Insurance

[Matt Gore]

This morning's messages spurred me to fire off an e-mail to the
insurance agent I have been working with. I just got a response a
minute ago. According to Brenda, we have now been rejected for
liability insurance by all of the companies she represents. According
to her, there are three primary reason for the rejection: 1) we have
no physical location; 2) we have no paid staff; and, 3) we have no
defined constituency/membership (that is, we call people "members" but
we do not identify them). I think an unstated reason might also be
that we would not generate a significant premium but that's just my
gut feeling. Also, I get the idea that #3 is the killer.

So, anyone have an insurance person they like/trust because I'm out of
suggestions?

Matt

[Lionel English]

For (1), we could consider using a virtual office (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_office).  Not sure how expensive that would be, and not sure it really meets any needs other than an insurance address.

 

For (3) I believe that under our articles of incorporation only the members of the board are considered "members"  We constitute a fixed body of clearly identifiable individuals.

 

For (2), I have no solution--nope, nobody's paid.

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Lionel English

San Diego, CA
lio...@beanmar.net

[Ray Bottorff Jr]

I wonder what other websites, like IMDB or similiar use as insurance. There has got to be someone in the insurance industry that caters to online only concerns.

 

my best

-Ray

This morning's messages spurred me to fire off an e-mail to the
insurance agent I have been working with. I just got a response a
minute ago. According to Brenda, we have now been rejected for
liability insurance by all of the companies she represents. According
to her, there are three primary reason for the rejection: 1) we have
no physical location; 2) we have no paid staff; and, 3) we have no
defined constituency/membership (that is, we call people "members" but
we do not identify them). I think an unstated reason might also be
that we would not generate a significant premium but that's just my
gut feeling. Also, I get the idea that #3 is the killer.

So, anyone have an insurance person they like/trust because I'm out of
suggestions?

Matt

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[Henry Andrews]

I suspect it is more "tiny non-profit that doesn't pay anyone" rather than "online" that is the concern.  Also, sounds like there was a bunch of confusion over membership.  As Lionel noted, the Board members are the only legal members of the organization.  We call other people members but from a legal standpoint it's more that they're contributors.

-henry

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From: Ray Bottorff Jr <carch...@aol.com>
To: gcd-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 4:55 PM
Subject: Re: [gcd-board] Insurance

[Matt Gore]

I'll see if I can clear up the membership misconception and quiz
Brenda over what would make us insurable. With any luck I'm only
frustrated with her and she is not frustrated with me. At least I
don't think I have pestered her overmuch.

On Apr 27, 7:00 pm, Henry Andrews <h...@cornell.edu> wrote:
> I suspect it is more "tiny non-profit that doesn't pay anyone" rather than "online" that is the concern.  Also, sounds like there was a bunch of confusion over membership.  As Lionel noted, the Board members are the only legal members of the organization.  We call other people members but from a legal standpoint it's more that they're contributors.
>
> -henry
>
>
>
> >________________________________

> >From: Ray Bottorff Jr <carchiv...@aol.com>

> >To: gcd-...@googlegroups.com
> >Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 4:55 PM
> >Subject: Re: [gcd-board] Insurance
>
> >I wonder what other websites, like IMDB or similiar use as insurance. There has got to be someone in the insurance industry that caters to online only concerns.
> > 
> >my best
> >-Ray
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: Matt Gore <matthew.gore...@wku.edu>
> >To: gcd-board <gcd-...@googlegroups.com>
> >Sent: Wed, Apr 27, 2011 9:54 am
> >Subject: [gcd-board] Insurance
>
> >This morning's messages spurred me to fire off an e-mail to the
>
> insurance agent I have been working with. I just got a response a
> minute ago. According to Brenda, we have now been rejected for
> liability insurance by all of the companies she represents. According
> to her, there are three primary reason for the rejection: 1) we have
> no physical location; 2) we have no paid staff; and, 3) we have no
> defined constituency/membership (that is, we call people "members" but
> we do not identify them). I think an unstated reason might also be
> that we would not generate a significant premium but that's just my
> gut feeling. Also, I get the idea that #3 is the killer. So, anyone have an insurance person they like/trust because I'm out of
> suggestions? Matt --

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[Lionel English]

Yeah.  IMDb is owned by Amazon, and definitely makes money and has employees.

[Tony Rose]

We also use my home address as our legal address.



tony

----- Original Message -----
From: "Matt Gore" <matthew...@wku.edu>

[Lionel English]

This item has been on the agenda for a few years now. Anyone new want to take a crack at it? Tony and I each took a shot at it and got no farther than Matt.

shoebutton on Google Talk

[Daniel Nauschuetz]

I am not sure this dog will hunt Lionel.  Those three issues that Matt discovered have not been resolved adequately.  I am not sure a virtual office is sufficient; we have no paid staff; and our membership/constituency is not really defined (just our Board).

I also agree with Matt's final hunch.  We certainly don't present a picture of a non-profit with a healthy enough revenue stream to cover much overhead. 

I haven't seen anything from Matt's original email that struck me as particularly odd or unreasonable, so I am struggling a little here trying to understand why we are pursuing this in the first place:  

What type of insurance are we looking for?

How much coverage do we need?

How much are we willing to pay for it?

What risk are we at now without insurance?

Daniel

---

From: Lionel English <lio...@beanmar.net>
To: GCD Board <gcd-...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 11:57 PM
Subject: Re: [gcd-board] Insurance

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[Lionel English]

We actually do have a physical address--Tony used his address in the incorporation paperwork. I'm not going to post it to this list, but if anyone wants to tackle this Tony or I can provide it.

 

Per the incorporation paperwork, the GCD has nine members--those serving on the board. So legally, we nine constitute the GCD's membership.

 

But the other point is the one I have no answer for. We aren't paid. We have no payroll. We do have income, and expenses, and Tony can provide bank statements to that effect.

 

I do, of course, remain worried about our revenue stream, but I haven't gotten the impression that the majority of the board shares my concerns. Most people seem to be happy with "good enough to get by" rather than taking a proactive approach to create a more robust revenue stream. I believe "What do we need it for?" summed up the general attitude (yourself being a notable exception).

 

The need is actually unclear to me. Our attorney has recommended it. But he's also indicated that in the state of Arkansas (where we're incorporated), none of us would be personally liable anyway for anything the GCD does. The more general risk, in many states, is that if the GCD engages in some action that would subject it to legal fees, that the board members could be held personally liable for the damages. So the insurance would cover that. In practice, I don't think we're really at risk of anything, given that we have no employees and no paying customers (so no worker's comp, no breach of contract). We don't buy or sell anything. I think our only real risk is copyright violation, and that's pretty unlikely.

--
Lionel English