If you own or operate an equestrian facility, chances are you have a stack of blank Release of Liability Forms for visiting equestrians to sign upon arrival. These forms become even more important when you invite visiting riders & their horses for activities such as horse shows and clinics.
Brendan Tetreault, owner and founder of HorseWorks Insurance Specialists shares three important reminders to help ensure that your equestrian business is fully covered for your next equestrian activity.
1.) Ensure You Have A Signed Liability Release On File
A release form is essentially your first line of defense if someone were to bring suit against you for negligence.
#HelpfulHint: Check your state’s statutes. Most states have an equine activity statute to include within liability release forms.
Release of liability waiver forms are probably one of the easiest things to overlook when you’re trying to organize, run, and manage a horse show or clinic. However, it is definitely one of the most important items that you need to address when you are hosting outside riders and participants at your facility.
Remember: These forms don’t shield you from a lawsuit, but they are your first line of defense!
EC Organizer Perk: You can streamline the process of collecting these signed documents by adding Release Waivers to your STRIDER activity announcement. This way, riders can sign & upload at the time that they register to attend your activity.
2.) Tell Your Insurance Agent if You Plan to Host a Horse Show or Clinic
Notifying your insurance agent of clinic or event dates is extremely important. Your policy can often be updated so that you are fully protected.
Brendan says: “Often, we will be working with a client on their liability policy and they let us know that they intend to host a clinic and/or other equestrian activity at their facility in the coming months. Unfortunately, insurance policies require a bit more specificity. Even if we are writing a policy in February for a client who will be hosting an event in August, we always encourage our clients to let us know dates ahead of time. That way, we can make sure that the correct event dates are scheduled on the insurance policy”.
#HelpfulHint: As soon as you are aware of any activity you will be inviting riders to participate in at your farm, tell your insurance agent!
3.) Ask the Clinician for a Certificate Of Insurance.
Asking the clinician you are bringing in for a certificate of insurance is another item that tends to go overlooked, but is a critical piece of proper clinic management. They are typically NOT covered by the host facility’s policy.
Brendan notes “Ensure that any outside clinician or riding instructor presents the facility owner or event manager a Certificate of Insurance (COI). This document names the facility owner and/or business as an Additional Insured.”
A clinician will need to include your facility on their policy to be covered against a claim. It doesn’t matter if you have declared the clinic dates with your insurance company. If you don’t include the clinician on your existing policy as an additional insured, the clinician will still need to include your facility on their policy.
Remember: Failure to do this can jeopardize your coverage in the event of a claim resulting from a rider mishap or other unfortunate circumstance.
ABOUT BRENDAN TETREAULT/ HORSEWORKS INSURANCE SPECIALISTS: Brendan is the owner and founder of HorseWorks Insurance Specialists who has been involved in the horse industry for most of his life. Competing and working on the hunter/ jumper circuit throughout the earlier years of career, Brendan is now an avid polo player who has played throughout the U.S, Argentina, Canada, and Poland. The HorseWorks Insurance Agency is fortunate enough to have a wealth of experience with agents who specialize in the hunter/ jumpers, eventing, dressage and saddle horse disciplines.