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Presidents Message
We have many items to be addressed at the Annual Meeting, May 21, 2005.
Our Paid Memberships are at a low of 106 Families. Obviously your Executive cannot afford to continue without financing.
The disappointment felt by ourselves and our young people with the canceling of the 2004 Regatta.
Our difficulties in obtaining Insurance Coverage. (See FOCA Report)
Members are needed to serve on KAPOA Executive and Board of Directors (involvement is small) if KAPOA is to continue.
The above items are the most important ones facing us at this time, but we have many things to discuss.
Please don’t let a few people in attendance decide the fate of your Cottage Association.
THIS IS SERIOUS DECISION TIME!
Bring your ideas, your questions, your commitment and your money. We welcome it all. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Virginia Lyon, President.
Annual Meeting
The 2005 KAPOA Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday May 21 at the Opeongo Seniors Centre at 10:00 AM. Reeves John Hildebrand of Madawaska Valley, Mayor Don Bloom and Deputy Mayor Marie Maschke of Hastings Highlands will be invited to address the membership and to be available to answer questions from the floor.
Around The Lake
Elections
Several of the members of the Board are finished their terms and have indicated that they do not wish to continue for another term. We will be looking for replacements for the PRESIDENT, TREASURER, SECRETARY DIRECTORS and the MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY. Any persons wishing to run for office should contact Virginia Lyon 756-5673.
Membership
The total memberships paid for 2004 was 106.
Wolf Creek Dump Site
There has been and appendix “A” to By-Law #26-2003 for all Hasting Highland Waste Disposal Sites. There are now Tipping Fees. The following apply.
Tires
Passenger Cars/ Light Trucks…….$3.00/Tire
Heavy Truck/Bus……………………….6.00/Tire
Heavy Equipment……………………..10.00/Tire
Renovation/Construction By-Products
Dump Truck Load……………………..$300.00
Contractor Trailer Load……………….100.00/Ton
1/2 Ton Trailer Load of Shingles……25.00
Appliances containing freon will NOT be accepted at any sites unless tagged with a certificate indicating that the freon has been moved by a qualified technician.
FOCA Risk Management Program Update
In support Of Our members, FOCA has long a leader in providing administrative and corporate advice and programming. This support helps to maintain and improve the important programs and services our find valuable for their respective communities and we continually 100k for ways for our members to make their programs even better. For member associations, this includes securing liability insurance products, offered to our membership through third-party insurance companies.
In early 2004, ST. Paul Canada advised FOCA’s broker that they would not offer renewal terms for the FOCA Cottage Association liability insurance In fact, many insurers that were dealing with cottagers, including Zurich, ING and ST. Paul cancelled their existing programs. The reasons given were:
- High risk exposures such as fire fighting, water control dams and sports events;
- Downloading of government risk exposures to volunteers groups, which was not acceptable;
- A renewed demand for de tailed underwriting by insurer;
- Failure to fully disclose risk exposure by applicants and
- Not enough premiums charged related to the risk exposures.
Subsequently, many insurers were approached by FOCA’s broker through a request proposal process to quote on the liability insurance program. Optimum Frontier Insurance Company responded by offering to underwrite individual FOCA member associations and road groups, on a case-by-case basis. The cancellation and rewriting of hundreds of policies on the eve of most members’ renewal date in late spring proved to a difficult and somewhat painful process, as volunteer executives across our membership were faced with a new, rigorous application process increased numbers of excluded perils and continued and significant premium increases. Each applicant had to follow the detailed procedural legal requirements of underwriters and the insurance regulations and many sought some form of professional advice. These fairly rigorous requirements included providing detailed and accurate disclosure of all risks, including association size and activity details. Previously undisclosed risks, including fire fighting activities, events and detail about picnic activities and liquor liability exposures were particularly problematic. Further insurance could not underwritten without the risk information. For these incomplete applications, registered letters of rejection were mailed to the applicants. The industry-wide challenges were evident: many groups not previously on the FOCA program, who were also now without coverage options, sought to participate in FOCA’s program.
Looking forward, it is anticipated that the coming year will see a smother process based on having insurers who wish to work with FOCA to support the insurance programs. The FOCA Risk Management Committee is focusing on the future and will continue to provide leadership and guidance for our members on these important issues. Currently, our society and legal system demand that volunteer activities be organized in a proper and safe manner. For example, regattas need safety procedures; children need to be protected at association events and water safety needs to be emphasized. Also, guidelines need to be established and followed for rock and shoal marker operation; fire fighting and fire pumps; road, trail and vacant property management; volunteer recruiting and events where food and or liquor are served. To this end, the Risk Management Committee is working on a number of initiatives to produce Guidelines for cottage associations, to ensure we have access to the best available insurance options and to improve communications between the insurance companies and our members. It has been a trying year all groups trying to adequately manage their exposures, while maintaining their many activities on the waterfront. It is our intent that, with a concerted effort, FOCA will continue to provide sound program delivery to our members at a reasonable cost.
Highlights from the Voluntary Sector Risk Management Review
The current challenges facing voluntary sector organizations are not an isolated event but part of a cycle experienced by the insurance industry over time. Insurers to the current period of crisis in the insurance industry as a “hard market”. Insurers in a hard market are under pressure to see to it that policy is profitable. This means: less Coverage; – Higher Premiums; – Increased Deductibles and Greater Exclusions; – Greater Difficulty Getting Coverage for Different Types of Causalities; – Sometimes Being Unable to get Insurance Coverage at all; Tougher Restrictions and Higher Premiums Regardless Of an Organization’s Claim History.
The current hard insurance market has adversely affected voluntary organizations nationally and internationally. Organizations are concerned about declining organizational membership and/or participation in activities. The voluntary sector is not alone in facing high insurance premiums, businesses have experienced nearly three years of double and even triple-digit increases since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with the projected cost to insurers of $35 Billion. Just one of the 2004 Florida hurricanes, Charley, will likely end up costing insurers close to $10 billion. Insurance Journal (2004) reported that Directors and Officers Insurance premiums increased 30% on average from 2002 to 2003.
