I also questioned the necessity of insurance for the reasons you described. Only 1 year ago when we established, our attorney highly advised we obtain insurance. Not to mention there's always the threat of very costly legal fees that would easily total many years of insurance premiums. I don't know much about Maine liability law or any recent changes that might make insurance unnecessary. But would also love to hear about any that do? In the meantime, better safe than sorry.
It is important to understand, should an accident occur that the person(s) suing could go after
a) The road association. If said association also happens to be incorporated the corporation would be treated like a person in court and absolutely needs it's own insurance. This would be the easiest and most likely legal scenario a victim would take. If the road association is not incorporated, it could be a harder battle to fight in court and the victim may take other/additional actions (see b,c,d), especially if the association does not have insurance. If the association does have insurance, it will be easier to settle at this point.
b) The officers. The officers do have limited protection under the statutory laws from other members of the association. But not necessarily protected from an outsider, guest, or owner suing for an accident. Some liability insurance plans cover protection for officers either included or at additional cost, some don't. We pay extra to have our officers covered.
Language copied from http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/23/title23sec3101.html "7. Immunity from suit. A commissioner, board or owner of a parcel of land who undertakes activities of a road association under this subchapter is immune from civil liability in all actions by owners or lessees of other lots for the following activities: A. The determination of repairs and maintenance to be undertaken; [2009, c. 238, §1 (NEW).] B. The determination of materials to be furnished or amount of money to be paid by each owner for repairs and maintenance; [2009, c. 238, §1 (NEW).] C. The collection of the money from each owner; and [2009, c. 238, §1 (NEW).] D. The awarding of a contract authorized under section 3103. [2009, c. 238, §1 (NEW).]"
c) Any or all individual homeowners on the road. This option would be the most difficult and costly to a victim as they would have to bring a separate case against each one. However, if there is no corporation or insurance plan for the association a determined victim may try this to seek compensation. This would require each homeowner to seek their own legal guidance and use of their own homeowner's insurance. Every individuals' homeowner's plan is different and complicated. There are some that may cover such incident, however, if there is a sort of entity in place like a road association that may nullify individual coverage depending on the language of the plan. Many plans simply don't offer such coverage either. Given that every homeowner likely has different plans, if any at all, relying on that can get extremely complicated.
d) Any or all of the above at the same time.