Why Do We Need Insurance?

[Trace Malinowski]

I was talking to the girl with whom I had my first "date" in 8th grade last night. She became a skydiving instructor. I asked her about professional liability insurance in skydiving. She didn't have any. She said the drop zone just made the student sign a waiver not to sue. I asked the question on the skydiving forum before I asked her. Answer: no professional liability insurance. If that's the case, why are they picking on us? Why can't we go through life without liability insurance and just follow the skydiving model? If we can't LLC individually and be protected, why don't we just form clubs or teach through shops? Is anyone here also a skydiving instructor? Opinions? Knowledge?

 

[Angelo Farina]

I worked 5 years as a professiinal diving instructor, after 5 previous years as a no-profit volunteer instructor in a club.
In both cases without any insurance.
The liability was entirely on the employer (during the professional activity), who was a large touristic operator (Club Vacanze). Of course it was fully ensured...
During the activity in the club, the responsability is entirely on the club's president.
Of course it is highly advisable that he or she also has proper insurance.
I did never work as a self-employed instructor, but in that case I think it is highly advisable to get insurance against liability claims.

 

[Akimbo]

I'm not sure it is prudent to help someone cross the street without insurance in the insane litigious environment that exists in the US. Even then, you need a lawyer to help you make sure you comply with the limitations hidden in the fine print in your insurance policy.

 

[TooCold]

There are two issues here: the advisability to carry liability insurance, and the requirement to carry liability insurance. You assume a duty of care towards your students that cannot be entirely eliminated by waiver, so it is still prudent to be insured. But I don't think most jurisdictions require you to carry insurance to teach scuba, so if that's what you want to do, why not just do it?

However, if you want to issue certs from an established agency, then of course you have to meet that agency's requirements. And if you want to operate through a shop you have to meet the shop's requirements. In either case their choice to require you to carry insurance is a business decision they make for obvious reasons.

 

[FF / EMT]

It’s advantageous to have Insurnace, not having it is foolish as it pays for stupidity on both sides, usually. And signing a piece of paper that says you won’t sue like every dive shop does, that’s working real well for PADI and the dive shop in Missoula…

 

[Wibble]

Depends where you dive. Obviously in the US you have to have liability insurance to do anything.

In the UK we have the National Health Service to deal with DCS and the RNLI and coastguard to run the (free) lifeboats and helicopters. Only need DAN, etc. if diving abroad to cover the recovery and medical costs.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I know why they say we need insurance. I've been the training director of two certification agencies. I should have probably clarified my question. The last time I heard the numbers, there were an average of 30 skydiving fatalities annually vs. 150 scuba fatalities. Clearly, both sports are dangerous. Why did the parachuting world not have to be covered by insurance but the scuba world got picked on? Any climbing instructors out there? There doesn't seem to be any professional liability insurance for rock and mountain climbing instructors in the same way that we had companies like DAN, V&B, Witherspoon, etc. It seems whenever you add water you become the odd man out.

 

[lexvil]

If one makes their living as a scuba instructor they are unlikely to have enough assets to be of interest to a lawyer.

 

[The Ruttmeister]

It might be as simple as Skydiving being something you can't get professional liability insurance for... Especially for sole prop/LLC types.
DAN didn't get started because of an excess of insurance options on the market.

 

[Wibble]

Scuba is far more accessible than skydiving. Any warm seaside holiday resort has loads of dive shops pedalling courses