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Case ACCIDENT COVERAGE FOR CITY VOLUNTEERS By: Kay McAIoney, Personnel Coordinator Background: The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) has announced a new program to provide accident protection to city volunteers. This program provides a schedule of benefits to compensate city volunteers who are injured while performing volunteer services for the city. With only a few exceptions, all city volunteers working under the city's direction and control will be automatically covered on a blanket basis, if the city chooses to add this coverage. This could include volunteers working on a city-sponsored celebration, "clean-up day" volunteers, etc. The following are four classes of volunteers who would NOT be automatically covered: Volunteers who are covered by workers' compensation; City council, board, committee, and commission members; Members of private organizations which provide services or participate in city-sponsored activities as a group; and Volunteers working on construction or demolition projects. An injured volunteer under the plan would receive three basic benefits. The first is a disability benefit which would provide a volunteer who is unable to engage in the activities of his/her normal occupation because of an injury suffered while performing volunteer services for the city a disability benefit of $400/week for up to 26 weeks. The second is a death benefit providing a volunteer that dies as a result of an injury suffered while performing volunteer services for the city, a death benefit of $100,000 to be paid to the volunteer's survivors or estate. The third is an impairment benefit which provides a volunteer that suffers a permanent impairment or disability as a result of an injury suffered while performing volunteer services for the city, the volunteer will receive a lump sum payment as compensation for that impairment. Payments are based on the percentage of disability ranging from 1% to 100%, $750 to $100,000 respectively. For an additional charge the city can add coverage for up to $1,000 of medical costs. This limited medical coverage is intended to pick up relatively minor first aid costs. It could also be applied to costs which the individual would otherwise have to bear under his/her own health coverage's deductible or co-pay provisions. The cost of the plan is based on the city's population. The basic annual charge is $.10 per capita, subject to a minimum premium of $150 and a maximum premium of $1,500. The additional cost to add the optional medical coverage is 45% of the basic premium. The cost for the City of Ramsey to participate in the plan would be $1,242 for the basic and $559 for the optional medical coverage, totalling $1,801. Why would the city want this coverage? Aren't injuries to volunteers already covered under the city's liability coverage? An injury to a volunteer would be covered by the LMCIT liability coverage only if the city was legally liable for that injury, which means if the injury was caused by some negligence by the city or a city officer or employee or another city volunteer. The city would not be liable for an injury to a volunteer if the volunteer were more at fault than the city, or if the injury were simply an accident that really wasn't anyone's fault. The volunteer accident coverage protects the volunteer on a "no-fault" basis. The benefits are automatically payable if the injury occurs while the volunteer is