Fluid
01-04-2009, 04:27 PM
Some disturbing inuendos were recently made by a forum poster about the insurance that NAMBA and IMPBA offer - specifically that both organizations "sell" insurance and that neither has ever paid a claim. It appears that these comments were made to support that poster's personal grievances. Since I know better I wanted to set the record straight; it would be unfortunate for new- or non-members to draw the wrong conclusions about these sponsoring organizations.
I contacted the presidents of both organizations and this is what I confirmed. In 2004 IMPBA paid a major medical claim that resulted in its increased insurance rates for the next three years. Claims have been paid for minor injuries as well. Some litigated claims were denied when the court found that the plaintiffs were negligent.
NAMBA's insurance has paid both property and secondary medical. NAMBA itself - not the insurance company - paid for some minor claims. In spite of the increases in insurance rates over the past 5-7 years, NAMBA membership rates have remained the same. This is probably due to the officers' management and a relative low accident rate - the result is that members paid nothing additional to cover the increased cost.
In today's environment, unless a club owns a property on which to run some insurance is a requirement. Every body of water my clubs have used in the past three decades - whether public or private - required proof of major liability insurance before we received permission to race. Obtaining a million dollar policy for a club with just five members is prohibitively expensive. The coverage that NAMBA and IMPBA offer is a requirement for a great many R/C boaters if they want to put on a racing season. IMO both organizations offer a lot to member clubs, particularly if we want to be more than just small groups of local guys running by ourselves.
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I contacted the presidents of both organizations and this is what I confirmed. In 2004 IMPBA paid a major medical claim that resulted in its increased insurance rates for the next three years. Claims have been paid for minor injuries as well. Some litigated claims were denied when the court found that the plaintiffs were negligent.
NAMBA's insurance has paid both property and secondary medical. NAMBA itself - not the insurance company - paid for some minor claims. In spite of the increases in insurance rates over the past 5-7 years, NAMBA membership rates have remained the same. This is probably due to the officers' management and a relative low accident rate - the result is that members paid nothing additional to cover the increased cost.
In today's environment, unless a club owns a property on which to run some insurance is a requirement. Every body of water my clubs have used in the past three decades - whether public or private - required proof of major liability insurance before we received permission to race. Obtaining a million dollar policy for a club with just five members is prohibitively expensive. The coverage that NAMBA and IMPBA offer is a requirement for a great many R/C boaters if they want to put on a racing season. IMO both organizations offer a lot to member clubs, particularly if we want to be more than just small groups of local guys running by ourselves.
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