[Noisebridge-discuss] Insurance notes

David Molnar dmolnar at eecs.berkeley.edu
Wed Jan 23 23:43:25 UTC 2008


Hi,

"Greg", a principal at Bonafide Insurance just called me to discuss some 
of the org questions we had. Here are some quick notes. (I will also add 
them to the wiki later).

* We need a "business owners package" that includes general liability 
and slip and fall. It will also include a small amount of theft insurance.

* If we have employees, or contractors treated as employees, the state 
requires workers' comp.

* Members that pay membership dues to an organization, however, sound 
more like "clients" than employees. The liability package will cover 
"clients." If we decide later to sublet part
of the space, we want the sublettor to get a certificate of coverage and 
to name us as an additional insured.

* They can write policies for LLCs, S and C corps, registered 
partnerships, or non-profits. HOWEVER non-profits have a smaller pool of 
underwriters and may have a harder time getting insured. That being 
said, if the tax benefits are good, go with the nonprofit, it is not 
that bad a downside. Talk to your attorney and CPA.

* With regard to structure, and what happens when members leave, it 
sounds like the easiest thing to do form the LLC/nonprofit and then 
treat members as paying clients. Then the policy is held by 
"Noisebridge" and we don't have to bother the insurance company when 
someone joins or leaves the space. He seemed to think the join/leave 
issue was a reason to avoid the partnership approach.

* Down the line, but not now, we may want
      1) Director and officer insurance - incl. "wrongful decisions"
      2) "Employment practices liability" - incl. sexual harassment, etc.

-David Molnar

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