ACC Waivers
ACC Waiver
The Alpine Club of Canada has moved to an annual Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risks Agreement (the “Waiver”) that is signed upon registering for or renewing your ACC membership.
The Waiver is a legal document in which you waiver or give up certain legal rights, including the right to sue for negligence, breach of contract or breach of the Occupiers Liability Act or claim compensation following an accident. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY!
The Waiver applies to all ACC activities for 14 months from the date of signing, whether such activities are booked, scheduled or rescheduled before or after the date of signing. As such, members are no longer required to sign a waiver for each ACC activity. Individuals who have paid but not yet signed their Waiver will have a processing membership that will not be active until the Waiver is signed.
Upon renewal of your membership each year, you are required to complete the current version of the Waiver. The current version of the Waiver will apply to your participation in all activities for the coming year, including those booked prior to renewal. If you choose not to renewal your membership and sign the current Waiver, your bookings will be cancelled.
As a member, by booking an activity you are agreeing that your participation in such activity will be subject the Waiver you have in place at the time of the activity.
Where non-members are permitted to participate in an ACC activity, such non-member will be required to sign the Waiver as a condition of participating in the ACC activity.
Risks, dangers and hazards associated with a particular ACC activity are listed on the program webpages. It is the participant’s responsibility to inform themselves of these risks, dangers and hazards prior to registering in the trip.
ACC Release of Liability, Waiver of Claims, Assumption of Risks Agreement
The completion of this Waiver is a requirement of ACC Membership and of participating in any ACC activity, and is part of the membership registration/renewal process.
Everyone participating in an ACC activity must have a current waiver completed – if the Waiver is not completed participation will not be permitted.
Model Release Agreement
The completion of this agreement permits the ACC to use your image in photo and video content for legitimate uses as outlined in the document.
Additional ACC Trip Waivers
Depending on your trip, you may also be requested to complete the following waivers in addition to those listed above:
Avalanche Canada Liability Release Waiver
This waiver is required for any course that follows the Avalanche Canada curriculum guidelines (i.e. AST 1, AST 2, etc.)
Liability insurance for helping with club activities
The venues (outdoor and indoor) in which we all recreate can be potentially dangerous places and we all know that accidents can happen.
The ACC’s first goal is always to prevent accidents and injuries through safety education and leadership training. But the Club also carries a comprehensive liability insurance policy that covers its members leading or involved in running an ACC trip/event, and its contractors and employees in case they are named in a lawsuit following an accident.
Being covered by this policy is a benefit of ACC membership and it might be a bigger benefit than many people think. If you’re an ACC member and you’re leading an ice climbing outing or helping out with the logistics of a ski camp or belaying in a sport climbing competition – any official ACC activity – you’re covered under our policy. If an accident happens that results in a lawsuit, the ACC’s insurance company steps in and covers legal bills and damages to $10 million.
Liability insurance is something we all hope we never have to use. But like your helmet or your crevasse rescue skills, it’s good to know that it’s in place should you ever need it.
The ACC also sells Tugo travel insurance for personal trips. These policies cover activities such as rock climbing and hiking. They can also be tailored to cover activities such as ice climbing and mountaineering over 6,000m. We have a licensed insurance agent based out of the National Office in Canmore who can answer queries, including the ins and outs of what is needed for your particular adventure. See our Travel Insurance page.
Quick Tugo Insurance Info
Emergency Medical
This plan can be for Canadians travelling outside their home province (domestically and internationally) and also for visitors to Canada. This policy includes emergency evacuation to a monetary limit and medical once you have been evacuated.
Trip Interruption
Trip interruption can be added on or bought as a stand-alone policy. If something that’s covered happens while you are away trip interruption will help you with unexpected costs such as booking a new flight and hotels stays should you have to stay longer for medical treatment.
Trip Cancellation
Trip cancellation covers you for any non-refundable costs for your trip. If you can get credits for an expense then you can’t claim that expense under trip cancellation. We recommend trip cancellation for hut bookings and ACC programs such as the GMC.
Affinity Life Insurance Info
Ensure financial protection for your loved ones while continuing to do your alpine activities
Getting out in the mountains is what fuels and sustains many people in the mountain communities. However, recreating in the mountains comes with many risks. Mountain people are no stranger to evaluating risk and all have different tolerances. These tolerances can change dramatically when loved ones come into the scene. For example a new family. Life Insurance won’t protect your love ones from the tragic loss of your death, but it can protect them financially while they are grieving were that to happen.
In the spirit of hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, we have decided to partner with Affinity Life to offer our community life insurance plans that are made for outdoor enthusiasts.
Please note, currently Affinity Life Plans are only available in BC, AB, ON and NB. We hope to expand this in the future and will update this page once that happens.
