More and more parent teacher groups are calling us stating that the school district is removing them from the school’s insurance policy. There are some schools out there, however, who might still cover the parent teacher groups under their policy. The best advice is to give your school a list of your activities and be very specific. Don’t just ask if your carnival is covered, go into great detail and list things like moon walk, dunking tank, face painting, pony rides, etc., and get a written letter from the school stating that all of your activities are covered. Some policies only cover the parent teacher group for events during school hours and on school campus. Every school is different.
You can apply online with a check or a credit card. If you do not wish to do that, AIM can mail, email, or fax you an application for you to fill out and send back in with the correct premium. Please see the “Contact us” tab
Your policy will be effective the day that AIM receives the completed application, supporting documentation, such as signed Affidavits if necessary, and correct premium for coverage. Coverage will be effective for 12 months following the effective date.
Because of the large volume of insureds that AIM covers, our prices already reflect a group discount built in. We talk to many groups who are paying well over $2,000/year for their insurance and think you will find our pricing to be quite competitive.
This is a common misconception but parent teacher groups are NOT immune from liability. It is favorable to be incorporated, but there have been many situations where the “corporate shield” that being incorporated provides, has not helped in preventing a lawsuit.
When you donate something with a gift letter, the receiving party accepts responsibility for those items and creates a level of separation between your group and liability. This is not a requirement of the policy, but a good idea for anything that your group donates to the school. Please remember that “gifting or trusting” items to a school will provide some defense in court but cannot stop someone from filing a lawsuit.
Your renewal application will indicate expiring coverage by highlighting in grey, all prior coverages. You can also log into your account under the “My Policy” tab and review current coverage.
Insurance carriers are either Admitted or Non- Admitted (Surplus Lines). Our program is through a non-admitted carrier meaning that they are not regulated by the Dept. of Insurance in your state and not protected by the Guarantee fund in your state, although they are highly regulated in their home state. If you have received a request to complete an affidavit it is because your state requires documentation confirming you understand the carrier you have placed coverage with is a Surplus Lines/Non -Admitted Carrier. Please note that this carrier is an A- rated Insurance Carrier who has demonstrated the highest level of financial soundness.
In order to log into our system you will need your unique insured number and password. Your insured number can be found at the top of your Certificate of Insurance or on your Renewal Notice. If you don’t know your password, or you’ve never received your password, you can click on the “Forgot Password” button and your password will be emailed to you. Please note you cannot use your email address as your insured number.
Please click on the following link to review our description of coverages
Under the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, you have the right to purchase insurance coverage for losses resulting from a Certified Act of Terrorism (certified by the Secretary of the Treasury). Premium is 5% of the policy premium subject to a $100 minimum.
In comparison to other risks Parent Teacher Groups face, the risk of a Certified Act of Terrorism occurring at one of your events is considered relatively low. Contact us with questions about determining if your organization needs Terrorism coverage.
General Liability specifically covers lawsuits in the event of a bodily injury claim. However, the General Liability also automatically includes $5,000 in medical payments coverage for injuries outside of a lawsuit providing easier access than via a lawsuit. Extended Medical Payments is an endorsement to the General Liability policy that provides additional out of pocket medical expense to help avoid lawsuits (above and beyond $5,000). The Accident Medical also provides coverage for things that are excluded from the General Liability policy including automobiles, school buses (for field trips), mechanical rides, watercraft, and fireworks.
Click here to see a list of covered and excluded events.
As a risk management practice, this is a good idea and always recommended. Waivers are not required, but it does create a sense of responsibility on the part of the parents and often deters lawsuits. In addition, waivers will provide an additional defense in court, but cannot stop someone from filing a lawsuit.
For coverage to be effective, you do not have to submit a list of all of your events to us. Please refer to the AIM playlist of events found under the Resources tab to confirm you event is covered. If you don’t see your specific event listed here, please call us at 1-800-876-4044 to make sure that coverage is provided.
The policies provided through AIM cover the parent teacher group anywhere within the United States. Whether you are in Florida or California or anywhere in-between, you can have your event off site.
Host Liquor Liability is covered under the General Liability policy. This, however, does not cover incidents where an attendee has participated in drinking alcohol and is involved in an auto accident. An accident like this would be covered under the participant’s personal auto insurance. We highly encourage you to review the “Top Ways to Reduce Your Liquor Liability” found in the resource section of website.
The GL policy automatically includes $5,000 in medical payments, made available outside of a lawsuit. The purpose of this component of the policy is to allow easy access to reimbursements for covered injuries at one of your events. We also provide the option to increase or extend the medical payments limit to $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000. If your events tend to have a higher risk of injury, and include activities such as bounce houses or roller skating for example, you should consider extending your medical payments limit.
Media Liability is designed to protect you against infringement of copyright, trademark and other legal liability arising from misapplications on your website or social media sites. Such misapplications include posting pictures without permission, using company logos without permission or publicizing information considered confidential.
We recommend that each of our insureds carry a bond limit equal to their annual budget. Funds are often stolen over a period of time rather than just for a single event. If you are still unsure about what limit to purchase, project what your biggest fundraiser of the year will bring in and carry a bond for that amount.
The Bond policy (Commercial Crime) is a blanket bond which covers anyone who your organization trusts with the money. This can be a President, Treasurer, Volunteer, Committee Chairperson, courier or others.
We do not require you to list the person(s) covered by this bond nor their positions within your organization.
This is a preventative measure set in place to accomplish two things: to protect your organization from having a loss, and to limit the amount dollar amount of the loss through early detection. The person who does not have check signing authority should date and sign the monthly bank statement indicating it has been reviewed.
No. The bank statement needs to be reviewed prior to the treasurer receiving it for the bank reconciliation. Should a treasurer be the individual taking the money, allowing them to receive the bank statement first gives them an opportunity to tamper with the report.
A group of 3 or more people organized specifically to review financials on an annual basis.
Your Property policy covers any personal property of the parent teacher group, such as popcorn machines, computers, disaster relief supplies, your school store supplies and fundraising merchandise. If your group purchases a marquis for the school, there is coverage under the property policy from the time the marquis is purchased to the time it is permanently placed. However, once this marquis is permanently placed, it then becomes real property of the school and is covered under the school’s insurance policy. Also, computers, books and other property purchased for the school becomes school property and is not covered by your Property policy.
Trailers in the custody and control of the insured are not specifically excluded. In the case of theft, its required that the trailer be secured and the theft a result of some type of forced entry, meaning you must take proper measures to lock up your trailer.
Your Property policy covers any personal property of the parent teacher group, such as popcorn machines, computers, disaster relief supplies, your school store supplies and fundraising merchandise. If your group purchases a marquis for the school, there is coverage under the property policy from the time the marquis is purchased to the time it is permanently placed. However, once this marquis is permanently placed, it then becomes real property of the school and is covered under the school’s insurance policy. Also, computers, books and other property purchased for the school becomes school property and is not covered by your Property policy.
We do not require you to list the officers within your organization or their positions within your organization.