When it comes to insurers covering hunting clubs and camps, it’s far more common to see claims for slips and falls, as well as accidents involving traps and all-terrain vehicles, rather than an accidental shooting of someone walking on two legs as opposed to four—as in the infamous case of Vice President Dick Cheney, professionals in the sports and recreation niche note.
Indeed, while there certainly could be coverage implications when one hunter accidentally shoots another (see Cheney sidebar), buyers hunting for coverage are worried about far more mundane exposures, these experts said.
Such buyers are generally hunting camps (where a guide takes one hunter or a small group of hunters on a hunting trip), or hunting clubs (where club members use owned or leased land for hunting and possibly other activities).
“They are going to be looking for liability [insurance],” according to Morris Nelson, director at R.B. Jones, part of the H.W. Kaufman Financial Group—which also includes wholesaler and managing general agency Burns & Wilcox.
In addition, “they might be looking for some property coverage if they have property on the site, and they might be looking for some sort of inland marine coverage,” Mr. Nelson noted.
Tom Gillingham, president of Gillingham & Associates, a division of Philadelphia Insurance Companies, said inland marine coverage, for example, will protect equipment owned by a hunting or gun club, such as trap machines, ATVs and various equipment used to manage the club’s property.
A hunting club or camp that owns its own property will likely seek property insurance as well, noted John Doyle, vice president of the commercial lines division at Philadelphia Insurance Companies.
However, he said many insurers are not eager to write this type of property “because it’s obviously out in the woods,” noting that much of it is unprotected, while structures on the property tend to be older and more susceptible to damage from wind and other forces of nature.
Certain companies, Mr. Doyle said, have developed expertise in writing this kind of property, noting that Philadelphia Insurance offers the coverage as part of an overall package to hunting camps and clubs.
The main concern for such facilities, though, is general liability, players in this market agree. Companies writing the policies might offer different liability coverage for the same risks, and coverage options will vary depending on the type of operation seeking insurance.