Important Change to Kiwanis Alcohol Policy

Significant extension of the Kiwanis polcy regarding insurance
coverage for the sale of alcohol

by Mike Rind, Capital District Risk Manager

For many years, Kiwanis International's policy was that if Kiwanians or clubs sold alcohol at their fundraisers or other events, the General Liability insurance would not cover anything that happened at an event where such sales took place. Last year, this policy was changed to provide very limited coverage in such cases, so long as appropriate licenses were obtained and no alcohol was served to people below the state's age limit. A total of $5,000,000 in coverage was available for all of the United States and Canada, in the hope that clubs would act responsibly in this respect.

After a year of this new policy, the results are in - Kiwanians appear to have been very responsible in implementing this new policy The proof is that we have experienced no new claims due to the change in the alcohol policy. As a result, the new General Liability insurance policy has been changed again, to provide $36,000,000 in coverage for clubs and Kiwanians throughout the U.S. and Canada in such cases. This means, for instance, that the cost of alcohol can be included in the cost of tickets to Kiwanis events, and clubs may ask for "donations" to cover the cost of alcohol without losing their insurance coverage. Of course, clubs must still meet state licensing requirements and no alcohol may be served to minors. In addition, clubs and Kiwanians must continue to adhere strictly to Kiwanis's guidelines for adults interacting with youth. Further information will be provided in the General Liability Insurance Package which will be sent to Club Secretaries in early November. If you have any questions, please contact Mike Rind, Capital District Risk Manager, at mrind@comcast.net or 410 294 9423.