Co-op insurance question?

[ciyates]

Our small (70-75 kids)co-op just got insurance to protect the church we meet at. The insurance covers any damage the kids do or if the kids are injured. For cost reasons we chose not to require the parents (who are the teachers) to pay a premium to be covered as well.

Here is the problem. One of the adult alumni (she is 25) provides a lunch and dinner service. People can choose to buy lunch or not. I would consider her a vendor. Well Tuesday she cut her hand while preparing a meal at co-op. It required an ER visit and 2 stitches. Are we responsible or should her insurance cover it?

[black_midori]

If she was just a nice adult helping out because she likes your church & your homeschool group - personally, I feel like your co-op group should offer to take care of the bill. I don't know whether it would be covered under the insurance or not (you'd have to check into that), but it would definitely be the right thing to do, IMHO.

 

If she in the business of preparing meals, then she is a "vendor" and probably has (or at least should have) her own insurance cover it. If she doesn't have insurance, however, and would have difficulty in covering the cost, I still think your group should at least make the offer.

 

I would think the church as a whole probably has some sort of insurance protection (for people who fall & get hurt, etc) outside of your co-op, right? If so, it would most likely be covered under that.

[Beth in OH]

My dd recently had an emergency room visit for stitches in her finger. The cost before insurance was around $3000-4000. I know it's a crazy amount, but that's what it costs to walk into an ER in my town and get a few stitches. Don't offer to pay until you know what the amount actually is.

 

You are basically asking about liability questions. I think you need to talk to 1. Trustees in charge of church coverage, 2. The co-op's insurance carrier, 3. the woman's carrier 4. a lawyer. Some combination of these individuals should give you the correct answer. This board will only give you opinion.