What is liability insurance?
Liability insurance is not an accident and health policy. It covers individuals for acts of negligence that result in bodily injury and/or property damage to someone who wants compensation for that injury. Legal liability must be shown on behalf of the insured individual in order for this insurance to pay for injury or damage.
Refer to the following note on page
7-1 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual:
| Note: This is not an accident and health policy. There must be an
act of negligence that resulted in bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party who wants compensation for that injury. There must be legal liability on behalf of the covered insured to pay for the injury or damage. |
Why do we carry volunteer liability insurance?
Volunteer liability insurance is carried by Penn State Cooperative Extension to protect our volunteers and our organization. Without this coverage, volunteers would be responsible for their own legal defense.
About our insurance carriers:
Our volunteer liability insurance is brokered through P. W. Wood and Son, Inc. of Ithaca, New York. Dave Ferris and Karen Supek are the insurance agents who we work with to answer questions and address our needs. Hanover Insurance issues the insurance policy. Questions concerning insurance coverage should be directed to Christy Kohler at cek4@psu.edu. Contracts and requests for Certificates of Insurance may be sent directly to P. W. Wood and Son, Inc., P. O. Box 520, Ithaca, NY 14850. The form on page 7-12 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual should accompany contracts or requests for certificates.
Click here to download a copy of the PA Contract Approval/Certificate of Insurance Request Form.
About the scope of liability coverage:
For information on who is covered under this liability policy, refer to page 7-1 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Who is Covered." Please note that all volunteers, not just 4-H volunteers, are covered. Coverage includes advisory committee members, extension board members, Master Gardeners, and any other volunteers working under the leadership of Penn State Cooperative Extension professional/paraprofessionals while participating in approved extension activities.
When determining the scope of volunteer liability coverage, one must first determine if the event or activity is or is not a fund-raiser. If the event or activity is a fund-raiser, refer to the list on page 7-3 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Approved Fund-Raising Events/Activities." The activity must be listed in order to be held as a fund-raiser. The approved fund-raising list is updated in October of each year. If you would like to add new fund-raising ideas to the list, speak with your YPCC Advisory Committee representative or send an email describing the event to Christy Kohler at cek4@psu.edu.
If the event or activity is not a fund-raiser, then refer to page 7-2 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Special Events or Activities That Are Not Covered." Events and activities appearing on this list are not covered under our liability policy and therefore should not be held. There are also some activities/events that are not approved as a part of Pennsylvania's 4-H program. These activities include jackpots/paybacks/futurities, fund-raising through cruise sales, flea markets, and phone card sales. (For further information on these activities, refer to page 6-10 or the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "General Policies." If the event does not appear on either list, it is covered by our policy and can be held.
Volunteer 4-H leaders are covered when working with 4-H youth that are of 4-H age (8-19). No liability coverage is provided for any event in which under age eight youth are participating with horse, ponies, hogs, cows, steers, bulls, donkeys, mules, adult sheep, and adult goats. For more information on coverage for volunteers working with youth under age 8 refer to page 7-7 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Youth Younger than Age Eight."
Volunteers who collaborate with another agency or group and form a committee or group that has their own by-laws will not be covered by our liability insurance. If by-laws are not present, then only the extension volunteers acting in their capacity as extension representatives will be extended liability coverage. Volunteers from other organizations will not be covered. For more information on collaborations, refer to page 7-7 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Collaboration with Other Groups."
Our volunteer liability insurance does not cover other organizations. In jointly sponsored events, other organizations need to provide proof of $1,000,000 liability insurance covering their liability for the event including liability for participant injuries. For further information on working with other groups refer to page 7-8 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Other Organizations."
When working with outside vendors, these vendors must also provide proof of insurance. A vendor is defined as anyone who is not a part of our organization who is on the premises for the purposes of making money. Vendors at tack swaps are not permitted to sell used equipment. Nonprofit organizations are allowed to operate food stands as long as they provide the necessary certificate of insurance. For further information on this topic refer to page 7-8 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Outside Vendors."
Contracts and Certificates of Insurance:
Often volunteers are asked to sign contracts when planning club events. Volunteers are not permitted to sign a contract until P. W. Wood & Son, Inc. has approved it. P. W. Wood & Son, Ind. should receive contracts at least 15 days before the event, with the cover sheet found on page 7-12 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "PA Contract Approval/Certificate of Insurance Request Form." The directions for completing the form are found on page 7-11, "Contract Approval/Certificate of Insurance Request Form Procedure." For further information on contracts, refer to "Contracts with Other Groups," on page 7-9 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual.
Certificates of Insurance are provided to prove that an organization has insurance coverage and the amount of coverage available. Many times other organizations will request such proof from 4-H. A certificate may be obtained by completing the form on page 7-12 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual. If 4-H is jointly sponsoring events with other organizations, such as events held with fairs and FFA, the other groups need to provide certificates of insurance to 4-H.
Reporting an Incident:
If an accident happens at a volunteer-led event or activity, the incident should be reported on the "Incident Report Form" found on page 7-14 (see below to download a copy of the form) or the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual. The volunteer should contact the Extension agent about the incident then complete the form and turn it in to the Extension Office. If it is a serious accident, the agent should contact his/her Regional Director immediately and P. W. Wood & Son, Inc. Directions for reporting an incident are found on page 7-13 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual.
Click here to download a copy of the 4-H Volunteer Liability Insurance Incident Report Form.
Accidents occurring at events or activities lead by Extension personnel
would be covered through Penn State.
Accident/Special Activity Coverage
There are many companies that offer medical coverage for club activities and events. The 4-H Policy and Resource Manual shares information with you on one of those companies, American Income Life. Descriptions of the two types of coverage offered by American Income Life are found on page 7-17 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual, "Special Activity Insurance."
4-H Clubs may purchase Dollar-A-Year coverage for each member and adult leader. This insurance is designed to cover regular meetings and project days for an individual club where the whole club is participating with adult supervision. This coverage is active while a club member is traveling directly to and from the meeting and while attending the meeting. All club members must be insured. Leader coverage is optional. Horse club members are charged $2 per year.
American Income Life also provides accident or illness coverage for special activities. Everyone planning county, regional, or state youth events is strongly encouraged to obtain this insurance coverage. It is designed for special events such as skating parties, field trips, overnights, summer camps, etc. The plan number selected determines the benefits. Refer to the information following page 7-17 for specific details on the dollar-a-year and special activities coverage.
Informational brochures and claim forms are available from American Income Life, PO Box 50158, Indianapolis, IN 46250, 317-849-5545. For additional questions, you may contact Christy Kohler at cek4@psu.edu.
The intention of offering special activity and dollar-a-year programs
through American Income Life is not to diminish the need for family health
insurance or to replace the benefits that may be available under a family
medical plan. Rather it is the objective to provide the leader and parents
of each member entrusted to the care of a leader the assurance that, should
the need arise, financial coverage is available to help pay the medical
expenses of accidents occurring during the normal supervised activities
of the 4-H program.
4-H volunteers are an integral part of our 4-H camping program. K & K Insurance Group, Inc. provides liability coverage for those volunteers working with us in our camping program. Each year camp directors are given billing information and sent claim forms at the beginning of the camping season. There are some exclusions to our coverage. The list of activities that cannot be done at camp is found on page 9-6 of the 4-H Policy and Resource Manual.
K & K maintains a list of our camps so anyone planning a new residential camp program must contact Christy Kohler to ensure coverage. Also contact Christy with your questions at cek4@psu.edu.
| 1. | Welcome to 4-H |
| 2. | Understanding Cooperative Extension and 4-H |
| 3. | Mission and Philosophy of the 4-H/Youth Program |
| 4. | The Youth Program Coordinating Council |
| 5. | Who Can Belong to 4-H |
| 6. | Volunteer Screening |
| 7. | Protecting Youth and Volunteers--Liability Insurance |
| 8. | Protecting Youth and Volunteers--Transportation and Emergency Medical Treatment |
| 9. | Codes of Conduct |
| 10. | Financial Facts--4-H Club Fundraising |
| 11. | Financial Facts--Guidelines for the 4-H Club Treasurer and Leader |
| 12. | Financial Facts--Pennsylvania 4-H Development Fund |
| 13. | Authorization to Use the 4-H Name and Emblem |
| 14. | Bill of Rights for Volunteers |
| 15. | Volunteer Agreement |
| 16. | 4-H Volunteer Role Description--Organization Leader |
| 17. | 4-H Volunteer Role Description--Project Leader |
| 18. | 4-H Volunteer Role Description--Activity Leader |
| 19. | 4-H Volunteer Role Description--Committee Member |
| 20. | Dear Parent |
| 21. | Designing the First 4-H Meeting |
| 22. | 4-H Meeting Outline |
| 23. | Leader Ideas for Meetings |
| 24. | Helping Other Volunteers Get Involved |
| 25. | Opportunities for 4-H Members |
| 26. | Opportunities for 4-H Leaders |
| 27. | Sexual Harassment |
