Thanks for your question. I will try to answer your question generally since I do not have enough information to go into details. Initially, you should contact your insurance broker if you have one. If not, you can access a number of existing resources that will help you to get started. The Canadian Tourism Commission has insurance broker lists and insurance resources for outdoor tourism available through their website at canadatourism.com. You can visit adventureinsurance.ca where you will find the COTA insurance program. There is a fee but you will be able to download the Risk Management Handbook and other resources to assist you. I assume you are looking for liability insurance. If so, you need to get familiar with what insurers are looking for in terms of risk management, industry standards, operating procedures etc for the activities you will offer. You will then need to develop all the documents and procedures necessary, this will take some time and effort. I will be happy to answer more specific questions if you have any.

As a potential participant, your operations look like there are number of exciting and fun things going on. An insurer will look at this from a different perspective. The website alone provides enough information to cause an insurer some concerns:

1) Mountain biking is likely one of the riskier activities for an insurer. There is almost a guarantee of accidents and claims.

2) Other activities like trampoline, bike rentals, river tubing trips and trail building and maintenance will also deter insurers. The incident rate for trampolines is very high.

3) The website shows, parties, riders jumping off cliffs and man-made structures; a combination that is likely to scare many insurers.

It is likely that you are having a difficult time obtaining insurance because of a combination of factors rather than one in particular. The reality of it all is that you have chosen a line of business that, although appealing and exciting, contains numerous risks and challenges; one of them being insurance. Let me know if I can help further

Best regards,

Gilles Valade

Partner, Oinnacle Risk and Insurance Inc.