As an organizer, I think it partly your responsibility to make sure they have it.
Brian,
I still don't get why you the organizer feel the need to muck around in this can of worms. How can you be "SURE THEY HAVE IT" How can you validate their certificate... they could photoshop one in minutes. In this day an age their insurance company could have folded last week. What good comes of it for the OA?
I agree, I want everyone to have liability insurance at the events I attend... BUT as an OA... I don't want any responsibility for it.
Liability is a legal matter. Sailboat racing is a game defined by the Racing rules,Prescriptions, SI's and NOR ... Don't mix the game with the legal liability crap. The powers that be have worked really hard to keep the two things well apart.
Your good intention opens the door for lots of trouble.
If the cat sailor hits the swimmer...Seems to me it's his problem... not the regatta chair's.
What happens if the cat sailor lied and has no insurance and no assets. If I am the swimmer... I come after you in court because YOU did not verify that he had insurance and he would not have been out there if you had done your job as you said you would. You have some financial liability for my injury. It doesn't matter if the swimmer wins or looses on the merits... You opened the door to my claim and now you are in court (your time, your lawyer, your stress, your $$$ etc etc).
I assert that most YC's and the big regattas don't want to get involved in this stuff and leave it up to individual captain's responsibility to have liability insurance.
See the NOR for Key West... They use the word responsibility many many times.... never liability.
The prescriptions to the racing rules define responsibility... not liability and are very clear they don't speak to matters of liability keeping it very clear that the game rules and participants do not settle a legal issue.
That's for the civil courts.
Your best of intention puts the innocent Organizing Authority in the middle of a legal xxx contest. Not to mention... your Org Authority Regatta liability insurance coverage is a big pot of money to go after (Standard is a million bucks). Why offer up the target?
