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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-84MARCH 9, 2010 10 -84 RESOLUTION (CARRIED 7 -0 LOST LAID OVER WITHDRAWN ) PURPOSE: AMEND SPECIAL EVENTS INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION WHEREAS, the Common Council for the City of Oshkosh has previously adopted insurance requirements for special events; and WHEREAS, special events held upon city property or requiring the city to provide extraordinary services expose the city to potential claims and liability for accidents arising out of those special events; and WHEREAS, special events are generally open to the public and are comprised of gatherings of people and activities which can expose attendees to increased risks of harm which would most effectively be addressed through an insurance policy by the event organizer; and WHEREAS, the Common Council will also consider an ordinance related to Special Events, Marches and Public Assemblies and it is advisable to periodically review and update, in consultation with the City's insurance carrier, the City's policies with regard to coverage for special events. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the previous policy specifying insurance requirements for special events is hereby repealed and the attached policy is adopted. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the requirements as specified in the attached policy shall be effective January 1, 2011 and shall apply to all special events which are required to obtain a special event permit pursuant to City Ordinance. i INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS All organizers of events requiring a special event permit pursuant to City Ordinance shall procure at their expense, a policy of insurance subject to the following minimum requirements. For those events where it is unclear whether insurance is required, or if required what level may be required, these decisions shall be made by the City Manager, or their designee, at his /her sole discretion. The City Manager, or their designee, may consult with City staff, event organizers, and parties with relevant information prior making such decision to determine the exact nature of the activity, the risk involved, and the appropriate level of insurance as required below. Low Risk Events Insurance will not be required for Low Risk Events and no hold harmless agreement will be required. Low Risk Events includes only those events at which there is no sale of food or other merchandise, which do not involve an alcohol beverage permit /license, which have no planned competitive physical events, and which anticipate the attendance of 250 or less persons. Some examples of low risk activities are block parties, small theatrical performances, and private gatherings such as weddings. Medium Risk Events Medium Risk Events include only events which include the sale of food or other merchandise, but which do not involve an alcohol beverage permit /license and which anticipate attendance of 5000 or fewer persons. Some examples of Medium Risk activities are farmers markets, parades with no animals, art fairs, flea markets, run /walks of 5K or less distance, car or motorcycle shows, and fishing tournaments. Medium Risk Events Insurance Requirements The insurance as required by the City of Oshkosh is primary coverage and any insurance or self insurance maintained by the City of Oshkosh, its officers, council members, agents, employees or authorized volunteers will not contribute to a loss. All insurance shall be in full force prior to commencing the event and remain in force throughout the entire event, including the clean up period after the event. GENERAL LIABILITY COVERAGE Commercial General Liability $500,000 each occurrence limit $500,000 personal injury and advertising injury $500,000 general aggregate 2 $500,000 products — completed operations aggregate Claims made form of coverage is not acceptable. Insurance must include the following: Participants in contents sponsored by the special events hosts cannot be eliminated or excluded from this insurance requirement Premises and operations liability Contractual liability Personal injury Products / completed operations The general aggregate must apply separately to this event BUSINESS AUTOMOBILE COVERAGE If this exposure shall exist, $250,000 each person / $500,000 each accident for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage •' $500,000 combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage each accident Must cover liability for "any auto" including owned, non -owned and hired automobile liability WORKERS COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYERS LIABILITY If required by Wisconsin Statutes, then the event organizer must carry coverage for statutory workers compensation and employers liability limit of: $100,000 each accident $500,000 disease policy limit $100,000 disease — each employee AIRCRAFT LIABILITY (including helicopter) — owned, non - owned, or hired If this exposure shall exist, the limits must be at least $5,000,000 combined single limit for bodily injury (injury passenger liability) and property damages Any liability exclusions relating to slung cargo must be deleted. 3 High Risk Events High Risk Events include events which include any of the following: 1) events which involve an alcohol beverage permit /license, 2) which anticipate attendance of more than 5000 persons, 3) which involve fireworks or any other form of explosive device, 4) which include bonfires or other open fires, 5) which include amusement rides, 6) events with any type of aircraft or helicopter, or 7) events with live animals. Some examples of High Risk activities are carnivals, parades with live animals, marathons /runs /walks of more than 5K in distance, bike /motorcycle or snowmobile rides or races, concerts, dances, and animal shows. High Risk Events Insurance Requirements The insurance as required by the City of Oshkosh is primary coverage and any insurance or self insurance maintained by the City of Oshkosh, its officers, council members, agents, employees or authorized volunteers will not contribute to a loss. All insurance shall be in full force prior to commencing the event and remain in force throughout the entire event, including the clean up period after the event. GENERAL LIABILITY COVERAGE Commercial General Liability $1,000,000 each occurrence limit for Bodily Injury and Property Damage $1,000,000 personal injury and advertising injury $1,000,000 general aggregate $1,000,000 products — completed operations aggregate Claims made form of coverage is not acceptable. Insurance must include the following: Participants in contents sponsored by the special events hosts cannot be eliminated or excluded from this insurance requirement Premises and operations liability Contractual liability Personal injury Products / completed operations The general aggregate must apply separately to this event BUSINESS AUTOMOBILE COVERAGE If this exposure shall exist, $250,000 each person / $500,000 each accident for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage 4 AN $500,000 combined single limit for bodily injury and property damage each accident Must cover liability for "any auto" including owned, non -owned and hired automobile liability WORKERS COMPENSATION AND EMPLOYERS LIABILITY If required by Wisconsin Statutes, then the event organizer must carry coverage for statutory workers compensation and employers liability limit of: $100,000 each accident $500,000 disease policy limit $100,000 disease — each employee AIRCRAFT LIABILITY (including helicopter) — owned, non - owned, or hired If this exposure shall exist, the limits must be at least $5,000,000 combined single limit for bodily injury (injury passenger liability) and property damages Any liability exclusions relating to slung cargo must be deleted. ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS WHEN INSURANCE IS REQUIRED Additional insured — on general liability coverage, business automobile liability coverage, aircraft liability: The City of Oshkosh, and its officers, council members, agents, employees, and authorized volunteers shall be included as additional insureds. The City of Oshkosh requires 30 day written notice of cancellation, non - renewal or material change in the insurance coverage. The insurance coverage required must be provided by an insurance carrier with the "Best" rating of "A -VII" or better. The certificate of insurance shall be satisfactory proof of insurance of said policies and shall be filed at the office of the city clerk for the City of Oshkosh a minimum of ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled event. If these requirements are not met, the event cannot be held on city property. End of Document 5 CITY HALL 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, 54903-1130 City of Oshkosh 0 O.fHKO rH TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council FROM: Lynn A. Lorenson, City Attorney DATE: March 4, 2010 RE: Amend Special Events Insurance Requirements BACKGROUND In connection with the proposed Special Events ordinance, City staff has reviewed the City's special event insurance requirements. The Council last comprehensively reviewed the special event insurance requirements in December 2002. The current requirements are essentially one - size - fits -all with any special event being held on city property or utilizing city right -of -way being required to obtain one million dollars ($1,000,000) in liability coverage. Staff reviewed the types of events occurring and evaluated the relative risk of those events to the attendees and potential liability of the City, and is recommending a tiered approach based upon the anticipated risks associated with the various types of events. ANALYSIS The City of Oshkosh currently requires all persons or groups holding special events on city -owned property to acquire a one million dollar ($1,000,000) commercial general liability policy covering the event and naming the City of Oshkosh as an additional insured under the terms of the policy. The insurance is required both for the protection of the public attending the event, and to protect the City of Oshkosh from claims that may be filed in relation to an event which is not under the City's control or direction, but which exposes the City to potential claims because it is held upon city property. In connection with the development of the Special Events ordinance, city staff reviewed the current insurance requirements taking into consideration the anticipated risks associated with the various types of events that have typically been held within the City. While the current policy is limited to events which are co Special Events Insurance: 3/4/10: Page 2 located upon city property, the proposed ordinance would be consistent with the proposed special events ordinance and include events held on non -city owned property that require the city to provide extraordinary services. The provision of extraordinary services to special events exposes the City to additional claims related to those events therefore, to the extent that the City is being required to provide extraordinary services in support of a special event, the proposed resolution and special events ordinance would require those events to also provide proof of insurance coverage. Staff proposes creating a tiered approach to required insurance coverage for special events that are required under the proposed Special Events ordinance to obtain a permit from the City. The proposed resolution divides the special events into low, medium and high -risk events. Low risk events would include events at which there is no sale of food or other merchandise, which do not involve an alcohol beverage permit or license, which have no planned competitive physical events and which anticipate an attendance of 250 persons or less. Some examples of low risk events would be most block parties, small theatrical performances and private gatherings such as weddings or parties. Under the proposed resolution these types of events would not be required to obtain insurance. While there is risk associated with any type of activity, the risk associated with these types of events is relatively low. In addition, it may be difficult for some of these types of events to reasonably obtain and pay for insurance coverage when there is no sale of items and a large number of these types of events are likely to be organized by private individuals. Medium risk events include events selling food or other merchandise, but do not include events which involve an alcohol beverage permit or license. Medium risk events would anticipate an attendance of 5000 or fewer persons and would include such activities as farmers markets, parades with no animals, art fairs, flea markets, run or walks of 5K or less distance, car or motorcycle shows, and fishing tournaments. Medium risk events would be required to obtain insurance but the limits of insurance required are proposed to be lowered to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for commercial general liability coverage. Again, while there is risk associated with these events, staff is recommending a lower insurance requirement based upon the lower relative risk associated with these types of events and primarily the financial burden to event organizers of requiring the higher million dollar liability limit. High risk events include any event involving an alcohol beverage license or permit, events anticipating attendance of 5000 or more persons, events involving fireworks or other forms of explosive devices, fires or bonfires, events which include amusement rides or live animals, or events with any type of aircraft. Some examples of high risk activities include carnivals, parades with animals, Special Events Insurance: 3/4/10: Page 3 marathons or runs /walks of more than 5K in distance, bike /motorcycle or snowmobile rides or races, concerts, dances and animal shows. High risk events would be required to obtain commercial general liability insurance in the amount of not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000). The City's insurance consultants have also reviewed the proposed changes and assisted with updating the language relating to the types of coverage which would be applicable to these types of events. FISCAL IMPACT There is no direct fiscal impact identified from passage of the proposed resolution. The resolution would require persons holding special events which are required under the proposed special events ordinance to obtain a permit to provide proof of insurance coverage meeting the identified requirements including the City of Oshkosh as an additional insured. The indirect fiscal impact of this resolution is to require event organizers to bear the risk and costs of insuring their events. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the proposed resolution be adopted. Respectfully Submitted, C Lorenso City Attorney A proved: ohn Fitzpatri Assistant City Manager