Why Do We Need Insurance?

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I think in large part it comes down to perceptions.

No one thinks skydiving is safe. There is a near universal recognition that if you jump you very well might die.

On the other hand, the SCUBA industry has tried hard to convince the public at large that what we do is in fact "safe" and with that comes an expectation of safety. When that expectation falls through for whatever reason, then people start calling lawyers.
 
A climbing instructor contacted me. They do have professional liability for individuals. Skydiving schools get a policy to cover instructors but individuals don't get their own liability.
 
It’s advantageous to have Insurnace, not having it is foolish as it pays for stupidity on both sides, usually. And signing a piece of paper that says you won’t sue like every dive shop does, that’s working real well for PADI and the dive shop in Missoula…

Yet I have lawyer friends that tell me liability insurance makes a person a target for silly lawsuits. And a waiver should never really protect you from gross negligence, in the case of Linnea Mills, everything about the case that I've read sounds like gross negligence.

To the OP's question - I think it could be argued that only an idiot would not know jumping out of a perfectly good airplane carries risk, however there are forces within the scuba industry that have spent literally decades trying to convince the public that scuba is safer than bowling.
 
Trace, you’re a bright guy, but you're asking the wrong question.

Let me give some background to who I am, for those of you that don't know. Trace and I know each other personally for over a decade. I've been a 100 Ton Boat Captain, running charters in the Keys, and today I am currently a technical dive instructor for cave and ccr. I also own one of the largest Property, Casualty and Life Insurance agencies in the country. I have licenses in 20+ states and I'm a claims adjuster in almost two dozen states. I'm also a pilot with several friends running jump planes for skydivers. I think it's safe to say that I know a little bit about liability.

So, back to Trace's wrong question. Your question shouldn't be why do dive professionals need insurance when Skydive instructors don't. Your question should be, how many of those skydiving accidents involved litigation and what was the result of that litigation.

Because I PROMISE you that a liability waiver is the next closest thing to worthless. 90% of people out there don't realize that they're worthless, and that's the majority of protection that they carry is that people think, "Man, sure wish I could sue, but dammit I signed that liability waiver". These waivers have been beat in court more times than they haven't been. Years ago, I heard Witherspoon tell a guy at DEMA that if his student didn't sign that waiver, Witherspoon wouldn't defend the instructor in litigation. It doesn't really work that way. But it was a nice threat. There's a contract filed with the state that says how and when you defend someone. You don't get to arbitrarily decide if/when you protect your insured. Read your contract.

But I digress. Dude, you don't have to have insurance. Create your own agency. Make your own rules. You're a likable guy. I'm pretty sure you'd be successful. But this country sues for the dumbest stuff on the planet. Do you know what I'm worth today? NO WAY IN HELL am I putting it all at risk to save $600/yr.

2 years ago a client of mine ordered pizza from Dominoes. The kid delivering the pizza knocked on the door and then took one step up the 2 stairs to enter the doorway. He slipped, grabbed the railing and cut his hand on the railing. An ambulance was called and the kid received one stitch to close the wound. We paid the kid through Medical Payments to Others. We covered his lost day of work, the ambulance ride, stitches, even the dropped pizza. The kid sued my client for $75k AND WON. Now, here's the funny part. The kid was at work. Workers Comp covered all of this as well, everything except the dropped pizza. The kid was made whole, twice. That's the bs country we live in. And you're going to try and teach cave diving, but save $600 on insurance? If so, scratch that first sentence where I said you were a bright guy. I take that back.
 
Yet I have lawyer friends that tell me liability insurance makes a person a target for silly lawsuits. And a waiver should never really protect you from gross negligence, in the case of Linnea Mills, everything about the case that I've read sounds like gross negligence.

To the OP's question - I think it could be argued that only an idiot would not know jumping out of a perfectly good airplane carries risk, however there are forces within the scuba industry that have spent literally decades trying to convince the public that scuba is safer than bowling.
Target or not, the alternative is a lifetime of payments to satisfy your judgement. You have no idea how many people I see every year that have minimum policy limits for auto insurance. They cause an accident. Their insurance covers $10k in liability and the judgement says they'll make a $200/mo for the next 20 years to cover the other $50k you owe. Sure you could declare bankruptcy, but that doesn't get your license back. You miss one payment, your license is suspended, bankruptcy or not.

So, even if you're broke, insurance makes sense because Morgan and Morgan and Dan Newlin are going to sue you if they think they can win, not just if you have insurance.
 
If one makes their living as a scuba instructor they are unlikely to have enough assets to be of interest to a lawyer.
Attorneys sue for future wages all the time. When I was writing minimum policy limits, I was involved with several cases like this. I market to high earners now and don't write minimum limits so I don't see it much anymore. But it's still happening.
 
Trace, you’re a bright guy, but you're asking the wrong question.

Let me give some background to who I am, for those of you that don't know. Trace and I know each other personally for over a decade. I've been a 100 Ton Boat Captain, running charters in the Keys, and today I am currently a technical dive instructor for cave and ccr. I also own one of the largest Property, Casualty and Life Insurance agencies in the country. I have licenses in 20+ states and I'm a claims adjuster in almost two dozen states. I'm also a pilot with several friends running jump planes for skydivers. I think it's safe to say that I know a little bit about liability.

So, back to Trace's wrong question. Your question shouldn't be why do dive professionals need insurance when Skydive instructors don't. Your question should be, how many of those skydiving accidents involved litigation and what was the result of that litigation.

Because I PROMISE you that a liability waiver is the next closest thing to worthless. 90% of people out there don't realize that they're worthless, and that's the majority of protection that they carry is that people think, "Man, sure wish I could sue, but dammit I signed that liability waiver". These waivers have been beat in court more times than they haven't been. Years ago, I heard Witherspoon tell a guy at DEMA that if his student didn't sign that waiver, Witherspoon wouldn't defend the instructor in litigation. It doesn't really work that way. But it was a nice threat. There's a contract filed with the state that says how and when you defend someone. You don't get to arbitrarily decide if/when you protect your insured. Read your contract.

But I digress. Dude, you don't have to have insurance. Create your own agency. Make your own rules. You're a likable guy. I'm pretty sure you'd be successful. But this country sues for the dumbest stuff on the planet. Do you know what I'm worth today? NO WAY IN HELL am I putting it all at risk to save $600/yr.

2 years ago a client of mine ordered pizza from Dominoes. The kid delivering the pizza knocked on the door and then took one step up the 2 stairs to enter the doorway. He slipped, grabbed the railing and cut his hand on the railing. An ambulance was called and the kid received one stitch to close the wound. We paid the kid through Medical Payments to Others. We covered his lost day of work, the ambulance ride, stitches, even the dropped pizza. The kid sued my client for $75k AND WON. Now, here's the funny part. The kid was at work. Workers Comp covered all of this as well, everything except the dropped pizza. The kid was made whole, twice. That's the bs country we live in. And you're going to try and teach cave diving, but save $600 on insurance? If so, scratch that first sentence where I said you were a bright guy. I take that back.
Did he fix the railing? If not i’m going to start delivering pizza…
 
Did he fix the railing? If not i’m going to start delivering pizza…
There was nothing wrong with the railing. The kid was wearing old crocks with no traction. Old Crocks on slippery concrete is a fall waiting to happen.
 
There was nothing wrong with the railing. The kid was wearing old crocks with no traction. Old Crocks on slippery concrete is a fall waiting to happen.
Not much is going to protect you on slippery concrete...
 

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