Mountaineering Council of Scotland Club and Individual Member Civil Liability Insurance Frequently Asked Questions.

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1 Mountaineering Council of Scotland Club and Individual Member Civil Liability Insurance Frequently Asked Questions What is Civil Liability insurance? General Questions Civil Liability Insurance provides for legal liability following negligence, nuisance or trespass. Unlike other liability insurances, it not only covers Public Liability (where you are liable for injury or damage to other persons or their property), but also includes cover for the following, which are excluded from other providers standard covers: Professional Indemnity injury following advice by an individual or club member (not an instructor). Directors and Officers cover for decisions made by club committees Libel & Slander liability following something you might have said or written down (including website, s etc.) Abuse liability incurred by a club as a failure of their duty of care. What activities are covered? MCofS recognised activities, which include climbing indoor and outdoor, winter and summer mountaineering, rock climbing, abseiling, scrambling, gorge-walking, canyoning, hill walking, low-level walking, guided walks, fell and mountain running, slack lining (not high lining), navigation, camping, tyrolean traverse, bouldering, co-steering, route setting, emergency first aid in the outdoor, ski-mountaineering, orienteering, ski touring. For Clubs only : o AALA inspection relevant to climbing activities only, and property ownership (including renting out).the policy also extends to include secondary activities for clubs (i.e. these should not be the main activities of the Club which should be climbing in its various forms stated above) including, canoeing, caving, potholing (excluding the use of explosives and underwater exploration) and cycling, and mountain biking. For individual members: o Secondary activities including mountain biking and canoeing/kayaking when used to access a route in order to take part in an activity stated above. Who is covered by the Civil Liability Insurance? The Civil Liability is designed specifically to meet the needs of the MCofS and its affiliated individual members, club members and Associations. This includes the following: Individual Members and Club Members, Club Volunteers, and Club Wardens Clubs and trustees of clubs (when the trustee is a member of the MCofS) The Mountaineering Council of Scotland, Employees, Committee Members, Officers, Trustees and Volunteers What is meant by Claims Made? The Civil Liability policy is written on what is known as a claims made basis. This means that the policy provides cover for those claims reported during the period of insurance, rather than the policy that was in force at the time of the incident. What is the age limit? There is no age limit.

2 Does the policy cover anyone who is not defined as UK resident? Insurance cover is only available to fully paid up members who have a permanent UK address. Such members are covered for mountaineering activities in both the UK and overseas (but excluding USA and Canada). Members with a permanent UK address who are working on a temporary contract or serving with the armed forces abroad are included within the cover, for mountaineering activities in both the UK and overseas (but excluding USA and Canada). Any member permanently living abroad is not covered because the policy is subject to UK jurisdiction and the underwriters will not extend cover to permanent overseas residents. However, members of clubs normally resident overseas are covered if they participate in club meets held in the UK. This provision does not apply to individual members. I am climbing abroad - will the Civil Liability be sufficient cover? Civil Liability will provide protection for your potential legal Liabilities, however; if you are going abroad you should take out specialist travel cover, available via BMC. Standard Travel Agents travel cover will rarely include Medical Expenses, or search and rescue whilst you are participating in climbing. What significant exclusions or limitations apply? Risks that require more specific insurance, i.e. Motor, marine Injury to any person employed (including volunteers) Loss of or damage to property in your custody or control Pollution unless caused by a sudden identifiable unintended and unexpected incident Any legal action brought against the insured in a court of law within the United States of America or Canada other than where a member is in USA or Canada representing the MCofS Fines, penalties or punitive damages Damage to products supplied and work and the repair, replacement or recall of same work Claims arising out of or in connection with asbestos Repair of defects in premises disposed of Claims arising out of or in connection with damage to any data Nuclear risks War risks Deliberate, dishonest or foreseeable acts Infringement of trademark name registered design copyright or patent right Medical negligence Abuse - the person accused of abuse / alleged to be the abuser. Charges of abuse against an individual are brought under criminal law and as such are not covered by this policy. Claims arising from loss happening prior to the retroactive date stated in the schedule, which would be the date that your continuous membership first commenced. Incidents / claims known to you but not reported to the insurers immediately

3 Why do I need 10m Limit of Indemnity as a minimum? In the event of a claim your limit of indemnity is the maximum your policy will pay. As awards in sport exceed 5m MCofS and Perkins Slade consider that 10m is an appropriate amount of cover as a minimum for both the Council and its Members. Why do I need Professional Indemnity cover? Professional Indemnity provides cover following negligent advice. For example, if you share knowledge with a colleague on the hill and a claim results from advice you have given, this part of the policy would apply. Why do I need Libel and Slander cover? There have been cases of members of sports clubs having disputes within clubs. Posts on web sites and contained in s could also be potentially Libellous for example Does my cover include any Legal Expenses? Yes but only for: Legal expenses for defence of actions Legal Defence Costs are included for the defence of criminal actions brought in respect of a breach of the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Section II of the Consumer Protection Act The Limit of Indemnity if 250,000. Is my equipment insured? No, however you can take out cover via : Specialist Travel Cover via the bmc.co.uk the sports cover link on this site ( Are members of the club covered for mountaineering activities undertaken with another club, with friends who are not members of the club or MCofS, and in their own right? Members of clubs declared as being active to the MCofS enjoy cover on activities undertaken with the registering club, another club or individually. I am an instructor. Will the MCOFS individual membership cover provide me with Professional Indemnity cover whilst I am instructing? On the basis you are charging for your services as an instructor, No. What do I do if I am involved in an Incident / Accident? You should immediately record relevant information concerning incidents involving a fatal accident, an injury involving either referral to or actual hospital treatment, any allegations of libel / slander, any allegations of professional negligence, i.e. arising out of advice given, any investigation under any child protection legislation or any circumstance involving damage to third party property. You must report every claim and any incident that is likely to give rise to a claim in the future. Incident Notification Guidelines are included elsewhere on this website. Do not admit liability; do not make an offer or promise to pay. Please see separate instructions and Incident Report Forms on this site.

4 If I am injured, can I claim from the Civil Liability policy? No, the Civil Liability policy provides protection for claims made against you by third parties due to your negligence, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. If you are injured and believe that a third party is at fault, you should seek legal advice on how to pursue a claim against the person(s) responsible for causing the injury. CLUB MEMBER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS Does Club cover differ from Individual cover? Yes, Clubs are provided with Directors and Officers cover and Abuse cover. (See comments below). If I am a Committee Member - What protection do I get? As a committee member, you may not realise it, but the constitution of your club almost certainly makes you personally liable for the liability of the organisation. Civil Liability provides Directors and Officers cover in order to protect you in the event of you being sued for negligent decisions. What is abuse cover and why do I need it? Abuse is where an individual has been either mentally or physically mistreated including sexual molestation. Clubs have a legal duty of care to all members, but especially young persons and vulnerable adults. If someone alleges that the club have failed in their duty of care, your Civil Liability cover will provide protection against damages awarded. The alleged perpetrator is not provided with any indemnity. Is the Limit of Indemnity the same for All Sections? No, there is a limit of 7.5 m for abuse cover, and 1m limit for Employment Practices Liability under the Directors and Officers section. Some of our members are physically unable to undertake club activities but wish to retain their membership of our club; do we need to declare them to MCofS? For insurance purposes a member of a club who no longer participates in club events, including social activities, need not be declared in the submission to MCofS by that club. However, such members may wish to continue to support the MCofS by paying the subscription fee. The MCofS maintains a database of registered club members. In the event of a claim, the database (or the last or most recent list of members received by MCofS) will be used to establish whether a member of a club involved in a claim is registered and eligible for cover. Can we include someone else [or a third party] in the cover? The policy automatically includes the club committee and members who are registered with MCofS. However, sometimes a local authority will request to be added to the cover (if you are using their climbing wall for example). The cover requested is included under indemnity to principles, meaning that the authority automatically has cover under the policy in respect of any liability it may have that would have been covered if the claim had been made against the club. Our club has members holding mountaineering awards; would the policy cover them if they lead or instruct a group of our members? Activities involving members of clubs sharing knowledge and experience is within the scope of our policy. Members of clubs who hold mountaineering awards appropriate for a given activity may lead or instruct fellow members of their own club, without charge, and enjoy cover through the MCofS policy without the need for personal professional indemnity insurance. The MCofS policy does not provide cover for members who are

5 providing advice or instruction for a fee. Specific instructors insurance should be obtained in this case. How does Civil Liability Insurance apply to young people under 18? Where clubs undertake activities or events involving unaccompanied children or young people under the age of 18, it is a mandatory requirement of Perkins Slade that the club has an appropriate Child Protection Policy in place. This will ensure that the officers and members of that club are covered by the Policy in the event of a claim against them made following injury to a child. In the event of such a claim being made, the insurance policy may be invalidated if no Child Protection Policy is in operation. Assuming that the Club constitution allows their membership, children (under 18 years old) may join a club and participate in its activities and the club will be indemnified against liability. Although children legally cannot be held responsible for their actions, the insurance charge is still applicable because when liabilities are incurred by a child in respect of third party personal injury or property damage, the duty of care will ultimately lie with the club. Insurance cover is provided for a club if a claim is made against it for civil damages following an allegation of abuse against a child. No cover is provided should such a claim be made against an individual accused of abuse because such cases are brought under criminal rather than civil law. The insurance policy responds to civil claims only and would not respond to any criminal allegation. Our club climbing meets occasionally attract spectators. Does the policy cover us if a spectator is injured? If a spectator is injured, and it is as a result of negligence of a member, the member or club responsible will be protected by the insurance policy should a claim be made. Are guests/non-members on our meets covered by the policy? In general terms, if a non-member participates in a club event, s/he is not personally covered by the insurance. If that person causes a claim to be made s/he can be sued on a personal basis, or the club can also be held responsible and may be brought into legal action. CLI will cover the club, its officials, and its members and the event only. The non-member is not covered in his / her own right and therefore, should that person (who is uninsured) be the subject of a claim by a member of the club(who is insured), the member who brings the claim may be unable to receive any damages awarded, due to the lack of insurance held by the non-member if they are unable to pay the damages. There will be occasions when non-members will wish to attend a meet as a guest before they decide whether they wish to join the club. In this context we have agreed with our insurers that a guest may participate up to twice before s/he should be registered with MCofS for insurance purposes. There is automatic cover for the club when individuals participate in club events on a guest or trial basis. The club is indemnified for liability and the individual guest has insurance in his / her own right in respect of these two taster sessions. If a guest continues to participate with the club on a regular basis, however, they should be made either a prospective or full member, and the relevant subscription sent to the MCofS. When should we register new members with MCofS? Members joining a Club must be registered with the MCofS within one month of joining that club. Is Employers Liability cover provided to clubs? As a benefit of their membership of the MCofS, Employers Liability cover is available to clubs free of charge. The cover will protect a club in respect of its liability to any employees, which includes volunteers working on behalf of the club; an example could be work undertaken by a volunteer on a club property. The limit of indemnity provided is 10m. To arrange cover and obtain an Employers' Liability certificate clubs must apply direct to Perkins Slade Ltd using the application form available on this site. This cover replaces the Employers Liability cover arranged under the Huts Insurance Scheme originally provided by The BMC.

6 How is Employers Liability different to Public Liability? Employers Liability protects the employer in the event of an injury to an employee, for which the Employer is liable for. i.e. when the employee sues the employer. In the case of the MCOFS, the club could be construed as an employer where they use cleaners, or ask a volunteer to carry out work for them. Public Liability protects the Club / Association/Governing Body / Instructor / Member / Employee if a member or public sue them for injury /damage caused by the club etc. Please note Employers Liability can be provided via application to Perkins Slade. What risks are covered by Employers Liability Insurance? Employers Liability Insurance provides cover for a club in respect of any liability it has for an injury to someone working on its behalf. This would include someone cleaning or carrying out maintenance work on a club property, whether they are a volunteer or a paid employee. If a person was injured and claimed that the club was responsible because they were working on its behalf, the Employers Liability policy would protect the club