RRCA Insurance

All events insured by the RRCA are expected to follow our Safe Events Guidelines. Risk management is one of the primary responsibilities of a race director or club leader.  It is a shared responsibility of race directors to ensure they are doing everything possible to deliver a safe, well-planned event for their participants.

The RRCA insurance program is a group policy and poor planning  by one can affect the program for all.

The RRCA also expects all race directors to follow our Race Director Code of Ethics in the conduct of their events.

While activities including animals, adaptive devices (wheel chairs, push-chairs, etc.), and strollers are not excluded from the insurance policy, additional policies and procedures should have been put in place to minimize the risks associated with their inclusion, especially if pet dogs are allowed.

  Bicycles may only be included in events as official vehicles for leading the front of the race, as on course medical and general course support, and as a back-of-the-pack vehicle to monitor final finishers.  Other participants beyond official race personnel on bicycles or scooters at events are prohibited.

  Note about the use of headphones, strollers, and dogs.  The RRCA has a written guideline about the use of personal music devices in running events and group training runs. Race directors and group run should strongly discourage the use of headphones, strollers and pets in races and group runs.

As part of the annual renewal process, RRCA members are ​required to review the RRCA’s:

• Safe Event Guidelines,
• Safe Group Run Guidelines,
• Race Director Code of Ethics, and
• Music Licensing Information and attest to having ​read this information. As part of the insurance program,

ALL RRCA member organizations are required to obtain waivers from their club members, event participants, volunteers, and club guests​.

The RRCA offers a tiered liability insurance program that provides:

• $1 million per occurrence policy with a $5 million aggregate limit per event hosted by a member club, event, or event management company (our standard policy), or
• $2 million per occurrence policy with a $5 million aggregate limit per event hosted by a member club, event, or event management company limit
• Visit the Membership section for detailed rate information for: 
  • Clubs
  • Events & Event Management Companies

We recommend  members select the $1 million per occurrence liability option if they are not required by their local government to insure their activities for $2 million or more. 

If an event needs additional coverage per incident above $2 million, Insurance Management Group can provide this coverage for $1,700 per additional million requested up to $6 million.  Email Liz Painter at [email protected] for additional coverage needs.

For all three membership classes, general liability insurance coverage includes:

• A $1,000,000 per occurrence, aggregate limit outlined above or a $2,000,000 per occurrence, aggregate limit outlined above.  No deductible.
• $500,000 in rented property coverage
• $10,000 in accidental medical coverage ($250 deductible per claim).  This is standard to the policy and no additional individual membership is required for this coverage.  This coverage that is supplemental to a person’s health insurance and should not be construed as basic health insurance coverage for a participant that does not have a basic health insurance policy in their name.
• $1,000,000 in hired and non-owned auto liability coverage.  This is not collision coverage/damage to hired or non-owned autos.  This covers a member organization in the event that an auto accident occurs while using a hired or non-owned auto and a claim of negligence is filed as a result of an auto accident.
• $500,000 with a $5,000,000 aggregate for abuse and molestation coverage (SAM).  Organizations must adopt Safe Sport Act compliant policies and train volunteers. Learn more >>
  • Additional SAM coverage may be obtained by contacting Insurance Management Group (IMG). Additional paperwork, underwriting, and fees will be required for additional coverage.
• Host liquor liability coverage included, so long as alcohol is not sold at the event, but is given out at no charge to participants of legal drinking age. Will you have a vendor selling beer at the post race party?  You will most likely be required to have a liquor license and insurance to cover for alcohol being sold at the event.  In that case, contact Insurance Management Group, Email Liz Painter at [email protected] to purchase a liquor license insurance policy.
• Hosting an expo table/booth at an event or hosting of an expo a day or two before an event takes place
• $1,000,000 and $2,000,000 per occurrence coverage is available for volunteer medical personal for an additional fee (see bel0w).
• $25,000 in Crisis Response coverage.
• $10,000 per person with $100,000 aggregate limit for Cyber Privacy and Identity Theft
• USATF is named as an additional insured in the master policy, thus meeting their requirements for obtaining a sanction without utilizing their insurance policy.  This coverage only applies to USATF sanctioned events utilizing the RRCA insurance program.

Occasionally, a municipality, property owner, or a sponsors requests to become an Additional Insured  (AI) under an existing insurance policy. These “additional insured certificates” are provided at no additional costs by submitting a request online. IMG will contact you if the additional party cannot be covered, as some exclusions may apply.  Learn more >>

Timing companies, police departments, and others contractors cannot be named as additional insured parties. They should provide proof of their own general liability insurance.

Event Management Companies who own more than one event annually may request additional insured certificates, but they must pay the liability premium for each event before making the request for additional insured certificates.

  RRCA insurance is non-transferable!

RRCA clubs and event management companies that assist other organizations with events may NOT extend insurance coverage to these organizations.

If the club or race director does not own the race or manage all aspects of the event, it is not an insured event of the club or race directing company. In this case, the organization receiving the assistance must join the RRCA as an event member to obtain insurance for their event.

Race directing companies may insure an event through the RRCA if they OWN the race and direct all aspects of the race. If the race directing company is assisting another organization with timing or finish line services, this event is not owned by the race directing company and not insured.

Transferring or selling of the RRCA insurance by clubs or race directing companies to other events is FRAUD.

 For more information read see “Covered Activities”

RRCA general liability insurance covers for the activities conducted by each membership class:

• Clubs
• Event
• Event Management Company

For events and event management companies, review the the membership section along with the Insurance Program FAQs to understand coverage for event members.  For clubs that own events and conduct training programs, group runs, etc., review below to understand covered activities.

For all membership categories the following items are covered:

• The policy protects its members against claims arising from incidents, accidents, or random acts of violence that occur and affect participants resulting in a claim being filed against a member organization.
• The policy does protect the RRCA and its members against spectator claims as long as the claim does not involve an excluded condition (see below).  If a spectator is injured, the accident medical coverage may cover for a claim.
• Volunteers working on behalf of the RRCA member are included. For example, if a volunteer is named in a liability suit while working a member race, the insurance would protect the volunteer. If a volunteer is injured, the accident medical coverage may cover for a claim.
• Covered events include traditional road races, trail/ultra runs that do not contain man-made obstacles, cross country events following IAAF/USATF course guidelines, and track events that exclude jumps and throwing events (steeple events are excluded).  Traditional road races that include runners in costume or events that throw/launch Holi powder (colored powder) are included.  Soap or bubble runs that create a man-made slippery course are excluded.  Review the exclusions below to learn about event formats that are excluded.  If in doubt about a wacky event format, ask before insuring the event with RRCA, email [email protected]
  

Covered activities for a running clubs include:

•  Training programs that meet multiple times per week during the year,
• Youth running programs that comply with the SafeSport Act,
• Walking programs,
• Club-organized group runs, track workouts (running only), social activities, meetings, banquets, community volunteering,
• Fun runs, low-key club races, all the way up to large road and trail races.

A “club” with a small membership (10-25 people) and no training programs or weekly group runs claiming to organize a road race in excess of 5,000 people must review their organization structure with the RRCA.

The RRCA reserves the right to dictate membership classification, and clubs found to be event management companies will be classified as such and must pay the dues and insurance fees according to that membership category.

Understanding “Club-Owned” Events

Club-owned events are covered through the general liability insurance policy so long as the club has oversight over all aspects of the event.

Below are questions to determine if a race is club-owned. If you answer “yes” to most of the questions, it is a club-owned race.

For Nonprofit Organizations Only – Premium $220

Directors and Officers (D&O) insurance extends a safety net beyond the classic tort, or negligence situation, which might generate a claim against a member organization. Our comprehensive general liability policy offers insurance for an “occurrence” which is generally defined as an act or omission, which gives rise to liability in the area of “torts”. A classic illustration of this type of occurrence is a negligence action resulting in personal injury.

D&O coverage will protect the officers and directors of nonprofit clubs and events from certain situations where the member might find itself subjected to a claim as a result of an error in judgment or challenged matter of policy. Some specific illustrations of errors and omissions occurrences are as follows:

• A claim of discrimination against a club as a result if barring a runner from participating in an event (e.g. male runner files a suit when barred from a women’s only race).
• A violation of someone’s constitutional rights as a result of policy or procedure taken by a member club.
• An occurrence of age or disability discrimination.
• A decision by a race director to cancel a race (inclement weather), which results in a monetary loss to a runner.

The RRCA believes that the additional insurance coverage afforded by D&O coverage is very necessary in a day and age when some clubs have already found themselves and their officers subjected to allegations of discrimination, defamation, and sexual harassment as a result of policies and procedure. Even if the claim is a questionable one, to have to defend a tenuous claim in court can generate extraordinary legal expense.

Nonprofit RRCA members are required to carry D&O Insurance. If a member holds a D&O policy with another insurance provider, this fee can be refunded by providing a copy of the insurance certificate to the RRCA. D&O insurance does not extend to for-profit business entities, LLCs, or sole proprietor entities that own and direct races or training programs. Individuals that own races and direct races for a profit are highly encouraged to obtain their own business liability insurance to ensure that their business activities are covered.

The RRCA group liability policy does not include high risk events that include:

• Overnight relay races run on open roads with no police support, no road closures, or separate lanes for participants.  Overnight relay races held on trails ARE included in coverage. 
• High risk events commonly referred to as mud-runs, “warrior dashes”, urbanathons, MOB (mud, obstacle, beer) that include man-made obstacles such as, man-made mud pits, man-made slippery slopes, wall climbs, tunnel crawls, or other similar man-made obstacles.
• Events run on man-made trails or cross country courses that do not include man-made obstacles ARE included in coverage, but the course cannot be altered to create man-made obstacles such as watering-down a dry trail or cross country course with a hose to make it muddy. Snowshoe races ARE included but skiing and snowboard races are NOT included.
• As the use of drones to take aerial videos for marketing purposes increases, the RRCA’s position on drone use at events, per our insurance underwriter, is that events should not allow them to be flown by volunteer operators.
• Amusement devices such as moonbounces or bounce houses, dunk tanks, and pools are excluded from the policy.
• Multisport training programs and events (triathlons, biathlons, etc.) are excluded. 
• Fireworks, terrorism, fungi or bacteria, pollution and asbestos are excluded.

The RRCA reserves the right to deny access to the insurance program for activities it deems beyond the scope of the covered activities of policy, which is designed to covers for risks associated with traditional road races, trail/ultra runs with no man-made alterations, and cross country events. Each member should review and understand the details of the general liability program prior to obtaining coverage.

Special note about the use of headphones,  strollers, and dogs

The RRCA understands that discouraging or banning these items in a race can be a challenge for race directors.

Because of this, the use of headphones, strollers and dogs is not excluded from the insurance policy. This means that if a race director bans the use of headphones or strollers during a race, and a participant uses headphones or a stroller anyway, and is involved in an accident, the insurance policy will cover the cost of litigation defense and any potential settlement arising from a claim.

While the insurance policy does not exclude headphones, and the RRCA does not have an outright ban on their use during races, RRCA members taking advantage of the group general liability and Directors & Officers insurance benefit may not actively promote that headphones are welcome at RRCA insured events.