Five of my clients covered by homeowners policies have formed a hunt club. They have purchased land in the name of the hunt club. The land will be used only for hunting and only by these five club members or their invited guests. The homeowners policy is unclear as to whether the business pursuits exclusion of the liability coverage would be applicable to use of this land, requiring separate commercial liability coverage.
Wisconsin Subscriber
The need for separate liability insurance for the hunt club will depend on the club's legal status. If it is simply an informal, unincorporated association, with legal ownership held in common by the five members, the individual homeowners personal liability coverages of the five members will protect each of their individual interests in the land. However, this form of coverage may be difficult to administer should a loss occur.
The business pursuits exclusion applies only to business ventures and you indicate that this group owns the property for no reason other than their own pleasure.
The hunting activity itself would not be considered a business pursuit unless the insureds charged for the privilege of hunting on their land. See The Business Pursuits Exclusion for a review of court cases on the business pursuits exclusion.
If the club is incorporated and the land is owned in the name of the corporation, it is a separate legal entity apart from its five stockholder members and its assets are not protected by the liability coverage of the five members. In this situation, separate liability coverage on a commercial form is necessary to protect the club's assets.
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