Bowling Club Insurance
A bowling club's green is its whole reason for existing and it cannot be replaced inside a season. Damage from vandalism, a vehicle, chemical spillage or unauthorised use is not a matter of resurfacing next week: the club loses its playing season, its fixtures and the social life that goes with them.
The membership profile shapes the rest. Bowls has an older playing population, which matters practically because personal accident policies carry age limits and benefit reductions, and many club members fall outside the ages at which those benefits apply. Knowing that in advance is better than discovering it after an injury.
Governance is the third distinctive feature. Many clubs are unincorporated associations with trustees holding the lease or the deeds personally, and a committee of volunteers taking decisions about employment, funding and property without appreciating that the liability attaches to them rather than to an entity.
We can advise bowling clubs on green, clubhouse and equipment cover, the realistic personal accident position for an older membership, and the trustee and committee liability that comes with an unincorporated club.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Damage to the green
Vandalism, a vehicle driven onto it, chemical or fuel spillage, or unauthorised use in wet conditions. The cost is not only reinstatement but the loss of a season, and a green damaged in spring cannot be brought back for summer fixtures.
Slips, trips and an older membership
Paths, steps, ditches, banks and clubhouse thresholds, used by members who are more likely to be injured by a fall and slower to recover from one. It is the most frequent liability claim the sport produces.
Personal accident age limits
Standard personal accident cover reduces benefits or ceases entirely above certain ages. For a club whose players are mostly over sixty five, the cover may provide far less than the committee assumes.
Clubhouse, bar and social income
A licensed clubhouse is often the club's financial engine and its largest asset. Fire, escape of water and theft all apply, and the building frequently stands empty through the winter.
Trustees and unincorporated status
Where the club is unincorporated, trustees hold property personally and committee members can be pursued personally over employment, funding or property decisions.
The cover we arrange
We arrange professional indemnity and related insurance around the services you provide, the clients you work with and the contractual requirements you face. The appropriate cover and limits will depend on your individual activities and the terms available from insurers.
Property: green, clubhouse and equipment
Clubhouse, pavilion, contents, bar stock, mowers and green maintenance equipment, plus cover for reinstating the green after insured damage.
- Clubhouse and contents
- Green reinstatement after damage
- Mowers and maintenance equipment
- Bar stock and fittings
Public liability
Injury to members, visitors and the public and damage to their property, across the green, the paths, the car park and the clubhouse.
- Slips, trips and falls
- Visitors and touring clubs
- Limits commonly £5m or £10m
- Paths, steps and car park
Employers' liability, including volunteers
Legally required with employees, and covering the volunteers who maintain the green, run the bar and organise fixtures.
- Legally required with employees
- Volunteers treated as employees
- Green keepers and bar helpers
- Statutory minimum limit
Personal accident, with age limits understood
Benefits for members injured while playing, with the age bands and benefit reductions clearly understood before they are needed rather than after.
- Injury while playing
- Age limits and reductions apply
- Check the bands against membership
- Sometimes better covered elsewhere
Trustee and management liability
Personal liability of trustees, officers and committee members, which matters particularly where the club is unincorporated and holds property.
- Trustees holding property
- Committee decisions
- Employment disputes
- Grant and funding conditions
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Whether the club owns or leases its green and clubhouse
- Rebuild value of the clubhouse and the reinstatement cost of the green
- Whether the clubhouse is licensed, and its annual bar turnover
- Membership numbers and the age profile
- Security around the green: fencing, gates, lighting and any history of vandalism
- Whether the clubhouse is unoccupied during the week and over the winter
- The club's legal structure, and whether trustees hold property personally
- Claims over the last five years, including slips, vandalism and escape of water
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Property values
Clubhouse rebuild cost and green reinstatement cost drive most of the premium, and both are frequently understated because they have not been reviewed for years.
Bar and social operation
A licensed clubhouse with function income brings both a larger property exposure and a larger income to protect.
Security around the green
Fencing, gates and lighting reduce the vandalism exposure that represents the club's worst realistic loss, and insurers recognise it.
Age profile and personal accident
The membership's age profile determines what personal accident cover can realistically provide, which is a conversation about expectations as much as about price.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Ordinary wear on the green
Normal wear, disease, drought and moss are maintenance rather than insured damage. Vandalism, impact and spillage damage is what the cover answers.
Personal accident above the age limits
Not an exclusion the club chooses so much as a feature of the market. Benefits reduce and then cease with age, and for a bowls membership that needs checking against the actual age profile.
Unoccupied clubhouse conditions
Buildings empty midweek and through the winter carry conditions about heating, draining down and inspection. Escape of water in a closed clubhouse is a common and avoidable claim.
Money left on the premises
Bar takings held overnight are subject to limits and to conditions about safes. Clubs regularly hold more than their policy limit after a busy event.
Common questions
Can we insure the green?
Against damage, yes: vandalism, a vehicle driven onto it, or chemical spillage. Not against wear, drought or disease, which are maintenance. The important part is the reinstatement cost you declare, because bringing a damaged green back into play is expensive and slow.
Most of our members are over seventy. Does personal accident still work?
Partly, and it is better to know the position now. Benefits reduce with age and cease entirely above a stated age in most schemes, so check the bands against your actual membership rather than assuming everyone is covered equally. Some clubs decide the cover is not worth the premium once they see the bands.
Our trustees hold the lease personally. Should we worry?
It is worth addressing. In an unincorporated club the liability attaches to individuals rather than to an entity, so trustee and management liability cover protects the people who volunteered to hold office. Some clubs incorporate for the same reason, which is a decision worth taking deliberately.
The clubhouse is empty all winter. What do we need to do?
Read the unoccupancy conditions and follow them, because they are usually about heating, draining the system down and inspecting the building periodically. Escape of water discovered in spring is one of the most common club claims and almost always avoidable.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Related trades
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.