NAMBA Liability

NAMBA membership provides you with liability and property damage coverage in the unfortunate event that your boat should be involved in an accident in which a spectator is injured or damage is done to someone else?s property. This coverage is $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. Of course, this does not cover damage done to another model boat in the normal course of running. This coverage is primary coverage, so you do not have to look first to your homeowner's policy for protection as is the case with some of the other boating organizations.

To ensure coverage, NAMBA members may only participate in running boats at NAMBA insured sites. NAMBA liability/property damage insurance is in effect any time a member is running a boat at a NAMBA insured site, not just during sanctioned events, as long as the member is observing all the NAMBA safety rules. Of course, keep in mind that you are also expected to be complying with all local and state laws and restrictions.

Please click here for the most current list of NAMBA insured sites for this year.

NAMBA Site Insurance

In addition, NAMBA offers additional site coverage to protect the owner of the running site with the same $2,000,000 as is afforded the individual member. This is required for the individual members insurance to be in effect. Some cities and site owners require this additional coverage. Registered clubs may purchase this coverage by completing the NAMBA Site Insurance form with the applicable fee. However, please keep in mind that NAMBA site insurance provides insurance for, and names as an additional insured, the site owner only when the accident involves a NAMBA member. We do not provide general liability coverage for site owners for all possible hazards which can occur at their lake, but merely for those caused directly or indirectly by an insured NAMBA member. This coverage does not cover the site owner if an uninsured boater or a boater who has insurance through another organization causes an accident at the site.

And yes, NAMBA's coverage is in effect any time you are running at a NAMBA insured site, not merely at sanctioned events. This includes practice running or unsanctioned club or fun events. Of course, coverage would not be valid if you are blatantly breaking one of the NAMBA safety regulations, such as operating a boat while swimmers are in the water, or consuming alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs while running a boat. In addition, NAMBA insurance does not cover you when you are participating in a sanctioned event of any other organization which has its own insurance coverage, whether primary or secondary. So make sure that you are confident that the coverage provided by the sanctioning organization is sufficient to protect you during that event, as you will not be able to rely on your NAMBA site insurance if it is not.

NAMBA Personal Injury

 NAMBA insurance also provides you with a $500,000 personal accident policy which covers injuries which you may incur while running your boat or while assisting someone else with their boat. In the past, this has covered such injuries as a cut hand, or torn ligaments suffered when a boater slipped on the mud in the launch area. This policy is secondary insurance. That means that if you have health insurance at work or through a family member, NAMBA insurance will expect your primary policy to pay first. Then, once your primary policy has paid what it covers, NAMBA?s secondary policy goes into effect. This would cover such things as deductibles, amounts over the policy limits, etc. If you do not have health insurance of any kind, NAMBA?s policy covers you the same as if it were a primary policy.

There are, of course, deductibles on both of these coverages, $500 on the liability coverage, and $100 on the personal accident coverage. However, in the past, NAMBA has has been able to pick up the cost of these deductibles, and we assume we will continue to do so in the future as long as funds permit.

As you can see, your NAMBA insurance provides you with the best protection available through any of the model boating organizations. Hopefully, you will never have to make use of this coverage, but if you do, you can be assured that you are covered. Continued availability of this exceptional coverage is of course to some degree up to you. Make sure that you are aware of all of the safety regulations, and use common sense in your running. Preventative medicine is always better than having to resort to a cure. By avoiding needless accidents, we can insure that the coverage will be available when really needed.

If you have any questions concerning safety related issues, please contact the NAMBA Secretary, Al Waters info@namba.com.