Gogebic County Board ponders insurance

By P.J. GLISSON

[email protected]

Bessemer — Members of the Gogebic County Board of Commissioners used an April 12 meeting of their Economic and Capital Improvements Committee to concentrate solely on learning about how to use insurance to best protect the county, its property and its individual citizens.

It turns out that the solutions, for the most part, are not cheap.

The question-and-answer session was anchored by a representative of the Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority — better known by its acronym of MMRMA — which markets itself as “a public entity risk pool for municipalities throughout Michigan.”

MMRMA (pronounced MER-ma) hired Christopher Katona of the U.P. Insurance Agency, Inc. in Negaunee, Michigan, as its representative for the meeting.

Katona confirmed that the county’s insurance with MMRMA constitutes $10 million of coverage per occurrence — a key distinction in that it does not provide that level of coverage “per person.”

Thus opened the proverbial can of worms.

“Anything that is held on county property, the county is liable for,” warned Katona. “The insurance covers some of it, not all of it.”

As an additional layer of defense, Katona repeatedly advised that the county should ask anyone using county property to purchase extra insurance.

“It’s just an added layer of protection,” he explained, adding that — as a hypothetical — organizers of a horse polo event held at the Gogebic County Fairgrounds could purchase a one-day event insurance policy for $1 million at a cost of roughly $300-$400.

“I would recommend requiring it for any county property,” he said of anyone sponsoring any given event, even when alcohol is not involved.

In addition, Katona emphasized that anyone engaging such a short-term policy also should name the county as back-up insurance. That way, he said authorities would alert the county if the short-term policy ended prematurely.

In relation to other entities using fairground property, Katona suggested that alcohol booths should have their own liquor liability coverage and that groups such as horseshoe or volleyball leagues also should have their own insurance policies.

Moreover, he said that even organizations such as the county 4-H Club, which already carries its own insurance policy for members, also should spring for an additional temporary policy for each event it sponsors on county property.

Because the 4-H policy does not cover non-members, Katona also recommended that other attendees either join 4-H or spring for their own personal insurance riders when attending 4-H events.

“I don’t see people up here being able to afford that,” said James Lorenson, who chairs the county’s Board of Commissioners.

Regarding vendors who may not wish to share insurance proofs, Katona advised requiring not only the proof, but also the declarations pages of said policies.

As for the possibility of allowing the use of county property without insurance, he said, “I would not recommend it.”

Katona said that it’s also possible for groups to get extra insurance that applies to particular seasons and it can even list expected event dates.

As for what defines a group, Katona suggested that any collection of folks — whether named as a formal organization or not — can constitute a group.

In terms of persons working on county property, Commissioner Daniel Siirila pointed out that they already have Workmen’s Compensation, but Katona said that — even if they are self-employed — they also should get separate liability insurance relating to their specific project.

“I would not recommend exceptions,” he said.

Regarding seasonal storage, which is a practice that has occurred on the fairgrounds for decades, Katona said of vehicles, “I would recommend to keep a certain level of insurance even though many people remove insurance in off season.”

Regarding renting storage space to someone without insurance, he again said, “I would not recommend it.”

Katona said some protections can be set in place in advance to better protect county interests.

For instance, he noted that participation waivers, also known as “hold harmless waivers,” can work in some instances.

However, when Siirila asked whether someone signing a waiver could still file a suit anyway, Katona answered, “Yes.”

“How do you protect yourself from people wandering?” asked Lorenson in reference to people who stray away from designated activity areas.

“You can’t,” said Katona. “You’re never going to eliminate everything.”

Commissioners Thomas Laabs and Robert Orlich suggested, respectively, that fencing sensitive areas and installing signage could help to reduce potential problems, and Katona agreed.

“Signage is great,” he said, adding that “it’s not a stopgap by any means,” but that it should help, including such messages as “Do not enter.”

“The other thing is administration,” said Commissioner Joseph Bonovetz regarding the implementation of any insurance requirements. “Who’s going to keep track of it?”

No action was taken during the April 12 session, but public comment was welcome at the conclusion of the discussion.

During that session, Fair Board Member Linda Nelson addressed the board remotely by audio, questioning first why so much of the session was focused on the fairgrounds when the county also has a lot of other property.

She also noted of the Fair Board, “We carry a general liability insurance for everything.”

Nelson added that she has learned, moreover, that general liability is generally all that is used by other fair boards, including those that host a rodeo, which is scheduled for this summer’s fair.

“If we continue to force people to have every type of insurance out there, we’re not going to have anything (in the way of activities),” concluded Nelson.

Fair Board Coordinator Marlene Saari requested that the board inform her of policy requirements as soon as possible so that she can share that information with persons wishing to use the fairground’s multipurpose building.

Katona assured that he has been providing such consultation since 2001 and that his company — which he said offers event coverage as part of its portfolio — had been founded by his father, John Katona, in 1987.

Katona also provided commissioners with a risk manual, which he urged them to review, and said that they are welcome to contact him with any further questions.