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Old 03-06-2010, 11:23 PM
troubleshooter troubleshooter is offline
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Default Miami Kiteboarding Please Respond

How are you handling that IKO does not have insurance to offer kiters at this time.
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Old 03-26-2010, 05:19 PM
kiter_tobe kiter_tobe is offline
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mkb is a joke... after they have ur $, that's it. I'm wondering who is regulating them??
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Old 03-26-2010, 05:35 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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This just showed up on Kiteforum from someone related to IKO. It is the 1rst post of IKO-HQ which is strange you would think they would be posting all the time. Anyway, this is what they wrote.

Quote:
Originally Posted by IKO_HQ
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding insurance in the kiteboarding industry and public perception around it can be very cloudy. The IKO has a lot of experience talking to insurance brokers and would like to clarify a few points.

Kiteboarding is a very young and risky market for insurance brokers. The IKO has tried over the years to get a big enough group together to make it worthwhile for brokers to write new insurance policies and we have had varying success with this. IKO holds the largest database of kiteboarders in the world, and even with this, the main brokers who are capable of offering worldwide insurance are not happy to offer premiums low enough to be affordable to our members.

It is also difficult to underwrite new policies with an international element- it is very rare that your home country insurance policies will ever work abroad. Those that do, for example health insurance, do work because they charge a much higher premium to cover the risk. We have looked at the initial premiums most insurance companies are offering, and they are far too expensive- with yearly premiums amounting to thousands of dollars. This is not something we want to pass on to our members, which is why we have been negotiating hard to get better policies.

The waiver forms the insurance companies require to be filled in are a legal obligation on their side. This has nothing to do with the IKO- the waivers you are required to sign are part of the insurance contract offered by the broker.

Our latest insurance broker decided that the premiums it was receiving did not adequately cover the risk they were taking on insuring kiteboarders at a worldwide level and phased out the policy. Of course, anyone who was covered while the policy was still active will be covered until their contract finishes. The insurance company stopped accepting new contracts on December 2009 for Instructors and on February 22nd 2010 for Kiteboarders.

As it stands now, we are working very hard with two new brokers and are hoping one of the two will be able to offer a better service to our group very soon.

Where you stand specifically:

As a kiteboarder:

• IKO members that are currently insured with First Flight will be covered until their policy date expires.
• For kiteboarders who are required by local authorities to have insurance, you will need to look for a local liability insurance provider.

As an IKO Instructor:

• IKO Instructors that are currently insured with First Flight will be covered until their policy date expires.
• IKO Instructors in the UK can continue purchasing insurance with Perkins Slade Ltd. The insurance is valid for 6 months working abroad.
• For Instructors working in an IKO affiliated School, you will be covered by your School’s insurance. However you will need to make sure that they have listed you as an active Instructor on their IKO Affiliated Center Profile.
• For independent Instructors, you will need to look for a local insurance provider. Make sure you obtain 3rd party liability coverage in order to meet local legal requirements.

As an IKO Affiliated Center:

• Insurance is available for IKO affiliated Centers worldwide through different insurance brokers:
• For the USA: SportsInsurance
• For the UK: Perkins Slade LTD
• For the rest of the world: Sudwestring


We understand there is a lot of frustration with this topic. We hope you can understand our frustration too: we are working extremely hard at finding a solution. We have always wanted to offer it at the best possible price in order to have more members signed on, which in turn gives us more negotiation power with the insurance brokers. No one in the world is trying to do what we are doing. But it is a worthwhile battle, so we are going to continue it. We want to see every kiteboarder out there have access to cheap insurance with great coverage.

We hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion around the insurance.

Warm regards

IKO Team.
http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2363551
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