Insurance Coverage for Associations

There are three areas of questions that have been addressed. They are as follows:

1. Are Associations covered under the Conference UCIB insurance policy in regards to the work of their committees such as the Church and Ministry Committee (COM)?

Yes. Even if the Conference leadership disagrees with decisions made by Association committees, the Association’s coverage remains intact.

2. Are Association work teams which engage in mission trips either within the U.S. or outside of the U.S. covered under the Conference insurance policy?

Yes, however it is important to verify what the coverage actually covers. For example, as a general rule, if a legal claim was made in the United States for some type of activity that occurred in another country, the Association would be covered (subject to policy terms, conditions, exclusions, etc.) If a legal proceeding was engaged in a foreign judicial system, then no, the UCIB coverage would not apply.

Yes, Association mission work teams whether sanctioned or not sanctioned by the Conference are covered under the UCIB Program. But again, it is important to verify the extent of the coverage. Specific questions should be asked of the UCIB agent. For example, the UCIB agent recommends that work teams take out a policy for emergency evacuation, medical evacuation, and political evacuation for each overseas activity. Liability coverage of the Conference policy does apply to Associations engaged in overseas mission trips. Nonetheless it is important to understand the extent of liability in the insurance plan. No insurance program provides blanket coverage for all activity.

3. Is the work of an Association covered if the Association has created its own separate legal entity? For example is the work of the AMIGOS program covered under the Conference policy?

No, in general other entities are not covered under the Conference policy.

Yes, an Association mission team engaging in work with the AMIGOS program is covered under the Conference policy just as any other mission work team is covered.

However, if a mission endeavor is engaged in “business” in a foreign setting, including such things as employment, legal transactions (including the payment of legal fees), this activity is not covered under the conference policy.

Cathy Green, the President of the UCIB wrote to us:

“As you and I discussed on the phone, the Insurance Board liability policies were not designed to cover international operations and there are definite limitations and exclusions that may apply.  The IB will be providing a more detailed response to Jeff McDonnell and we will point out the exclusions.  We will also make suggestions regarding how the Association might supplement the IB policies to protect itself and the Conference. “