Public liability insurance for unincorporated associations (such as sports clubs and charities)

[Participant]

Hi all

Not the most interesting of topics, but does anyone have any experience of insuring the land of a club from public liability, perhaps as treasurer or chair?

I've been asked to look into whether £2m of PLI sufficient and don't really have a clue. The biggest risk in this case is that a tree on our land falls onto a road and kills someone, but surely unless the tree was obviously dead and poorly maintained, that's just bad luck? And if someone badly hurts themselves (or worse) on the land, then they are almost certainly not meant to be there and therefore trespassing.

My instinct is not to increase premiums for extra cover but I also want to understand the position.

 

[shifty_uk]

Speak to an insurance broker, they’ll be able to advise

 

[Werewolf]

As above speak to a couple of brokers, if it's a sports club for example then the risk of a life changing injury will vary massively depending on the sport, Boules will have a very different risk to Rugby for example.

My guess is the cost of a higher level of cover will possibly be quite small compared to a lower level as the chance of needing that extra will normally be low.

 

[BDEE]

I used to do this for a club. Used Clivertons and Chris Knott. Usually options are £1m, £2m, £5m, £10m.

The activity of the institute you are insuring really drives the cover you need. Some brokers do not provide advice on the level of cover and simply say you need to choose. (i.e. If Your land is used for rifle shooting, there is inherently more risk of liability than land used as a bowls green).

You should also consider if your policy needs cover for actions by club members and officials as well as decisions of the committe of the club, as these things can often incur a liability in certain situations.

If you just want the billy basic then £1m is what most go for.

 

[fraseredwards]

We use Zurich and have done for many years. Lots of trees and insurance there in case of any injury whilst on our clubs land. Main thing for us is an annual tree survey and safety assessment for the grounds. This enables us to show we have minimised risk as much as reasonable therefore we hope then if something happens our insurance would cover it. Not had to claim in nearly 40 years. Fingers crossed