NGIS covers 60% of England A beginners guide to the NGIS Personal accident insurance Back to school - education

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1 National Game Insurance Scheme Newsletter More County FAs are making personal accident insurance a mandatory requirement. Why? Find out more inside Also in this issue NGIS covers 60% of England A beginners guide to the NGIS Personal accident insurance Back to school - education National Game Insurance Scheme covers 60% of English County Football Associations in first year Welcome to the first edition of, a quarterly publication dedicated to educating all those who are involved in the national game about the insurance available under the National Game Insurance Scheme (NGIS). involved in the national game. The scheme was officially launched on the 6th February 2012 at the National Game Conference where we were able to present the vision of the NGIS to all County FA s. Bluefin Sport is delighted to have been appointed by The FA to deliver the NGIS from the 2012/13 season and we look forward to developing this insurance scheme further for the benefit of grassroots football. The NGIS has been designed to cater for grassroots football across England and will include cover for County FA s, match officials, leagues, clubs and players. Legal liability and personal accident insurance is already available and further products will be launched offering even more protection for those So far, thirty County Football Associations have signed up to the NGIS, meaning that members of 60% of associations across England can benefit from the wide insurance cover available. Alongside The FA and with the support of County Football Associations, Bluefin Sport will be promoting the benefits of the NGIS to clubs, leagues and match officials across England. We would welcome any feedback you may have, so please contact us at nationalgame@ bluefingroup.co.uk To find out more about how the NGIS could benefit you, please visit our dedicated website bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis

2 A beginners guide to the National Game Insurance Scheme Working alongside Bluefin Sport, The FA hopes to significantly improve the insurance available to the National Game. County FAs Clubs and leagues Teams and individuals Coaches About Bluefin Sport What is the purpose of the scheme? Previously, there was no over arching insurance scheme for grass roots football and this led to a number of issues, including: No uniformity in the provision of legal liability or personal accident insurance across grassroots football No guidelines or imposed standards Grass roots football unable to exploit the benefit of economies of scale and keep premiums down The NGIS aims to provide a solution to these issues. We are excited by all that is going on with the NGIS and look forward to being part of it all. Ken Benham Chief Executive, Sussex FA Complete package solutions When it comes to arranging insurance for a County FA, one size does not always fit all. We ve come up with a selection of insurance bundles which are specifically tailored for grassroots football, so a County FA can pick and choose the cover most suited to their needs and those of their affiliated: clubs leagues and match officials The NGIS currently offers two core insurance products that can be offered to affiliated clubs, leagues and match officials. They are: Legal liabilities Personal accident In addition we can provide a range of services and insurance products suited to the needs of County FAs including: buildings and contents cups and trophies legal employee benefits travel motor fleets and more. Legal liability solutions Our specialist legal liability insurance solutions have been designed to provide cover for clubs, leagues and match officials. A club or league can be held legally liable if it is proven negligent or fails to take reasonable care to prevent injury to a member of the public, members of the club/league or damage to third party property. The exclusive policy consists of four elements of cover: Public liability Employers liability Officers & committee liability Professional indemnity Cover is obtained via the affiliation process to a County FA that has joined the NGIS. The County FA will decide which cover options are available to their members. Liability cover is obtained via affiliation to a County FA that has joined the NGIS. Read our product review overleaf! Personal accident solutions The NGIS personal accident products have been specifically created to meet the requirements of both adult and youth football teams, individual players and match officials offering a range of covers. You never know when you might be injured in an accident, and you can incur significant financial losses as a result. Personal accident insurance can help offset some of these unexpected. This insurance can payout a set amount for injury from an accident and this can be a lump sum or a weekly amount. Benefits include: Accidental death Permanent disablement Life cover Broken bones Hospitalisation Dental Weekly payments and much more. Personal Accident cover is obtained online at bluefinsport. co.uk or by post direct to Bluefin Sport. Complete package solutions Coaching can provide unmatched rewards, but also creates unique risks from an insurance perspective. We can provide affordable solutions to individual coaches and soccer schools who are based in the UK. FA Licensed Coaches Club Bluefin Sport became the approved insurance broker of the FA Licensed Coaches Club on 1 August 2012 providing legal liability and personal accident insurance to licensed coaches. The insurance cover can be purchased together with membership to the FA Licensed Coaches Club. Contact FA Learning on or visit licensedcoachesclub. Soccer schools We also provide bespoke insurance solutions for soccer schools including: Public/products liability Employers liability Professional indemnity Directors & officers liability Personal accident Loss of equipment Sport insurance specialists Bluefin Sport is a major provider of insurance and risk management solutions to the world of sport. Our approach has helped to make us one of the leading UK providers to sports industry bodies, players and businesses. We are uniquely positioned with the ability to cater for the top professionals right through to the amateur/grassroot levels. Few other insurance brokers can boast this breadth of expertise and our client portfolio speaks for itself. In football we place covers for: The FA Premier League Scottish Premier League The Football League The Football Association The Football Association of Wales County Football Associations Football stadia (including many Premier League clubs) 2 For more information visit bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis or call

3 Dive in Explore why personal accident insurance is becoming compulsory... From the 2013/14 season The FA will be making personal accident insurance a mandatory requirement across grassroots football in England. Why? The provision of personal accident insurance forms a major part of the NGIS. The FA want associations, leagues, clubs and players to arrange additional protection for all those involved in the game. Some advantages to introducing the cover can include: It ensures all participants have protection in the event of an injury. Non negligence cover. Unlike a liability policy you do not have to find someone to be at fault for an injury to be able to claim Can help to reduce litigation within the game Higher levels of benefits because we think long term. Thankfully a severe injury is a rare occurrence but the risk does exist. If the very worst does happen it can be devastating on the individual and on a family. Indeed, tragically, we have already dealt with an accidental death claim this season. The club had purchased insurance through the NGIS and whilst the loss for the family is irreplaceable, the benefit paid out by the policy will help ensure that financial commitments won t add to their worries at this terrible time. So whilst designing the NGIS products we have taken the long term care and support of clubs, players and their families into consideration not just concentrated on the short term benefits. Thankfully incidents of a serious nature are not a common occurrence but the short term injuries, such as a broken arm or leg, are. This can lead to time off work if you are an adult in employment or additional costs if you need to take time out to care for an injured youth player. If you become injured whilst participating in a club activity you can incur significant financial losses as a result. Personal accident insurance can help offset some of these unexpected. This insurance can payout a set amount for injury from an accident and this can be a lump sum or a weekly amount. An increasing number of County FAs are already making personal accident a mandatory requirement to ensure that all players have some form of protection. Of course from next season it will become mandatory for everyone. The NGIS offer two levels of cover - Essential and Superior which offer different levels of benefits: Essential cover Essential cover provides the minimum benefit levels advised by the National Game Board. It also provides a cost effective option for those clubs/teams operating on a low end budget. Superior cover Superior cover options are for those looking to increase benefit levels and tailor the cover to suit their needs. Selecting the Superior level of cover also opens up opportunities to purchase a range of optional extra benefits. Comparison to other products on the market. Cheapest is not always the best. Ask yourself three crucial questions: Q1: If your injury means that you will no longer be able to do your current job would you want the policy to pay out for permanent total disablement and receive rehabilitation and retraining? A: If the answer is yes then the NGIS policy is for you. Most other policies would only pay these benefits if you were unable to undertake ANY job again. Q2: If you were injured but the same injury had occurred before would you want the policy to pay out? A: If the answer is yes then the NGIS policy is for you. Most other policies contain pre existing condition exclusions. Q3: If you were off work for more than a year would you still want the policy to pay weekly benefits? A: If the answer is yes then the NGIS policy is for you because our Adult Superior level provides a 104 week benefit period. Most competitors only offer a 52 week benefit period Top 3 reasons to choose the NGIS for personal accident cover 1. Policy definitions It is not enough to simply compare policies by premiums. It might look an easy decision on paper but subtle differences in policy wordings can have a hugely significant impact on the cover being provided. The NGIS has an exclusive wording that is wider than most available on the market today. 2. Pre-existing conditions Many policies exclude pre-existing conditions for injury, which means that a player that broke his leg last season may not be able to claim for a similar break in the future. The NGIS policy does not have any such exclusion. So you can break the same leg as many times as you like (not that we want you to!). 3. Claims service The NGIS offers claims payment efficiency with the insurers BACS payment facility. Ensuring injured persons receive benefit payments direct to their bank account quickly and efficiently. This means no lost cheques in the post or having to wait for the amount to clear in your bank account. Instant payment allowing you to use the money when you need it most. 4 Visit bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis for more information or call for a brochure. 5

4 Injury can come at a price......can you afford not to protect your players? There are a number of football personal accident insurance providers and products you can choose from. We understand that with all these options it s not always easy to know whether you are making the right decisions and getting the best for your clubs and their players. Finding a cheap deal might make you flavour of the month but you could soon live to regret your decision if the insurance policy doesn t pay out when a player or club needs it most. Have a quick look at what the NGIS policies can provide for your players. It s a fact Our permanent total disablement benefit is paid if you are unable to continue your current job due to disablement. Many polices only pay this benefit if you are unable to undertake any job again. Prices start from just 30 per adult team Emergency dental up to 100 Broken bones up to 100 Hospitalisation 25 per day + Coma benefit Emergency medical 500 Rehabilitation and retraining Up to 2,500 Loss of hearing Home/car adaptation Up to 10,000 Accidental death Life cover 5,000 Loss of sight Loss of speech Loss of internal organ Permanent total disablement Up to 50,000 Loss of limbs Extra travel Up to 25 pw Weekly benefit for time off work 25 pw Legal advice and counselling helpline Prices start from just 12 per youth team Loss of hearing Emergency dental 100 Permanent total disablement Up to Broken bones 100 Hospitalisation 25 per day + Coma benefit Emergency medical 100 Rehabilitation and retraining Up to 2,500 Accidental death 10,000 Broken fingers and toes 50 Life cover 5,000 Loss of sight Loss of speech Loss of internal organ Loss of limbs Weekly benefit for time off work 50 pw (for club officials) Legal advice and counselling helpline Home/car adaptation Up to 10,000 Why choose us? Exclusive policy wording. No pre existing condition exclusions in respect of accidental bodily injury. No limit to number of players/ club officials in a team. Wide policy wording definitions. Permanent total disablement from usual occupation. Long benefit periods. Range of options to tailor cover. Not just playing, training and travelling to and from. We also include organised club social activities. Legal and counselling advice helplines included at no additional cost. BACS claims payment option. Ability to buy on line or by post. Illustration above is based on our Superior bundle which is 89 per 11 a side adult team and per small sided team. Alternative bundles are available as per the prices advertised. Visit bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis or call for more information. Illustration above is based on our Superior bundle which is 25 per U13 s and above teams and 19 per U12 s and below teams. Alternative bundles are available as per the prices advertised. Visit bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis or call for more information. Additional adult team options: Additional youth team options: Increase weekly benefits. Include a weekly benefit for youth years olds in employment. Include dental injury cover. Student tutorial - supply home tuition in the event of an accident. Include physiotherapy costs. Include physiotherapy costs. 6 Increase the broken bones benefit and include dislocations. Include parent/legal guardian inconvenience benefit. 7

5 Back to school What does it all mean? Education about insurance is a key factor for players, clubs and associations. A brief guide to insurance terminology Over the next 12 months we will be working hard to educate all those involved in grassroots football about insurance and why you need certain covers. We will draw upon real life examples where clubs and players have been grateful for the protection that an insurance policy can provide. If you don t know the difference between liability insurance or personal accident insurance then this will be for you! Minimising the risk There are of course ways in which we can reduce the risks involved in football. We are working on Kick the Risk which will provide risk advice to clubs at all levels of the game giving information on accident reporting, event management, health and safety and so on. Clubs should be encouraged to take account for their actions - we must learn from incidents and, as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. we will be working hard to educate all those involved in grassroots football Employers liability insurance Compulsory insurance for all employers. This insurance is required in case any employees pursue their employer for compensation in the event that they suffer injury or disease in the course of their employment. Excess This is the amount the policyholder must pay in the event of a claim being made. The amount may differ for each type of insurance. Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) A government tax charged as a percentage of insurance premiums. Insured A person or business covered by an insurance policy. Officers & committee liability insurance Provides cover for claims made directly against individuals at the club e.g. officer, committee member, director and/or trustee for alleged wrongful acts whilst managing or running the clubs affairs. Personal accident insurance This insurance can pay out a set amount if someone is injured in an accident and the payout can be a lump sum or a weekly amount. Player to Player A term used to define a situation where a claim arises from one player injuring another whilst participating in a game or training. Professional indemnity insurance Cover provides protection if you provide negligent advice or a negligent service. It is designed to safeguard you against claims made by clients for any resulting financial loss or damage to their reputation. Public liability insurance Cover against damages awarded to members of the public because of an injury or damage to their property through negligence. Third party Someone other than the insured or their insurer. The importance of goalpost safety. Play your part. Many serious injuries and fatalities have occurred in recent years as a result of unsafe or incorrect use of goalposts. Safety is always of paramount importance and everyone in football must play their part to prevent incidents occurring in the future. For safety reasons goalposts of any size (including those which are portable and not installed permanently at a pitch or practice field) must always be anchored securely to the ground. Portable goalposts must be secured as per the manufacturer s instructions. Under no circumstances should children or adults be allowed to climb on, swing or play with the structure of the goalposts. Particular attention is drawn to the fact that if not properly assembled and secured, portable goalposts may overturn. Regular inspections of goalposts must be carried out to check that they are properly maintained. Portable goalposts should not be left in place after use. They should be dismantled and removed to a place of secure storage. When taking goalposts down at the end of the season they should be securely stored to avoid unauthorised use. 8 9

6 Remember, remember... Contact Bluefin Sport if you are having a Firework or bonfire display. Injury protection for your team is just a few clicks away... There s simply no substitute for our personal accident insurance: The FA s appointed broker Cover for adult and youth teams 24 hour online quotation service Instant cover Peace of mind Scan here e: nationalgame@bluefingroup.co.uk Whilst the NGIS liability policy includes cover for club social and fundraising events of up to 5,000 attendees it excludes fireworks and bonfires. There are obvious risks involved when organising an event of this nature and it presents many demands and challenges. You not only have to consider the safety of the spectators but also that of your display team and the equipment being used. If you are thinking of holding a firework display event you will find some useful guidance and information on the HSE website: fireworks/index.htm If you would like us to obtain an insurance quotation for you then please call be safe not sorry Grassroot football insurance solutions at the click of a mouse Our brand new website dedicated to the National Game Insurance Scheme went live in June 2012 enabling instant access to information and quotes for County FA s and all their affiliated members. Buy online and save 15 (No policy fees) Over 10,000 clubs have visited in just 3 months with thousands purchasing personal accident policies during this period. Look out for more enhancements over the coming months. For more information visit bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis or call Sport 10 Bluefin Sport is a trading name of Bluefin Insurance Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. bluefinsport.co.uk/ngis 2 11

7 In the next issue of : We unwrap the liability package that the NGIS provides to County FA s and their member clubs, leagues and match officials. We will explore litigation in football, the current blame culture that exists and review the measures in place to help minimise the risks that clubs and players face. Coming 2013 For more information about the content of this newsletter, please contact: us on or nationalgame@bluefingroup.co.uk Disclaimer Any views or opinions expressed in this Newsletter are for guidance only and are not intended as a substitute for appropriate professional advice. We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained herein is accurate at the time of writing but it should not be regarded as a complete or authoritative statement of law. Bluefin Sport is a trading name of Bluefin Insurance Services Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Registered Office: 5 Old Broad Street, London, EC2N 1AD. Registered in England No: