Mike, I have, with the assistance of Barry Shelley, investigated the coverage under both our D&O liability insurance policy and under our general liability policy. In addition, I have spoken with Barry about a phone discussion with the program administrator to be sure that we are correct.
First of all and most generally, Vice Directors are covered under our general liability insurance which covers all of our volunteers acting on behalf of ARRL and within the scope their authority and in the service of the League.
As to the service of a Vice Director when acting as a Director, our interpretation is that there is coverage for Vice Directors during that period under the D&O policy as well. The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies issued the Director and Officer Liability and Entity Liability Coverage Policy. In that policy, an "insured person" means any natural person who was, now is or shall become an Executive or Employee of any Organization.
The term "Executive" is defined for the purposes of this policy as "any natural person who was, now is or shall become:
(a) a duly elected or appointed director, officer, trustee, manager, in-house general counsel, or duly constituted committee member of any Organization chartered in the United States of America; or
(b) a holder of a position described in (a) above in any organization that is chartered in any jurisdiction other than the United States of America."
Thus, during the time that a Vice Director is acting in the capacity of a Director, it is our understanding that the person is an appointed director within the above definition. However, as I say, we will verify this with the insurance company, in that this is a unique situation.
After the period in which a Vice Director is acting in the capacity of a Director, the Vice Director continues to be covered as a volunteer as long as the Vice Director is acting within the scope of her or his authority as a Vice Director under our Articles and Bylaws.
One of your questions (#4) pertaining to ARRL indemnification of Vice Directors seems to presuppose the absence of insurance coverage of Vice Directors and I would not believe it necessary to answer it in view of the above, but if I am incorrect in my interpretation of the question, please let me have another crack at a restatement of it.
73, Chris W3KD