I belong to a road association. We’ve been told that the group should have insurance. Is that a requirement in Ontario?—Francine St. Clair, via email
No. But it’s a good idea. At the very least, “a road association really should have a general liability policy,” says Catherine Perkins, an insurance advisor with The Shepherd Group in Vaughan, Ont. “General liability covers the association for property damage, plus third party property damage and bodily injury.”
The “bodily injury” coverage could prove to be especially important. “What if you’ve cleared the road, but left a pile of something there—sticks, leaves—and someone comes by, trips on it, falls, and cuts their knee?” says Perkins. “If they have to go to the emergency room and have it stitched up…they could come after you,” she says. “You’d be surprised what can happen.”
The point is, the road association is on the hook for maintaining the road. Some associations contract all this work to a third party. “That’s usually a good thing. These people are professionals who have their own liability policy,” says Perkins.
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But if your association members are doing any work themselves, that means the group likely has to buy or rent some equipment—for example, a small tractor, or tree-trimming tools. In which case, you’d also want insurance to cover those items in the event that they get damaged or are stolen.
To figure out the best coverage for your group, the insurance company will need to ask a lot of specific questions. So decide on a point person who can address them and who has all the necessary documents at their fingertips.
“People wonder, ‘Why do I have to answer all these questions?’ and I say, ‘Because your risk isn’t the same as another group’s risk,’ ” says Perkins. Every road and association is different. Happy insurance shopping! Don’t forget to clean up those sticks and leaves.
Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.
This article was originally published in the March/April 2025 issue of Cottage Life.
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