There are a lot of people these days asking about insurance for disc golf. It could be a first-time Tournament Director wondering, ‘Is my event covered?', or maybe a landowner wondering, ‘Is it okay for people to show up at my private property to play my personal course that I want to share with the community?', or a business wondering, ‘What are we liable for if we have a course built?'

There are also questions that aren't being asked, such as, ‘Am I liable if I design a course for myself, what if I design a course for someone else, or is my private course covered by my local club's insurance?'

These are all important questions, and unfortunately they're being posted in forums looking for help because there are so few resources out there to explain it all. The answers they get are often misleading or flat-out wrong. That can be dangerous when you're the one assuming liability unknowingly.

I'm going to do my best to explain the various types of insurance, who offers what coverage, and what they will and won't cover. That said, I'm not a licensed insurance broker; you should speak to one before moving forward with an event or a course to get advice from a licensed professional. What I'm offering is a compilation of knowledge I've acquired while running Fluent Disc Sport, and through my volunteer activities in the disc golf world.

Where do we start?

There are three main categories of activities within disc golf that we'll look at:

1. Disc golf course design + build
2. Disc golf events (tournaments, league play and practice tied to these events)
3. Disc golf casual play

1. Disc Golf Course Design + Build

Course Design

Like an architect, engineer, or builder, disc golf course designers are liable for their creations and design decisions, whether you take money for it or not. When litigation is brought, it's common to cast lines in a few directions to see what bites. In disc golf's case it's typically against both the landowner and the course designer. Courses that are covered under a sports liability policy may cover injuries; however, they do not cover negligence, errors or omissions in relation to the design. A course designer needs an E&O (Errors & Omissions) policy to protect both their own personal assets and the landowner.

From the landowner's perspective, if the designer isn't insured, then they themselves are assuming that risk along with the designer. Since there is no formal accreditation for disc golf course design, it comes down to being insured. The onus is on the landowner to ensure they're working with an insured designer for their own sake.

Course Build

Course building is a bit different. First, if you are being paid to build a course, you will need a CGL (Commercial General Liability) policy and the landowner will typically require you to provide a COI (Certificate of Insurance) listing them as a covered party.

Volunteers, on the other hand, can and often do help with the construction of courses. That said, the landowner should require that they sign a waiver of liability approved by a lawyer.

• Ref: Intact Insurance explains both E&O and CGL policies among other liability policies

2. Disc Golf Events

All events need Sports Liability Coverage: tournaments, leagues, practice relating to the events, clinics, etc. These policies protect event organisers and landowners from things like injuries arising out of the event and provide medical assistance to the player.

The good news is that in some cases, this coverage is provided through sanctioning with the PDGA, or via club membership with a provincial body like the ODSA in Ontario.

PDGA Insurance Coverage

The PDGA offers coverage for all sanctioned tournament and league events in Canada and the United States. Both public and private landowners are covered under a General Liability policy. Only staff, volunteers, and registered players are covered. Spectators, vendors, etc. are not covered.

• Ref: PDGA Tour Insurance Policy coverage details

ODSA Insurance Coverage (Ontario, Canada)

The Ontario Disc Sport Association offers member clubs or associations a blanket $5m group amateur sports general liability insurance policy through BFL Canada. The ODSA policy covers club-approved events such as sanctioned or unsanctioned tournaments or leagues.

Private landowners aren't covered directly unless their event is approved or offered by an ODSA member club or association.

• Ref: ODSA Club and Association coverage details
• Ref: BFL Canada is one of the largest providers of Sports Liability Coverage

3. Disc Golf Casual Play

The most misunderstood category is casual play. Casual play is 99% of the rounds played and is not covered under ANY of the previous policies I've covered.

Casual play requires either a general or specialised liability policy and is the responsibility of the landowner. The type and size of policy will depend on the size and traffic of the venue. Only an insurance broker is qualified to advise you on this.

Waiver of Liability

Private landowners have two options to lessen their liability to a degree, but neither will cover negligence on their part in the maintenance or state of their course: “Implied” and “Informed” waivers. Informed is the more legally binding form and requires a signature.

Ref: Waivers of Liability in Ontario – A Legal Primer, by Lerners Personal Injury

Free-to-Play vs. Pay-to-play vs. Donation

There is a commonly spread misconception that allowing free access or taking “donations” rather than running a formal “pay-to-play” course shields the landowner from liability, but that is simply untrue.

In Conclusion

I sincerely hope this helps educate you about how important it is to have the proper insurance in place, and where you can or cannot get that coverage from.

Don't forget! Talk to a licensed insurance broker and let them advise you on whether policies are appropriate for your situation.

P.S. It would be great to expand this article to include resources outside Ontario, or Canada, so please Contact Us if you can help!

Kevin.