Clubs, Callers, Leaders, local Organizations (Caller, Leader, etc) and Association Directors should read the available Certificate of Membership, Certificate of Insurance and material on Insurance on the Society website (www.squaredance..ca). There is a button on the left side “Insurance”. It is fairly clear. If clarification is required, it can be obtained.
Membership Period
This is the calendar year – January 1 to December 31
Floors
The Society policy does not cover normal wear and tear of floor, only sudden or accidental damage. "Sudden and Accidental refers to an action which occurs without prior knowledge of that action occurring" (dragging of chairs, tables, furniture, etc. over floors is not sudden or accidental.) Cloggers should inform the owners of the facility they are dancing in that they are wearing taps on their shoes, particularly if it is a wooden floor. ** Please read the CSRDS web site on floor care.**
Certificate of Membership and Certificate of Insurance
A Certificate of Membership is prepared for each club and organization registering as a Society member. The reverse side has a copy of the Certificate of Insurance. These are distributed to Associations and Clubs through the Association contacts on the Federation Board after the memberships have been submitted. Normally this is in January.
Named Certificate of Insurance
Where required, a copy of a Named Insured Certificate can be obtained covering the owner/renter of the premises used for dancing.  To obtain this, the Business/Hall renter or whoever has requested the Named Insured Certificate should send a written request (on letterhead paper) to the Insuring Agent.  Clubs by themselves cannot obtain this certificate unless a request is received from their landlord.  If a Club or Organization is in need of a Named "Certificate of Insurance", please contact after January 1^st. The Canadian S&RD Society's members' insurance liability is with:
AON Reed Stenhouse Inc.
Suite 1000, 2103 11th Avenue
Regina, SK    S4P 3Z8
Our General Liability Insurance Policy is No AS2569
The Aon Reed Stenhouse contact person for claims is:
Susan Fedyck at (306) 569 6715 email: <susan.fedyck@aon.ca>

What is the Insurance Coverage for 2011? (see the Society website for details www.squaredance..ca)

1. Third Party Liability Insurance Coverage
   

Commercial General Liability (except Auto), Bodily Injury, Property Damage 
$5,000,000.00 bodily injury to one or more persons or and damage to property arising from any one accident, and including blanket tenants legal liability (limit $100,000.00).  Property damage subject to $500.00 deductible.
Additional Coverage
Blanket Contractual Liability  Included 
Products and Completed Operations  Included 
Cross Liability Clause  Included 
* Tenants Legal Liability  $250,000.00
b) Directors & Officers Liability Insurance Coverage $2,000,000.00 

What To Do in The Event of an Accident or Incident?
1. Members should render first aid and assistance to the extent considered practical in the situation.
2. Immediately, or at the first available opportunity, have the incident reported to Susan Fedyck (contact information above) and a copy to the Director responsible for Membership  ((see Canadian Society address List or CSRDS
website).
3. Details required  include:
    a.  Time of the incident;
    b.  Location or place of incident;
    c.  Description of incident with all relevant details;
    d.  Name(s) and address(es) of any injured person(s); and
    e.  Names and addresses of all available witnesses.
   (Make notes of the incident to assists in any resulting inquiry. Try to answer "who", "where", "what", "when", "why", and "how".)

BCSRDF HANDBOOK PAGE 29

Paying Fee Twice?
Dancers, Callers, Leaders and organizations are only required to pay their membership fee once through a club or organization. This policy has been in place for a number of years. It is important for organizations to remember to register as members for the benefits of the Third Party Liability Insurance and Directors & Officers Insurance Coverage.
Why is there a number on the Society Membership Card?
The cards are numbered because of one incident involving a club and dancer who could not confirm membership. The numbered cards will enable the clubs and the CSRDS to have a better handle on numbers of members. Each club is responsible for keeping track of who has what card number. The club membership list should have the card number listed for each member. Membership cards should be given to members (not put out on a table for any to take) and the numbers recorded by the Club.
Recording Club Members
IFor Insurance purposes, CLUBS, must maintain membership lists recording the
current year Membership card serial number issued to all members, addresses,
contact information. The Society website has a form prepared for club use.(www.csrds.ca/ClubMembership list.pdf)
Why does the membership card indicate a fee being paid of $2.00?
This is a Canadian Square & Round Dance Society membership card and therefore reflects the Society fee paid only and not fees paid to other organization.
How Do Clubs and Organizations become Members?
They submit their membership information and the required fees to the Association. These are then forwarded to the Federation and subsequently to the Society (Membership Committee – through the Provincial Director).
The Chair of the Membership Committee has advised that he will only accept memberships from Federations (Associations where there are no Federations). Direct submission of applications for membership from Clubs to the Society will be returned.
It is essential that clubs and local organizations be active members of Area Associations to assist financially and as volunteers in those organizations, otherwise the Area Associations become fragmented and have reduced funding to deliver programs.
What About New Dancers?
All new dancers starting involvement in the activity in the period January 1 to June 30th are to pay Society (CSRDS) membership fees. This is because they benefit from the Society programs for the year.
New dancers who begin involvement in the activity after June 30th with clubs who are members of the Society are deemed to be members of the Society until the end of that calendar year. If the club is not a member of the Society during this period the new dancers are not covered by the Third Party Liability Insurance Coverage.
New dancers who begin involvement in the activity after June 30^th should become members of the Society through their clubs for the next calendar year.
What about 'visiting' dancers from other countries? – Are they covered by the Society Insurance Policy?
No. Unless they are members they are not covered by the Third Party Liability Insurance Policy. Although they receive no insurance protection, they are able to sue for injury or damages, provided they do so in Canada.
Third Party Liability Insurance
Third Party Liability Insurance has been a part of the square and round dance movement for many years, starting first in clubs, then in associations, and finally in federations and the national Society. It paralleled the growth pattern of the activity. Like it or not, it is an essential part of the square and round dance movement.
Third Party Liability Insurance is provided as a benefit of membership in the Canadian Square & Round Dance Society. The intent of the insurance is to protect members from claims by a third party for bodily injury, death, or damage to property. Settlements usually result from legal action, although small claims may be handled by the insuring company without the involvement of the legal system.
What is Third Party Liability Insurance?
If there is a "third party", it would seem reasonable that there must be a first and second party. There is. The first party is us, the dancers or dance organizations that make up the movement. We are called the "insured". The second party is the insuring company, which most likely is referred to as the "insurer".
"Third party" means someone else outside our dancing organization or the insurance company. Typically, it is the corporate or individual owner of a hall or a building which we rent for dancing. It could also mean someone or some organization we deal with to buy something, or obtain some service from, or provide some service to.
As well we have "cross liability" included in our insurance policies so that someone within the square and round dance movement can take legal action against someone else within the movement.
One important point when considering the third party liability insurance is that it is business insurance, and the Society's insurance policy is a standard commercial business policy. At first glance, it may appear that we do not fit easily into this type of insurance, but we do. What is our business? Our business is dancing. We tend to treat it as a hobby or recreation, but take the viewpoint that we dance for money and that we spend a lot of time practicing (weekly dances) in order to perform publicly (demos) to sell our product (dancing for fun, health, recreation, etc.).

BCSRDF HANDBOOK PAGE 30

Who is Protected?
The words "named insured" are used to describe who is insured. In 1986 some standard wording was introduced by the Society and since that time the named insured wording has been similar. The format is:
        a) The organization (e.g. Society, Federation, Association, etc.), its directors, members, employees; and/or,
        b) All member organizations (federations, associations, etc.), their directors, members, and employees; and/or,
        c) All member clubs, their directors, members, and employees; and/or,
        d) All member callers, cuers, leaders, instructors; and/or,
        e) All dancers who are members; and/or,
        f) The owner of the premises used for dancing, if the owner so requests.

Claim Procedures
The injured party makes a claim and sues for damages – not really a concern as to the process for the Society or Member.

Sign-in Sheets (required for insurance purposes)
It us recommended that clubs use sign-in sheets for club dances and special dance events. This provides a written record of who attended what dances in case there is a claim of an accident.
The individual filing suit would have to prove they were in attendance and that Joe Brown and (?) caused the injury. The sign-in sheet would assist in recording who was there at the time.

Liability of caller/leader/clubs for 'non-member/non-insured' dancers
Non-member dancers, callers, leaders and clubs are not covered by the Society’s Third Party Insurance Policy. Should they be sued for a claim of injury for bodily injury, death, or damage to property,
they would be responsible for defense and any resulting damages as a result of court action.

If a dancer does get hurt & decides to 'sue', then who is liable, should they not be registered?
Who is the ‘who’?
Being a member or not has no restriction on being able to sue. Any person may claim or sue for damages for injury suffered for bodily injury, death, or damage to property.
Whether a person is a dancer, caller or leader and/or a Member of the Society has no bearing on being able to bring suit for injury suffered for bodily injury, death, or damage to property.
Liability in any case would depend on the circumstances and would be specified in the statement of claim for a suit for damages. It would be possible to name any dancer, Caller, Leader, Club or organization as being responsible for the resulting injury or damage.
A dancer, Caller, Leader, Club or organization that is not a Society member would not have the protection of the Insurance Policy and would be responsible for the costs, defense, etc of any resulting court action and decision. This could be expensive and this is why the Canadian Square & Round Dance Society has obtained the Third Party Liability and Directors & Officers Insurance Policy.

Are all our dancers registered with the local Association?
Some may be registered twice or more – this is their decision.
We do not believe there is any check made as to the total number of dancers, callers or leaders in an Association. Is there really a need? If so, that is something the local Association would have to grapple with.

Should we be asking for 'membership cards' when dancers sign in/register?
What is the need or the point? What we should care about would be to record the names of those who attend dances. There is no need to know who are Society members and who are not. Would it also be proposed to record who are Association members and who are not?

Who is to Sign the Membership Card?
The dancer, Caller, Leader or organization who registers as a Society member receives a Membership card. They print their name on the card and sign it. The club or organization records who has received what card number.




August 21 2008

 

 Handbook