Spring Break has come and gone; as such, our thoughts turn to warmer weather, summer vacations and potentially hiring summer students. The prospect of hiring summer students often raises questions about liability and vehicle insurance; and you may wonder whether your MEARIE insurance provides coverage for students or not.
Regarding your Liability Insurance, yes, students are covered - but there are some details to consider...
When engaging students it is important to consider what their role in the company will be. Will they be an intern1; a co-op student (high school or university) as part of their educational credit requirements; or simply a temporary employee? Each type of student may have its own terms or conditions affecting your insurance coverage.
The definition of an INSURED under the MEARIE Liability policy, Section 6.11.1 includes, “any officer, director or employee while performing his or her duties...or volunteer while acting on behalf of Named Insured related to Operations Covered.” Therefore, students are included as either employees or volunteers. As long as the student is acting within the scope of their employment duties, they would be treated the same as other employees working for you. All students, regardless of the job function or experience, should be properly screened prior to hiring, trained for the job to be performed, educated on company policies and procedures, along with health and safety, and then supervised adequately.
Pay special attention to the terms of contracts when engaging Co-op Students and Interns. Depending on the circumstances, outside insurance might be applicable.
High School Co-op Students: If a student is on a specified cooperative education2 or other experimental learning program, job shadowing or “take our kids to work” program, they are covered by the liability insurance of the School Board. If you engage a high school student under a formal educational co-op program it is recommended you consult with the school board to fully understand your responsibilities and the insurance provided by the School Board3. It is recommended you obtain a certificate of insurance showing your company as an Additional Insured. However, if you involve the co-op student in work or activities outside of the contracted co-op education program, the student’s liability is not covered by the Board, but rather by your MEARIE Liability policy. As always, you as an employer are responsible for supervising and training co-op students for both your protection and the protection of the student.
Interns are often unpaid workers in exchange for learning experience. If you plan on offering an internship program, it is imperative you comply with Ontario Labour Laws4. Your understanding of when an intern is an employee and when they are simply an intern will reduce the potential for Employment Practice or D&O claims from interns. As far as Liability coverage goes, an intern working/volunteering in the scope of their duties as assigned would be covered under the MEARIE Liability policy.
Can students drive company vehicles?The MEARIE Vehicle policy provides coverage for the vehicle and the individual driving it. Insurance goes with the vehicle and not with the driver. The MEARIE policy is a blanket fleet policy that does not schedule either specific vehicles or specific drivers. There are three key issues to keep in mind for MEARIE Vehicle coverage to apply:
Keep up-to-date on the latest Ontario regulations on licensing5, CVOR, and load limit restrictions; consult the Ontario Ministry of Transport6. A specific issue for summer students relates to graduated7 licenses. As there are three stages to the Ontario “G” class license (from G1, the most restrictive to the full G, allowing any car, van (less than 10 passengers) or small truck). Regardless of the license class, driving restrictions or experience, it is recommended each “new” driver be given a road test. Consideration should be given to obtaining an uncertified driver’s license8 for each new driver before being allowed to drive your vehicles, just to be on the safe side. |
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The MEARIE Group’s Reciprocal News is an electronic publication intended for Subscribers of The MEARIE Group’s Insurance programs. It is published on a periodic basis and intended for information purposes only. In the event of specific claims, incidents or legal actions against the Subscriber, coverage will be determined by MEARIE policy interpretation. |