>Here is a story that happened to a friend of mine. <snip...>
>It caused a gash which had to be attended to in an emergency room.
>
>The lady sued the city, the dance club sponsoring the dance, the fire
>extinguisher manufacturer, AND THE CALLER, whom she contended should have
>warned her about the danger.
>
>Whether she won the suit or not, it still must be defended. Insurance is
>indispensable. If you don't have it, get it. It's not expensive and it can
>save you so much aggravation should an accident occur.
>
>Ron Nelson
Not that I'm suggesting that something like this would "never" happen in
Canada, but I believe it's safe to say that the likelihood is *much* lower.
There are many reason why I don't want to live in the US and this is a
perfect example of one of them. I'm curious to know if this was a one night
stand or a regular dance. And if a regular dance, if that particular lady
was someone who regularly attended that dance, or was someone there for the
first time.
Unfortunately, all these stories do (and I do understand that they likely
make up a *very* small percentage of occurrences)is make me wonder if I
should be calling in the US.... And that seems a real shame to me. <sigh>
Bev
p.s. I've had one person respond to me directly about this and he wisely
mentioned that there are other caller lists that I don't participate in, and
potential callers who don't participate in those or use email. Therefore
it's difficult for me to get a sense of whether there's an interest and
critical mass in Canada to investigate coverage here.
Thanks to everyone to replied to my query about insurance. I've considered it off and on over the years; it probably made more sense when I was touring a lot. I'll probably sign up any way.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
Regarding the Use of Email -- Please Note: Although I use a firewall and my
computer is password protected, my emails are not encrypted. Therefore, I
cannot guarantee confidentiality of email communication. If you choose to
communicate confidential information with me via email, I will assume that
you have made an informed decision and I will view it as your agreement to
take the risk that email may be intercepted. Please be aware that email is
never an appropriate vehicle for emergency communication.
Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 1 Apr 2010 07:53:58 -0500
> From: Martha Edwards <meedwards(a)westendweb.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Caller's insurance
> Message-ID:
> <z2x7d8d864a1004010553q5b90016el94ecdc2439faba1e(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> I **cannot recall a single instance in the twenty years that I have been
> dancing that a dancer sued anyone for anything. But there was an
> *insurance company* that sued our dance group to recover costs associated
> with a dancer who fell and broke a wrist. So even though we are a
> remarkably un-litigious group of people, it's not just dancers who
> might sue, and insurance for the hall, the dance group and even the
> caller is a smart idea.
>
> Thank you CDSS for making it easy and affordable for us to purchase!
I have life, disability, car and condo insurance. I believe in having
insurance that ideally, as David mentioned, I never need to use. And I would
like to have callers insurance. However, it is NOT easy for me to get it. As
a Canadian and resident of Canada, even though I'm a CDSS member in good
standing, I was not eligible for this insurance when it was covered by
Callerlab. The preliminary answer from CDSS (Jeff is currently on vacation)
suggests that this has not changed even though the carrier has changed. It's
disappointing.
I attempted to do some digging here in Canada to see if there was some
equivalent coverage when CDSS first told me I wasn't eligible. I got nowhere
at the time and gave up. But since I'm calling more and more in the US at
bigger events, it does concern me that I could be vulnerable.
I'd appreciate it if the Canadian callers on this list that have an interest
in pursuing insurance would email me directly. I'm curious to know how many
we are.
Thanks,
Bev
Bree asked, "...can you say more about the reasons to have insurance?"
One simple and practical reason is that many halls now require proof of
insurance before they will let a dance group-- or others, for that matter-- use
the facility. Having this slip of paper has made it possible for our band to
hold a monthly dance in the local town hall. Without it, no way.
And then there's the reason that I've not needed so far, which is someone
falling down on the dance floor and getting seriously injured, and sueing the
caller, having decided that it's your fault-- not controlling the crowd
properly, failure to give adequate warning of the dangers involved, not giving
proper safety precautions, choosing a dance that was inappropriate for that
particular crowd. Sure, you might well win the case in court, but it'd be nice
to have the insurance company paying for your defense. Unlikely? Yep, but so are
many other litigious situations in which people find themselves.
Someone died at a dance where I was calling but there was no legal action
involved in that one. Still, not fun...
I figure that caller's insurance is like any other kind of insurance... you pay
your money-- as Chris said, it's not a large sum-- and hope that you never need
it.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
Chris and others: can you say more about the reasons to have insurance? I've
considered it but never heard of a situation where it was needed.
Bree Kalb
Carrboro, NC
Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 22:26:41 -0400
From: "Chris Weiler (home)" <chris.weiler(a)weirdtable.org>
To: Shared Weight <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] [Fwd: Callers Insurance]
Message-ID: <4BAAC9E1.4000000(a)weirdtable.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
If you don't have it, get it.
Chris Weiler
Goffstown, NH
-------- Original Message --------
Hello Callers,
So in late breaking news, CDSS now has callers insurance again! it is a
policy with Philadelphia, similar to what we had in past years. There was a
slight increase in price this year, it will be $55 per year The year for
this policy begins on April1 this year, so there will be no lapse in
coverage!
Information and applications can be found at
http://www.cdss.org/caller-insurance.html
