News Article

Public Liability For Sports Clubs

Public Liability Insurance is designed to provide cover if a club or organisation is accused of injuring someone or causing damage to their property.

Depending upon the sport or activity, Public Liability may not be a legal requirement but may be a insisted upon by a governing body or local authority. Even if it is not compulsory we would strongly recommend Public Liability Insurance to all those involved in sport or leisure activities.

How public liability insurance is purchased depends upon individual circumstances. Affiliation to a governing body, league or franchise may give automatic cover. If not, however, cover should be arranged independently by the club or organisation, especially in the case of commercial sport and leisure businesses.

The cover provided by Public Liability policies can vary and some are more comprehensive than others. Some Public Liability policies have restrictions regarding "player to player" or "member to member" injuries and some will exclude any injuries to sporting participants even if the club or organisation is at fault. Some policies might cover a "primary activity" but not any associated activities such as social events.

Public Liability Insurance will often require the implementation of a minimum level of risk management or health & safety in order to reduce the likelihood and severity of a claim. With larger organisations or those involved with more dangerous activities this can become more important and could not only determine the insurance premium, but whether cover can be obtained at all.

Most clubs or organisations will have an annual insurance policy, however it may be possible to obtain liability cover for a single event if that is all that is needed.

Please be aware that Public Liability insurance is not designed to cover injury to employees or volunteers, which should be covered by Employers Liability Insurance and / or Personal Accident Insurance.