Insurance? - Page 1

Could somebody give me an idea were to get insurance for clubs and helpers? It is ironic it is so hard to get insurance for Schutzhund when Schutzhund dogs are so much less likely to bite someone that Fluffy the house pet.

http://www.dogclubinsurance.com/ Contact them they are very helpful. Uwe

You might try Kennel Pak, Inc. in York, PA. They are underwritten by Traveler's, and they insure kennel businesses. I think they just do boarding kennels, but you might try. Otherwise, you might try an insurance company that specializes in sports activities, such as Little League. If you called them, they could probably tell you who they use for insurance. Here is another suggestion: If you set your club up as a non-profit corporation, you may get some protections there, depending on the state laws. I looked awhile back in my state, and I believe that the law then gave indemnity to non-profit corporations on insurance, to the extent that if the corp's annual income was no more than $20,000, and the corp sought, but was unable to find affordable insurance, that it could be free of any obligations to carry insurance (I recall that "affordable" meant that the premiums would be no more than 15% of the annual income of the organization). Some states have "Fair" plans that will help people to find insurance at a discounted rate (but I think this only applies to homeowners and auto insurance). You really should (must) form a non-profit corporation for purposes of organizing and operating a sport club. You form corporations at the state level, not federal. You should inquire of your secretary of state for details. Most charge VERY low initial and annual filing fees for non-profits. This will usually exempt you from paying state income tax on dues, etc. You can also form your corporation in another state, such as Nevada, but you may still be obligated to register your non-profit under the state you are operating in as a "foreign" corporation. The fees for filing annually as a foreign corp should also be very small for a non-profit. Now, here is where people get confused a bit about non-profits: You are still going to be obligated to file a tax return with the IRS, unless you have gained a federal tax-exempt status (501 c3, etc). But the rules are very strict and the filings are complicated for this. It is not necessary, and I would advise against it. I would recommend that your club appoints a competent treasurer and keeps good books from the start.. Much easier than "brown-bagging" receipts and trying to figure out what you did, afterwards. Quickbooks (not Quicken) has a module for non-profits and other business profiles. It's fairly easy to learn, and there are lots of Idiot books and tutorials on it. It doesn't have to be the current year version. You can get a past year copy and a P3 PC with Windows XP real cheap on eBay and run your books that way. I'm talking under $100 for everything. Then see if you can get a copy of MS Office, probably '97 would be affordable, and it's enough. That might cost another $50, and you will have everything you need to run the organization. Hey.. There really is little to no practical advantage to filing in Nevada, and you need to pay someone to be a resident agent, which can be expensive. But if you want to go that way and need an affordable one, check some of the UPS stores there. The Nevada Secretary of State site has links to a whole list of resident agents. One more thing: You will need to draft a brief mission statement and charter / by-laws to operate under so that the purpose of your organization is stated right from the beginning. They don't have to be complicated, but this will help to keep your organization on course. Good luck, and have fun!

One more thing, and it's worth mentioning.. The search for affordable insurance in my state must be done annually, in order to qualify for the exemption. Check your state laws and talk to an qualified attorney to advise you on your legal obligations and liabilities.

Kennel Pak is a branch of Dan Smith's insurance agency. Dan is an AKC GSD breeder (Darby-Dan) and an AKC judge. It's my understanding they only cover boarding kennels that are not on the same site as a residence, but it can't hurt to talk to Dan since he knows the breed and has owned some GSD's with Schutzhund titles. He held Sch training and trials on his own property when he still lived here in PA.

Thank you for responding so quickly. I heard from Kennel PaK this morning, they cover boarding kennels and will cover training through the kennel, but they won't touch anyone who does Schutzhund. I'll e-mail dog club insurance this afternoon and look into the non-profit idea.