Hi Chris,

Not sure if I understand your question properly.

Simply gaining insurance will not make you an "endorsed IKO Instructor". IKO are not able to supply an insurance policy to cover you teaching people to kitesurf or anything else for that matter last I heard.

What you need is public and property liability insurance to cover you from incidences with the public and the public's property.

You also need professional indemnity insurance for wrongful information, ie, if the info you gave to a customer leads them to harm. For example, you tell them the conditions are ok to teach and they trust you and launch a kite, then they get lofted or splatted into an object due to a weather anomoly and cause a claim, then you are covered. Liability Waivers do not hold any worth in the Australian legal system. You cannot waive your liability.

I don't know of anyone offering specific instructor insurance that would be affordable for an individual. There are a couple of companies that offer Kiteschool PL insurance, but if it is just you, then you would work full time for 3 months just to cover the insurance premium. Not even close to commercially viable for an individual.

If you want to be covered by an insurance policy, then work for a school that will cover you with a proper valid and up-to-date insurance policy and find out what will void the insurance. If the school has insurance but no legitimate council permits, then their insurance is worthless as the insurance investigator would deem the policy void due to trading without legal permits.

If insurance is a concern to you, you should do your homework. You could find a easy few extra dollars will cost you a lifetime of debt and hardship

DM

Well, Im a level 2 IKO instructor, and figured it was time to start making money for myself instead of being an employee for somebody else my whole life. I want to make sure that I keep within the rules, and also keep a professional standard as opposed to being one of those uninsured guys that offers lessons but no certification. So right now Im in NZ and know that the majority of guys work under the table (and radar) because the costs are too bullsh#t. What I am seeking is advice from people who work independently, make money for themselves, but still conduct their lessons with IKO endorsement, without it costing them an arm and a leg. I have been riding IKO for quite some time trying to find out about the legalities of being an IKO independent instructor, but have not received any "concrete" or "useful" information from them about which steps I need to take to make sure my bases were covered.

All in all Im finding the process a little disheartening, Im trying to do the right thing and make sure everything I do is by the book, but it sounds like I just have to go under the radar and be one of those cowboy renegade instructors who teach but cannot offer the formal qualification. I mean, if the IKO are not gonna help out the little guys, they gonna have to expect that people will abandon their system. Im no cowboy and am wanting to offer safe, comprehensive lessons (I have already gained harbour master permission and council permission to conduct lessons) I just want to make sure that I do it all as professionally as possible, avoiding any major runarounds that other independent instructors may have run into.

All constructive advice is very welcome

Hi Chris,

It's easy enough to become an IKO point, you just need the insurance if you have all the other bases covered.

IKO can't help and the only way you are going to find a cheap policy is to ring around ALL of the big insurers. Your problem is that Insurance companies now know how dangerous kiteboarding instruction is. They are a profit business and they bet on the risk versus reward. Risk is that one student badly injured could theoretically sue for millions in compensation as a result of an injury. They need to make a reasonable return and bet on the hope that you don't injure someone, but there needs to be lots of instructors not injuring people to make enough money to cover the one who does.

This is why there is no "cheap" insurance for kiteboarding, the risk is too high for an individual to offer cheap insurance. They do work on numbers though, but you can rest assured there will be a minimum premium and any claim will double it. It's a ****ty situation and more than half the reason why I went from solo instructor working for myself to a largeish school. The multiple instructors scenario all covered under one policy is spreading the cost making it more affordable.

Try OAMPS or get a broker to try Lloyds of London or Altiora. Also try CGU as well as the ring around. Contact 3 or 4 brokers and get them on the case as many of the bigger insurers wont deal with individuals directly. It's not easy, been there done that myself, loads of phone calls, lots of dissappointment and usually a hard pill to swallow at the end of it all.

Working for yourself and getting bigger and legit, just creates a living for others and makes you fully legal and legit. My instructors earn a better return than me from the schools net profit. They work half the hours, deal with 10% of the stress and hassle and get paid more than me, I question the school thing every year.

Good luck,

DM

Another option would be to teach as part of a yacht club. If it's only a part time gig then this would possibly the best option

Chris,

I could echo most of Darren's comments, although my experience comes not from a bigger school/shop but from a sole trader closer to how you propose to operate.

I also have taken the view that I'll only teach if I can do so "properly". So lots of negotiations/correspondence with councils, maritime safety authority and insurers - as well as maintenance of IKO qualification/currency.

The insurance is what costs money. For what it's worth, I pay about $2,500pa for professional indemnity and public & products liability insurance. Mine is through one of the entities Darren mentioned above. That amount really puts a hole in income from what is very part time work for a shortish period of the year.

After you've allowed for students smashing a few kites and having to carry enough gear to cater for different size students and different wind strengths, it's mighty hard to make a buck. So, basically, don't take this on if you want to make some money - far more efficient to get a job flipping burgers for $15phr! On the other hand, if you get your thrills out of teaching (though I'd have thought a full time job as a teacher might be enough!) and see people progress safely and with great enjoyment, it's great - it's a fantastic complement to my real job!

I haven't heard of any collaboration with sailing clubs - might be worth considering.

Best of luck,

Trevor Jack

Don't bother with the insurance, just get all your pupils/patients to sign a waiver saying they have never met you before and you are responsible for nothing.....

Paul1 said...

Don't bother with the insurance, just get all your pupils/patients to sign a waiver saying they have never met you before and you are responsible for nothing.....

Good luck with that...

Just buy some lawn mowing equipment, mow away until the wind comes up then go kiting.

Owning a kite business may look like an awesome way to make a living, it can be if set up properly with others doing the instructing. But it's not an easy gig and unless you have reduced your overheads like a few operators out there you'll struggle. Saying that it looks like you are just wanting to do it during your time off, which I don't really understand. after you pay for equipment, insurance and all the other crap you'll probably break even....

Just teach and enjoy your days off kiting

Paul1 said...

Don't bother with the insurance, just get all your pupils/patients to sign a waiver saying they have never met you before and you are responsible for nothing.....

You cannot indemnify yourself from negligence. Having no insurance would be considered in any court as negligent. You're 100% screwed before they even start looking at the incident.