Insurance Club Guidelines Produced: January 2009 The British Mountaineering Council 177 179 Burton Road, M20 2BB T: 0161 445 6111 E: office@thebmc.co.uk
Insurance 1. Introduction This document covers all aspects of BMC insurance. For activities recognised by the BMC, protection is provided when acting in a non-professional (i.e. unpaid, either financially or in kind) capacity. Activities such as ski mountaineering, occasional mountain biking and caving, may be covered (check with BMC office) provided the activities are non-competitive and are SECONDARY to the activities of the club (i.e. are not the main activity of the club - it would be assumed that a club whose prime activity is caving, for example, would be affiliated to and have insurance through the National Caving Association). For information specifically about club huts insurance, please see the Hut Guidelines page on the BMC website http://www.thebmc.co.uk/feature.aspx?id=1373 The BMC membership/affiliation fee includes compulsory Civil Liability protection for Individual and Club members up to 10,000,000 Individual membership includes 10,000 Personal Accident and/or Disability cover Club membership includes Civil Liability protection for the club entity and officers, directors and trustees up to 10,000,000 Club members can benefit from the Personal Accident and/or Disability cover if they pay the membership upgrade fee Travel and Activity insurance cover is also available to members, along with financial protection, through Summit Financial Services. This article is intended to give assistance to clubs and individual members in understanding the insurance cover that is available through the BMC and is not intended as a legal interpretation of the BMC insurance schemes and should not be used as such. Reference should be made to the insurance policies themselves, which are available from the BMC office or Perkins Slade Ltd (contact details on page 4). BMC/August 2008 2. What is Civil Liability? Civil Liability is a unique policy, available only through Perkins Slade Ltd, designed to protect clubs against legal liability under Civil Law. A number of traditional Liability Policies are brought together to create one Master Policy providing superior policy coverage. The policy is designed to provide cover whilst undertaking activities recognised by the BMC. The main features of the Policy are: [i] Public Liability Accidental bodily injury to third parties and/or damage to third party property. This section of the policy provides cover for: (a) member to member liability and (b) liability arising out of the sharing of knowledge. Insurance Club Guidelines 2009 Page 1 of 5
[ii] Products Liability Accidental bodily injury to third parties and/or damage to third party property arising out of any goods lent to another person by an Individual or club member or sold or supplied by the club. [iii] Libel and Slander Includes defamation, which is vital in relation to allegations of child abuse. [iv] Directors and Officers Liability Legal Liability protection in respect of negligent mismanagement. The Policy is also extended to protect against liability arising out of the use, ownership or possession of any club premises e.g. mountaineering huts, and includes protection for Trustees. NB. No cover is provided for mountaineering/climbing instruction on a commercial basis. 3. Civil Liability Protection - all members The policy covers you for any claim made against you for civil liability arising in connection with hill walking, climbing and mountaineering. The limit of indemnity in respect of any claims made is 10,000,000 for any one event / any one period. The cover is only available to UK residents but operates worldwide with the exception of USA and Canada and there is no excess applicable. The cover does not apply to people who are acting as professional instructors, guides or in a similar professional business capacity. Liability insurance covers you for claims against you for injury or damages caused. You and your assets are protected if you are taken to court, for example, for dislodging a rock that caused injury to someone else and that person sues you. 4. Personal Accident Disability Insurance Cover - individual members Personal Accident cover provides you with compensation if you are unfortunate enough to suffer a permanent injury while you are engaged in one of the activities covered by the policy. There is no death benefit under the policy or cover for recoverable injuries such as broken limbs. Cover for death and loss of earnings while injured are available separately from Summit Financial Services (contact details on page 5). The Personal Accident Disability benefit is only available to UK residents and only applies when involved in BMC recognised activities, e.g. all forms of mountaineering (including ski mountaineering), climbing, walking and abseiling. The cover includes travel to and from these activities within the UK. Benefits 1 Permanent Total Disablement from gainful employment of any 10,000 and every kind 2 Loss of limb(s) 10,000 3 Loss of sight of eye(s) 10,000 4 Loss of Speech 10,000 5 Loss of Hearing 10,000 6 Emergency dental treatment Up to 500 7 Hospitalisation (Benefit period 10 days) 25 Per Day Max 250 Insurance Club Guidelines 2009 Page 2 of 5
5. Civil Liability Protection for Mountaineering Clubs - clubs By virtue of the mandatory scheme that the BMC/MCS/MCI administers on behalf of all its members, affiliated clubs receive Civil Liability protection at no additional charge (specifically, Directors/Officers & Trustees cover) and protection against civil liability prosecutions in respect of Children and Vulnerable adults. 6. How Could Liability Attach to a Club? - clubs Liability can attach to mountaineering clubs under a variety of circumstances, principally under the four heads of cover detailed above, some examples may be: [i] A member or third party could be injured by faulty or poorly maintained club premises. [ii] If a novice mountaineer sustained injury on a club led climb. [iii] A third party may sustain injury as a result of faulty equipment provided by the club. [iv] Food poisoning could be suffered by a third party from materials either made or distributed by the club. [v] Third parties may take offence to published materials e.g. guidebooks / newsletters / website. [vi] If a rock or debris was dislodged and caused injury or damage to a third party or property when it fell. [vii] Should the club become insolvent as the result of negligent mismanagement of finances. [viii] Should a landowner s gate be left open and cattle/sheep escape and cause third party injury or damage. [ix] A Club may be sued for failure of its duty of care to Children or Vulnerable adults Under all of the above circumstances, the Civil Liability Policy would provide indemnity to a limit of 10,000,000. Further information on Civil Liability Insurance is available from Perkins Slade Ltd on [UK] 0121 698 8000. 7. Prospective Club Members - clubs A prospective club member, who may not have paid for club membership, will be insured through the Civil Liability policy when engaging in a club s activities, providing that the club has a record of that person s details. To remain insured beyond a trial membership, that person must appear on the club s next quarterly declaration. At this point the club must collect membership subscriptions, unless that has already been done. Insurance Club Guidelines 2009 Page 3 of 5
8. Reporting an Incident - all members All incidents involving injury or damage to a BMC member or a third party must be reported to our insurers (Perkins Slade) within 21 days. This is a requirement under the Civil Justice System in the UK. Please also copy your notification to the BMC office. If you or your club are involved in an incident that could lead to a court case, please report the incident immediately. The Civil Liability policy is written on a claims made basis. This means that cover which responds is the policy that is in place when a claim is actually reported, not the policy necessarily in place when the incident occurred. It is better to be safe than sorry and report any incident or injuries which might result in a claim at some point in the future. Individuals have up to 3 years to decide whether or not to make a claim. Under 18s have until they are 18 years old, plus 3 years to make a claim. It is better to have reported the incident and have no claim arise from it, rather than not report the incident and suddenly have a claim 3, 4 or 5 years later. In the case of a possible liability claim, (see the Civil Liability section) the incident must be notified to the insurers by the party likely to be sued (e.g. the club or the individual, etc.) rather than the injured party. It is important that the party likely to be sued does not admit liability prior to speaking to the insurers. With personal accident claims, (only available for Individual members See Personal Accident section) the injured party is the claimant and they should report the incident to the insurers. Perkins Slade Ltd 3 Broadway Broad Street Birmingham B15 1BQ Claims reporting tel: 0121 698 8040 Fax: 0121 625 9000 British Mountaineering Council 177 179 Burton Road Manchester M20 2BB Tel: 0161 445 6111 Fax: 0161 445 4500 Insurers and Providers are: Perkins Slade Ltd (no 969374) is registered at 3, Broadway, Broad Street, Birmingham B15 1BQ Royal Sun Alliance (no 93792) is registered at St Marks Court, Chart Way, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 1XL Perkins Slade Ltd and R.S.A. are both authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority Full details of Insuresport Mutual are available from the Insuresport website, www.insuresport.com or by contacting Perkins Slade Ltd on the address above All Complaints should be referred to Perkins Slade Ltd. 9. Terms & Conditions Insurance for individual (including bona fide family members) and club members is only in effect when they are fully paid up and the BMC has details of their names. Clubs must maintain appropriate membership records and update the BMC on a regular basis with details of new members. New members are insured from the day they pay membership to the club, provided that the club clearly records the date of payment (e.g. by using a receipt book) and that the money and the member s details are passed on to the BMC by the end of every quarter (March, June, September and December). Insurance Club Guidelines 2009 Page 4 of 5
In the event of a liability claim members must not admit liability but must first inform the insurance brokers and the BMC see Reporting an Incident below. Civil Liability and Personal Accident Disability cover does not extend to those resident outside the UK. This is a brief outline of the Civil Liability Insurance Policy and the Personal Accident Disability Policy. Full details including all exclusions are set out in the Master Policy held by the BMC. Copies of either Policy are available from the BMC office on request. Members of Organisations and Bodies linked to the BMC other than by affiliation i.e. Associate Members do not benefit from Civil Liability or Personal Accident insurance. 10. Travel & Activity Insurance Cover Comprehensive insurance is also available from the BMC to cover medical, rescue, baggage, and cancellation from 3 days to annual cover. Rates are available to cover all activities from beach cover for non-active family members through to cover for an ascent of Everest. For your copy of the BMC Travel & Activity Insurance Guide contact the BMC office on 0161 445 6111. 11. Summit Financial Services Summit Financial Services have developed a range of products that can provide financial cover for climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers. Cover is available, in many instances without loading, for income protection, mortgage protection, life cover and critical illness cover. To obtain more details and a no obligation quote please contact: Summit Financial Services FREEPOST NWW 1071A Milnthorpe LA7 7BR Tel: 015395 64200 Fax: 015395 64477 Email: enquiries@summit-fs.co.uk This service is provided by Summit Financial Services which is an appointed representative of Lonsdale Financial Services, 25 Main Street, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, LA7 7PP, who are independent financial advisers regulated by the Financial Services Authority for investment business Insurance Club Guidelines 2009 Page 5 of 5