Industry trade organisation Running USA has announced two new benefits for its membership: the opportunity to secure event liability/participant accident insurance and special member pricing for event cancellation coverage. Policies for each circumstance are now available to Running USA members.
In partnership with the Nicholas Hill Group, a leading provider of event insurance services, Running USA members will enjoy member exclusive pricing on any event cancellation policy purchased after verification of their active membership.
In recent years, Running USA notes that natural disasters and unexpected weather events have forced the unanticipated cancellation of more running races than ever before. Wildfires, hurricanes and extreme rainfall are just a few of the circumstances that can force cancellation of a long-planned event. When the unexpected strikes, participants and event organizers are looking for ways to recoup their upfront investment costs.
Running USA adds that event liability/participant accident insurance coverage can be viewed as a best practice, due to the unforeseen liabilities inherent in hosting a mass participation athletic event. Running USA and the Nicholas Hill Group believe that a properly desired liability policy is the foundation of any successful, responsible event. Additionally, this critical insurance coverage is typically the first requirement that a venue or event location may require.
“We pursued this benefit for our members after listening to your feedback,” said Running USA CEO Rich Harshbarger. “Nicholas Hill Group offers competitive rates on all event policies and the discount for event cancellation policies is just one more great reason to become a member of the sport’s most valuable business-to-business organization.”
Information about the two policy types, and details on obtaining an insurance quote can be found at nicholashillgroup.com/runningusa.
Nathan Nicholas, co-founder & CEO of Nicholas Hill, stated that the process of receiving a quote and purchasing a policy from his group is simple and can be done entirely online.
“To secure event liability and participant accident insurance, members enter their event details using the electronic application and will receive a real-time quote,” Hill said. “They can bind the coverage online by paying with a credit card. They’ll then receive all policy documents, including certificates, electronically. Event cancellation insurance quotes will typically take less than 24 hours, but guaranteed within two business days.”
The Colfax Marathon is among the Running USA members who have already taken advantage of the new insurance benefit. CEO Andrea Dowdy explained why the Denver, Colo. event sought to invest in coverage. “It was a top priority this year to add race cancellation insurance to ensure our financial longevity, even though it came with a significant investment,” said Dowdy.
“We are a non-profit with one major race per year so could not afford to reimburse or defer runners to another event if we had to cancel. In our market of hundreds of running events each year, we could no longer have the potential risk of alienating loyal runners by not having insurance. We chose to work with the Nicholas Hill Group as they could provide event cancellation expertise, answers, and ideas, and options for coverage and companies based on our parameters. They worked with us step by step, and were an integral part of our team.”
A webinar on event insurance best practices featuring the Nicholas Hill team will be held following the upcoming Running USA conference in February.
