Originally Posted by
rcmiket
The whole lawsuit deal is a "what if " could it happen sure. Wonder how many have been filed against clubs,members or the AMA?
Mike
This is another one of those times when some information can be gleaned from the financials, actionable information if you will, rather than perfect information. Total figures are presented via liabilities/exposures, rather than specific claim numbers or individual payments.
Premiums for insurance went down from 304k to 289 and change from 2013-2014. That either means we had a good year severity wise, or the AMA shopped around like us normal consumers do and got a better deal. Don't know, but in another section of the reports it lists insurance and claim expense payments increasing about 140k, from 1,060,000 to 1,200,000. Don't know if that is for claim indemnity payments, or for the expenses associated with claim handling.
Also, many times claims are filed and negotiated to the satisfaction of all involved parties. Lawsuits are usually only filed when there is a dispute on value, or a matter of law that needs to be worked through. They do happen, and they are ungodly expensive to defend. A garden variety soft tissue personal injury type of case that drags out over a year or two or even three can easily reach into the 20-30-even 40k range in terms of legal fees. Commercial and business litigation is even worse, much much worse.
Prior to my joining one club I belong to, a claim was filed by a landscaper who was hit by a larger plane, broke his leg in 2 places. That claim settled for just under 100k I believe.