Date: Tue, 15 Mar 94 11:58:17 -0500
From: jeffs@math.bu.edu (Jeff Suzuki)
Message-Id: <9403151658.AA04833@math.bu.edu>
To: carolingia@world.std.com
Subject: insurance


Anton writes:

>Is it possible that there is a five or ten to one economy of scale
>with the insurence industry? I doubt it very much, but if it is true,
>this is the first strong argument I have seen against decentralizing.

This is because insurance companies are the biggest scams in North
America, possibly the world----

Hey!  Shoo!  Sorry 'bout that folks, somehow a Libertarian got onto my
keyboard.  

I agree; insurance is the first strong argument against decentralizing
that I've seen (IMHO, it's the _only_ argument against it).  But most
of the decentralizing proposals I've seen want to keep a National
Organization to maintain insurance.

I do question Alex's insurance figures --- they seem high, so I'd be
interested in seeing the details, especially in comparison with hard
figures for exactly what SCA Inc. insurance covers.  

It seems to me that:

1)  We can make a good case for getting local event insurance for the
	same per person rate that we are getting it currently.  We can
	argue that we are smaller and run fewer events than the
	National group, so our risk is correspondingly less.

2)  Why do we need insurance, if a legal fiction will work?
	Suppose we create a Barony of Carolingia Inc.  Then the
	autocrats, etc., get named as employees of the corporation.
	Now if anything happens, it is the corporation that gets sued,
	and except in cases of gross negligence (which I think would
	be hard to prove) the autocrats, etc., would be untouchable.
	(Even in the cases of gross negligence: how many times has the
	person directly responsible, due to drugs or alcohol, for an
	industrial accident gotten off with being fired, while the 
	company is embroiled in a million dollar lawsuit?)

	Plus you have the argument, "Well, they only have $1500 in
	their Corporate bank account and no million dollar policy.
	Most of that will get eaten up by legal fees, so if they offer
	to settle out of court --- do it."
	
Tio