Insurance

This page will provide information on a wide range of insurance areas. You will find information on the approved Activities List, participating in prohibited activities, contracts that include waiver clauses and much more.

ARMIC Activities List

Black Gold School Division is a member of the Alberta Risk Managed Insurance Consortium (ARMIC). There are certain activities that are prohibited under ARMIC's liability insurance. Please select the link below to access the list of prohibited activities.

ARMIC Activities List

Prohibited Activities are activities that, per the insurance company's assessment, carry an unreasonable risk and which ARMIC does not allow under the insurance program. In certain circumstances, if an activity is taking place at a third-party location and the vendor meets the minimum insurance limit requirements and agrees to add the Division as an additional insured, schools can participate in prohibited activities that have been approved by the Superintendent.

Participating in Prohibited Activities

The Division has worked with certain vendors to confirm insurance limits and secure additional insured status under their policy, so that schools can participate in certain approved prohibited activities, such as zip lining and laser tag.

Please see the "Vendors providing BGSD with Additional Insured Status" Google Sheet link below. Schools can only participate in these approved prohibited activities, such as zip lining and laser tag, at the vendors listed in the Google Sheet below.

Vendors Providing BGSD with Additional Insured Status

If there is another vendor/organization where your school would like to plan a student excursion/activity that would include a Prohibited Activity, please email the following information to the Associate Superintendent of Business & Finance me and a request will be sent to the organization for Black Gold to be added as an Additional Insured:

• Name of Vendor/Organization
• Contact at the Vendor/Organization (if available)
• Prohibited Activity that the school would like to participate in

Any Prohibited Activities that the school is looking to participate in must also be approved by the Superintendent.

Insurance for Contracted Bussing for Student Excursions

Within Alberta, any chartered bus operators that a school contracts for a student excursion, extra-curricular activity, etc. must provide evidence of $25 million automobile liability insurance in the form of a Certificate of Insurance.

Please see the "Chartered Bus Companies with Required Insurance Limits" Google Sheet link below. If there is a chartered bus operator that your school is interested in contracting and they are not in this list, please send the name of the company to Camille Hendrickson and we will reach out to confirm if they meet our insurance requirements. Please note that all bus contractors who are contracted through Black Gold's transportation department to provide daily student transportation have already been vetted and have the required insurance coverage.

Chartered Bus Companies with Required Insurance Limits

For trips outside of Alberta, the insurance broker recognizes that operators may not carry $25 million in automobile liability insurance. Therefore, the recommendation is that school divisions work with the tour operator or chartered bus operator to mitigate the risk for the Division. This would include:

• Requesting that the Division be added as an Additional Insured under the operator’s insurance
• Comparing operators to ensure the highest level of liability coverage possible within that area (minimum of $10 million)

Please contact the Associate Superintendent of Business & Finance if you are planning to book a chartered bus for a student excursion taking place outside of Alberta.

SPHEReS Guidelines

Before approving a student activity, please ensure that you assess each activity from a risk management lens, as you always have, and ensure that the activity is age-appropriate, well supervised and reviewed against the School Physical Activity, Health & Education Resource for Safety (SPHEReS) guidelines. Alberta Education currently endorses the SPHEReS Guidelines produced by the Injury Prevention Centre as the primary resource for assessing and mitigating risks associated with student activities. ARMIC requires school divisions to follow these guidelines.

Waiver Clauses and Waiver Forms

Contracts that Include a Waiver Clause, Indemnity Clause, etc.

If an organization/vendor has requested that you sign a contract that includes a waiver, indemnity or insurance clause, please send a copy of the waiver form and/or rental contract to me prior to signing a contract. We want to avoid signing agreements that include clauses like the examples below:

External Waiver Forms

When a vendor or service provider is requiring that parents/guardians sign a third-party waiver form for a student excursion, please ensure:

• Parents/Guardians still complete Black Gold's informed consent form for the excursion.
• In your communications to parents/guardians, please clarify that the waiver form is not Black Gold's form, it is required by the vendor, and will be sent to the "name of vendor". 

Example language

As part of this field trip, students will be participating in activities through the Name of Organization, a third-party organization. The Name of Organization requires that a separate waiver form be completed by parents/guardians for students to participate in their activities. Please note that this waiver is not issued, administered, or controlled by Black Gold School Division, and the Division is not party to the agreement. All information provided in the waiver will be collected and retained by the Name of Organization.

We encourage you to review the waiver carefully before signing. If you have any questions or concerns about its content, you may wish to contact the Name of Organization directly. 

• The form should not be created in Rycor. We do not want to modify it in any way, as it is not our form. It can be added as an attachment or link in Rycor.