.

Any insurance broker could provide a quote on this type of insurance. It maybe just be harder to get insurance from certain companies.

[AlexGPS]

Airsoft, in my opinion is a sport where you will get hurt. You will get shot in the knuckles, the family jewels, you will trip over and fall on a rock and scrape your knee. Some injuries are more serious than others but in the end of the day its all part of the experience. If you dont get hit with bb's, fall over and scrape a knee and curse your head off and get shot since you where just yelling then you aint faving fun. Yes, Yes. I know. Be cautious and play safe. Thats all its about, but getting hurt is part of the fun of it all. Its the experience.

[squishall]

Ok thanks. I appreciate the input.

I thought maybe it was like the R/C airplane guys that join a national association and get their liability insurance as part of their membership.

squishall

[AlexGPS]

Nope. Airsoft is a sport where you more or less are reliable for your actions.

[ThunderCactus]

my insurance company didn't even cover personal injury from snowmobiling lol
Your insurance is mil-spec rated eye protection and a mesh mouth guard.

[naminator]

Or playing airsoft from an arm chair... At home..... They have a term for that, I think it is chairsofting.

Honestly if you are trying to organize a major event, you would need to do a metric fuck ton of research and would need to do a significant amount of background work first. Plus pay for all that.

If you are worried about getting hurt at a game, here is what you need to know:

[ThunderCactus]

"major"
I don't recall any 100+ games run in mb ever having insurance :/

[CR0M]

Ive heard host talk about getting insurance at games, I doubt that they do, nor do I care if they actually have it. If I get hurt at a game, I get hurt.

[spaceman13]

We tried it one year with our club and it was so expensive that we had to fork out cash from our own pocket to pay it off because the field fees were not enough to cover it.
Signed waivers is the way to go.

[squishall]

nominator...23+ years in the infantry..pretty sure I am a man..

My OP was not because I am worried about myself.

I find it hard to believe that liability insurance is not a mandatory requirement. I say this because anyone organizing a tournament, for example, would be up shit creek if somebody got badly hurt.

Just surprised is all.

Cheers.

[kullwarrior]

Originally Posted by AlexGPS

Nope. Airsoft is a sport where you more or less are reliable for your actions.

I wish that was true, but there are cases where decision (or lack of) lead to injury of individual. An example is laser: People cheap out and buy chinese green laser claim to be eye safe when in fact it isn't. People have bright spot in their eye sight permanently as a result. IR laser is another one.

[Ricochet]

Insurance is a tricky bit, especially when it comes to airsoft. Here's what you need to know; lack of insurance can cause all kinds of issues. When you are responsible for the people playing, either because you are a property owner or business owner, or you are just running the show, insurance is a must. First of all your players must be made aware of all of the reasonable risks they'll face, such as projectiles, weather, wildlife and terrain, etc. Next you need to reasonably mitigate any serious dangers; this is where it gets tricky. Let's say the area you're in is known for grizzly attacks, or perhaps has hidden holes a person could fall in, etc, well insurance may not count for much unless they are clearly marked or mitigated. What about darkness? Playing at night can take a regular hazard, such as a cliff, and make it exponentially more dangerous. There is always accountability wether people know it or not. In Canada, you can't actually sign your rights away, so to speak. Let me explain; you go to a ski hill and go outside of a clearly marked out of bounds area, it's your fault, you fall over going down a clearly marked run and break your leg, it's considered an associative risk. But let's say you get hit by lightning, likely will be deemed as an act of God. However, if you get injured because the chair lift malfunctions, or they leave unsafe runs open, etc, well their waiver won't mean shit. Also, if you are blatantly to blame, then insurance likely won't cover you whatsoever, wether you paid for it or not. It's kind of like a bank giving you a loan, there's a risk assessment, and they only take so much responsibility. By the way, a waiver you make up without insurance backing it is useless, may as well wipe your ass with it. There is no legal way to absolve oneself from accountability just because people are stupid enough to sign a bullshit piece of paper. Waivers in many cases are just formalities, and as mentioned above, more of a deterant to legal action than anything.

Game/event hosts: They'll have insurance tailored to their event, and certain restrictions to go along with it.

Field owners: They always have insurance, and as a business they'll have a wide range of coverages to protect themselves.

Teams: some teams may have a private field, and are all adults (18+). So no one profits and everyone is at equal risk, so it would be hard to sue depending on the situation. Maybe the organizer or land owner depending on the injury, but it'd be unlikely.

One major thing to consider is minors. They can't be legally held liable for their actions in most cases, and cannot be put at needless risk by anyone but their guardians; more or less anyways. If you are just hosting a game, a private team or a business, and you airsoft with minors, you will need insurance, lest you get financially and criminally annihilated if something happens.

[Styrak]

Originally Posted by kullwarrior

I wish that was true, but there are cases where decision (or lack of) lead to injury of individual. An example is laser: People cheap out and buy chinese green laser claim to be eye safe when in fact it isn't. People have bright spot in their eye sight permanently as a result. IR laser is another one.

Solution: ban lasers from the field.

[naminator]

Ricochet has said it best. This is what I was trying to get across.

And 100+ people playing airsoft could potentially be just a scrim. Or it could be a game on private property. This is an honor sport and so far lawsuits have been next to zero (that I know of). But all it takes is for someone playing at an uninsured game to fall through the floor of a building or into an unmarked pit (apparently it happened at mason relic) get seriously injured and that players family sues everybody and anybody because of the injuries. Worst case scenario someone dies at a game and then the organizer/property owner/whatever gets sued for the death of the player. If they proved negligence it could result in jail time even.

Insurance at airsoft games is more for the host, not the player.