[Board] Fwd: Your Quote for Liability Insurance from NIAC

Tue Aug 1 09:49:18 PDT 2023

ORi will get a quote soon for the insurance that Pierre required in order
to join our board. He was invited to join, he would be an asset, and he
said D&O insurance was necessary.

Getting a quote took months of time, a lot of phone calls, and a
substantial amount of email to achieve. We've been turned down or passed
over 8 times. We have no employees, real estate, or appreciable risk.
Insurers were simply not interested and told me we had no risk. One
questioned my leadership and suggested I was an idiot. Given the fact that
Countrywide insurance revealed their reasons - that because we fought for
ITAR/EAR regulatory reform that we actually were very high risk to them - I
think the suggestion that we don't know what we're about and what we need
was wrong.

Moving $300,000 to CDs created enough income to pay for things like
insurance, which was not part of our original budget for the transponder
grant. Since ARDC missed every meeting about this grant, has stupidly
attacked ORI, and has caused significant damage with four other grants, and
since we no longer deal with them in any way, I think we can afford the
anticipated bill by converting that $300,000 into an invested endowment and
using the interest payments to fund things like D&O insurance.

I don't think we're at any real insurance risk. I don't feel that anyone at
ORI will be personally targeted in any way that insurance is intended to
help (employee issues and real estate issues).

Umbrella policies (I have one for my personal finances) don't usually cover
volunteer activities. They're designed to protect you from harassing
lawsuits like someone slipping on your sidewalk in front of your house, and
not volunteer activities or software products you produce that are covered
by the open source license ecosystem from Open Source Initiative or the ORI
corporate shield.

Regardless of any of this, having liability and D&O is something that Steve
Conklin ORI CFO has brought up consistently - well before Pierre expressed
interest in joining the board. I'm very sorry it took so long to get a
quote on the way, and for ORI to be recognized for membership in an
insurance consortium. If we were a for profit endeavor, this would be much
easier.

We are really unique in our setup, and this has consequences for the
products and policies we use and consume. Pierre's concern isn't out of
line.

On behalf of ORI, I'd like to thank everyone that supports our work and
wants to see us succeed. We could not do this work without your help and
support. As soon as I have more information, I'll send it.

-Michelle Thompson

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: pdavis at insurancefornonprofits.org <pdavis at insurancefornonprofits.org>
Date: Tue, Aug 1, 2023 at 9:28 AM
Subject: Your Quote for Liability Insurance from NIAC
To: <mountain.michelle at gmail.com>
Cc: <cole at cal-insurance.org>, <pdavis at insurancefornonprofits.org>

We are pleased to let you know that your organization has been approved for
membership in the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC)* and *we
are working on a quote for your organization*. We will provide your
insurance broker, CalNonprofits Insurance Services, with a quotation for
your organization's liability insurance shortly. Please wait for your
broker to contact you. He or she will need time to evaluate and review our
quote, before contacting you. Your broker will go over the coverages,
premium and specialized free and discounted services included with the
quotation. But, there are a couple of things about NIAC that I'd like you
to hear from me, the founder.

In 30+ years, NIAC has grown from an idea posed in my Master's thesis at UC
Berkeley to a thriving company. In my thesis, I proposed that instead of
relying on insurance companies that were inconsistent in their willingness
to provide affordable insurance, the nonprofit sector actually could get
control of this important financial service and make sure we were paying
our fair share and no more. My dream was to engage nonprofits in risk
management by providing a variety of free or highly discounted management
services as part of the insurance purchase. And then, if together we had
claims experiences that were better than anticipated, we would share that
good fortune with the members that made it happen. And that dream has come
true. NIAC now insures more than 12000 nonprofits in California and has
declared dividends to its nonprofit members totaling more than $50.2
million over the past 17 years. But more than that, we have kept premiums
steady, even declining, over all these years and managed to provide our
members with benefits even when they don't have claims.

For example, for NIAC members all of the following are FREE for those
purchasing the related insurance coverage:

   - Driver Training (online and self-study) (Owned-Auto Coverage)
   - Vehicle Telematics Program (owned auto coverage; 10+ vehicles)
   - Unlimited Employment-related Consultations (D&O Coverage with
   Employment Practices Liability)
   - Preventing Sexual Harassment Training for Supervisors (D&O Coverage
   with Employment Practices Liability)

All NIAC members have access to the following services FREE OF CHARGE:

   - Risk Management materials on our Member Portal
   - Risk Management Webinars (live and on-demand)
   - BOARDnetWORK - an online tool for your Board of Directors
   - PurchasingPoint - lower overhead costs through discounts on good and
   services

NIAC Members also have access to the following highly discounted services:

   - Screening Services (background checks, drug screening, MVR's and more)
   - Employee Handbook Builder (D&O Coverage)

Click here to download a two-page summary of our services.
http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org/Resources/Services.pdf

Yes, NIAC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and our nonprofit members are the
beneficiaries of our work. We have grown from a $1 million loan from the
Ford Foundation and others in 1989 to a company with $405 million in
assets, rated A (Excellent) by AM Best. And all of those assets are working
for you and other nonprofits like you. I would welcome a call from you to
answer any questions you might have about NIAC as you consider this
important decision. My direct phone number is 831 621-6018 or you can use
the 800 number listed below. Find out what others are saying about us here
<http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org/about/what-our-members-are-saying/>.

This year, when your insurance broker reviews with you the quotations for
insurance, I hope you'll see that with NIAC, you will get value from your
insurance purchase throughout the year, and not just when you have claims!
And, we want you to know that if your broker is recommending NIAC it is
because they are more willing to serve this important sector than to get
the highest possible commission for themselves. Please thank them.

We hope you will join us. Visit our website at
www.insurancefornonprofits.org.

*Nonprofit Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC) is part of the
Nonprofits Insurance Alliance (NIA) brand family.

79708

*Pamela E. Davis*
Founder/President/CEO
831-621-6018 *|* Direct
800-359-6422 *|* Office

[image: NIA logo]

[image: LinkedIn] <http://www.linkedin.com/company/110366/>

[image: Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/insurancefornonprofits/>

A head for insurance. A heart for nonprofits.
insurancefornonprofits.org <http://www.insurancefornonprofits.org>

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