Who asks a competitive cheer team for what
| Who | What they usually want to see |
|---|---|
| Leagues, sanctioning bodies & field owners | General liability with participant coverage naming the league or facility, abuse and molestation, and accident medical for participants |
| Cities, counties & permits | General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract |
| Landlords & commercial leases | General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation |
Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.
How to check what you already have
- General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
- Abuse and molestation. A separate limit, not a sublimit of general liability; whether it is occurrence or claims-made; and whether the organisation and the individual are both covered.
- Participant accident. The medical limit per injury, the deductible, whether it pays primary or excess of the family's health plan, and the activities covered.
- Directors and officers declarations. Entity coverage, employment practices if packaged, the retention, and the exclusions for prior and pending matters.
- Hired and non-owned auto. Look for the symbols 8 and 9 or an endorsement by that name on the auto or general liability policy; without it, staff in their own cars are uninsured on company business.
- Equipment schedule. Owned items scheduled above the per-item threshold, a blanket limit for small tools, leased or rented equipment included, and the valuation (replacement cost or actual cash value).
- Property section. Limits for building, business personal property and tenant improvements against replacement cost, the coinsurance percentage, the deductible, and whether flood and earthquake are excluded (they usually are).
- Special events coverage. Whether the annual policy already covers your events or each needs a separate policy, and the additional-insured wording venues ask for.
- Professional liability declarations. Claims-made or occurrence, the retroactive date (it should not have moved), the limit per claim and aggregate, the deductible, and whether defence costs sit inside or outside the limit.
- Business owner's policy declarations. Liability limits on the first page, then the property section: building (if you own), business personal property, business income and the named extras such as spoilage, equipment breakdown or employee dishonesty. Confirm the property values are current.
- Business income. The limit or actual-loss-sustained wording, the waiting period, the period of restoration and whether extra expense is included.
What usually goes wrong for competitive cheer and dance teams
- Stunting and tumbling under a policy that classified the business as a dance studio.
- Spring floors, tumble tracks and pits insured as ordinary business contents.
- Coverage for volunteer coaches assumed and never confirmed on the policy.
- A facility agreement that names the owner as additional insured on a form the policy does not carry.
- Volunteers assumed to be covered by workers' compensation; in most states they are not.
- Every venue wanting its own certificate with different wording, on a deadline.
What underwriters will ask a competitive cheer team
- Levels trained, coach certifications, the equipment in the gym and how many competition weekends the season holds
- Ages, number of participants, contact level and travel
- Background checks for coaches and volunteers, and whether waivers are signed
- Number of volunteers, background checks and what they do
- Budget, funding sources and whether any government contracts are held
- Attendance, alcohol, amusement devices and whether events are indoors or out
Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.
Renewal timing
Policies for competitive cheer and dance teams are rated on sales, payroll or values that drift during the year; update them in the wallet when they change and the renewal is quoted on the real numbers. Renewal autopilot starts the comparison sixty days before expiration.