The September 19th, 2026 episode of MC Fireside Chats, hosted by Brian Searl, brought together a diverse group of outdoor hospitality professionals to discuss the complex and evolving landscape of commercial insurance. Broadcasting while standing outside in the chilly weather of British Columbia, Searl introduced a panel that included park operators, software executives, and industry consultants. The conversation featured Robert Preston of Unhitched RV, Casey Cochran of Campspot, John McMahon of Camp Door County, and Jeff Hoffman of Camp Strategy. To provide specialized insights into the insurance market, Peter Lovering and James Grant from Signature Risk Partners Inc. also joined the broadcast, turning the focus heavily toward risk management, rising premiums, and the legal challenges facing campground owners today. The discussion opened with an assessment of recent insurance premium trends, with Robert Preston sharing his firsthand experience managing a large portfolio of properties. Preston noted that while parks in hurricane-affected areas like the Gulf Coast experienced crushing premium increases in recent years, the rates for many of his properties actually decreased by ten to fifteen percent in 2025 and held steady into 2026. However, he expressed concern over the growing difficulty of finding willing carriers and the increasing presence of tricky exclusions hidden deep within policy documents. Jeff Hoffman theorized that these temporary rate reprieves might be linked to the strong investment returns insurance companies have enjoyed on their massive cash holdings, allowing them to offer slight discounts despite operational risks. James Grant expanded on this financial dynamic, explaining that the insurance market is currently experiencing a soft phase fueled by a post-COVID hangover and a flood of excess capital. Grant noted that during the pandemic, insurers panicked and raised rates or exited unfamiliar markets entirely, but as travel normalized, the perceived risk diminished. Simultaneously, investors seeking alternatives to traditional tech stocks have poured money into the insurance sector, creating new capacity. However, Grant warned campground operators to be cautious of massive discounts offered by new, inexperienced market entrants, as these generalist insurers often fail to price risk accurately and are prone to abandoning the market entirely the moment a significant claim is filed. The severe impact of liability concerns on park development and the guest experience was a major point of frustration for John McMahon. As the operations director for a relatively new, high-end glamping resort in Door County, McMahon shared that exorbitant insurance quotes forced his team to completely abandon plans to install a swimming pool. Furthermore, the prohibitive liability costs associated with off-property activities forced them to scrap plans for kayak and stand-up paddleboard rentals. McMahon lamented that even minor amenities, such as traditional Swedish saunas, caused their insurance rates to skyrocket, making it incredibly difficult to remain competitive while offering the basic recreational experiences that campers expect. Addressing McMahon’s frustrations, James Grant pointed the finger squarely at the aggressive tactics of personal injury lawyers and a societal shift where people no longer accept bad luck as a reality. Grant explained that the personal injury legal framework, originally designed to protect exploited industrial workers without requiring a retainer fee, has morphed into a system that encourages frivolous lawsuits over minor incidents like tripping on a volleyball court. Because it can cost an insurance company up to one hundred thousand dollars to defend a slip-and-fall claim in court, insurers typically opt to settle for a fraction of that cost to make the problem go away, a cycle that ultimately drives up premiums for every operator in the industry. Robert Preston agreed, noting that the only long-term solution is state-level legislative reform, citing Florida’s laws that inherently protect equestrian centers from lawsuits by legally recognizing the unavoidable dangers of horseback riding. To combat this litigious environment, the panel heavily emphasized the absolute necessity of rigorous risk management, starting with comprehensive liability waivers. James Grant stated that the first question a personal injury lawyer asks a potential client is whether they signed a waiver, as the presence of one significantly deters attorneys from taking a case on contingency. Robert Preston pointed out that modern property management systems seamlessly integrate waivers into the digital booking process. However, Peter Lovering quickly identified a dangerous loophole in this system, noting that while the primary person booking the site signs the digital waiver, their numerous visiting friends and extended family members do not. Lovering strongly advised parks to implement front desk or gate-level QR code scanning to ensure every single visitor signs a waiver before stepping onto the property. Beyond waivers, Jeff Hoffman highlighted the importance of physical risk assessments and specialized policy audits. Hoffman shared that his consulting firm physically walks properties to identify unconsidered liabilities, such as missing electrical box covers or incorrect pool depth markers, before ever applying for insurance. Furthermore, he revealed that his team plans to bring on a retired insurance professional strictly to audit policies to ensure that operators are comparing identical coverages rather than just shopping for the lowest price. James Grant echoed this advice, warning owners against using generalist brokers who attempt to force campground risks into standard commercial policies using inadequate bolt-on endorsements, which often fail to cover vital infrastructure like buried hydro lines during a disaster. The process of evaluating risk during property acquisitions provided another layer of insight, with Robert Preston detailing his firm's strict due diligence procedures. Preston explained that his team meticulously reviews five years of loss runs before purchasing a park, and they frequently quarantine newly acquired, high-risk properties onto separate insurance policies for the first few years to protect the premiums of their master portfolio. He shared a harrowing example of a park in the Southeast that they ultimately refused to purchase because it relied on a private well system that had suffered two severe E. coli outbreaks. The recurring nature of this massive health hazard had driven the park's insurance premiums up to an astonishing six to seven hundred thousand dollars, rendering the property completely uninvestable. The conversation also explored the intersection of technology, social media, and underwriting, initiated by Brian Searl asking if artificial intelligence could help audit park photos for missing safety equipment, such as life rings near a pool. James Grant and Peter Lovering enthusiastically supported this concept, warning operators that underwriters routinely scour a park’s social media pages and website before issuing a policy. Lovering shared anecdotes of parks getting in trouble for posting photos of kids jumping into ponds without required life jackets or staff driving golf carts while drinking. Grant added a specific example of a pristine applicant in Quebec that was flatly denied coverage simply because they posted a photo of a guest’s helicopter landed on a campsite on Canada Day, completely spooking the underwriters who assumed the park was running a high-risk aviation operation. As the episode progressed, the panelists touched on the impact of inflation and innovative ways to handle weather-related risks. Before exiting the broadcast, Casey Cochran highlighted Campspot’s successful partnership with Sensible to offer weather guarantees directly to campers. Cochran explained that this feature allows guests to purchase a small, affordable policy that refunds their trip if it rains a certain amount, which has effectively reduced cancellation rates across the board. By offloading the unpredictable risk of bad weather to a third-party metric-based system, parks can protect their revenue and avoid frustrating refund disputes with guests who are disappointed by a rainy weekend. In the final moments of the show, the focus returned to the economic realities driving future premium costs and budgeting strategies. Brian Searl asked if inflation was a guaranteed catalyst for rate hikes, which James Grant confirmed, explaining that the cost of raw materials and labor to replace a damaged building has multiplied in recent years, turning what used to be a twenty-thousand-dollar claim into a fifty-thousand-dollar expense. John McMahon then asked if there was a standard percentage of gross revenue that operators should expect to allocate toward insurance. Grant concluded that the wildly diverse nature of park amenities makes a universal benchmark impossible, reinforcing his final advice that operators must continuously shop the market, utilize specialized brokers, and prioritize relentless risk management.
