With national restrictions still in place, we’re sure you’re looking forward to the day you can open the doors to your sports club or hall again and welcome your local community back.
In the meantime, there are insurance solutions you should have in place to make sure you’re fully covered, both while your premises are shut and when you reopen.
In this article, we take a look at four types of protection any sports club or hall owner should be considering right now.
Keep an eye on what’s not in plain sight
During lockdown, it can be easy to assume that we don’t need insurance if our premises are shut. However, that isn’t strictly the case. If your sports hall or club is unoccupied, it could be at a higher risk.
This is due to the fact that your vacant site could be seen as an easy target by vandals and thieves because they are less likely to be caught. In addition, if no one is there regularly, damages ranging from burst pipes and faulty electrics to a fire or flood may not be quickly picked up, meaning the situation could get worse before it is noticed.
Unfortunately, many insurance providers don’t cover vacant premises with a standard Sports Club Insurance policy. This could mean that you ended up spending more money to rectify any issues or damages that occur while your club or hall remains shut. By taking out Tailored Unoccupied Premises Insurance via a broker, it can give you peace of mind that you have something to lean on to help you bounce back if anything were to happen.
Don’t let interruptions set you back
As well as Unoccupied Premises protection, you may want to look at adding a Business Interruption policy to your insurance package. While Unoccupied Premises Insurance can cover you against damages or mishaps when your premises are shut, Business Interruption Insurance can cover you if an unexpected event happens during the running of your organisation.
Imagine once lockdown is over and you reopen your facility, but due to unforeseen circumstances there is a fire, flood or your essential sporting equipment breaks, meaning you can’t run your organisation as usual.
A standard Building and Contents policy may cover the initial damage of an event, such as fixtures and fittings that need to be repaired or replaced. However, it likely won’t account for any financial losses you incur as a result of your organisation being interrupted; and, depending on the event, you could be impacted for several weeks or even months. In some severe cases, because they didn’t have Business Interruption Insurance, some companies and organisations have closed after an incident as the financial ramifications were too great.
Ensure you have cover in place for any volunteers
Do you hire volunteers? If the answer is yes, you need to make sure you have Employers’ Liability in place. It is a legal requirement and can provide you with a financial safety net if a volunteer becomes ill or sustains an injury while carrying out work for your sports hall or club and subsequently makes a claim.
Whether you have unpaid workers helping you out remotely during the lockdown, are planning on welcoming existing volunteers back or want to take on new helpers when you reopen, having Employers Liability Insurance is key.
Protect your trustees
If someone volunteers to be a trustee for your sports hall or club, it’s wise to make sure you look after their best interests with Trustee Indemnity Insurance, also known as Trustee Liability Insurance. Even with good intentions, if a decision a trustee makes triggers a claim, it could put them at risk personally, or the liability may fall on your organisation.
Trustee Indemnity Insurance is there to cover, among many things, legal costs, errors and omissions, maladministration of funds, breach of trust, duty, regulation or law and wrongful trading.
At Edwards Insurance Brokers, we understand every club is different in terms of the level that you play, equipment you use and even the venue you operate from; and all of these factors affect the type of Sports Hall or Club Insurance you require.
Our goal is to protect your organisation, team or members, employees, and volunteers, and we pride ourselves on going the extra mile for all our clients. To discover how our friendly team can help you, get in touch by calling 01564 730900 or emailing enquiries@edwardsinsurance.co.uk.