Cricket Club Insurance
Cricket has a claim that belongs to no other sport: the ball leaving the ground. Windows, greenhouses, conservatories, parked cars and occasionally people, all outside the boundary and none of them part of the game. It is the most frequent liability claim in club cricket and the one every club will meet eventually.
Whether the club is liable depends on what it did about a known risk rather than on the single shot. Netting, screening, where the square sits in relation to the boundary and how the club has responded to previous incidents all matter, which is why a pattern of broken windows is a bigger problem than one unlucky six.
The pavilion and the machinery are the other half of the exposure. Clubs hold more equipment than their members realise: rollers, mowers, covers, scoreboards and nets, much of it standing in an outbuilding through the winter, and much of it attractive to thieves and to vandals.
We can advise cricket clubs on liability including ball damage, pavilion and machinery cover, and the safeguarding position for junior sections and all stars programmes.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Balls leaving the ground
Damage to neighbouring property and vehicles, and occasionally injury to passers by. Frequent, individually modest and cumulatively significant, and the club's response to earlier incidents is what decides liability for the next one.
Nets and practice facilities
Practice nets concentrate fast bowling in a small space. Injury in nets, and damage from balls escaping worn or badly maintained netting, both arise from the condition of the facility rather than from the game.
Machinery and equipment theft
Rollers, mowers and covers are valuable, stored in outbuildings and left for months at a time. Theft and vandalism to groundcare equipment is one of the most common property claims in the sport.
Pavilion and clubhouse
Usually the club's largest asset, standing empty for most of the week and for the whole winter. Escape of water, arson and break ins are the claims that follow from that, not storm damage.
Weather and lost income
Cricket is the sport most exposed to weather, and clubs increasingly rely on events and bar income rather than subscriptions. A washed out season affects income as much as fixtures.
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.
Public liability, including ball damage
Injury and damage to third parties, including damage caused by balls struck out of the ground. The cover that answers the sport's characteristic claim.
- Damage to neighbouring property
- Damage to parked vehicles
- Injury to passers by
- Limits commonly £5m or £10m
Employers' liability, including volunteers
Legally required with employees, and covering the volunteers who prepare the square, run the bar and score the matches.
- Legally required with employees
- Volunteers treated as employees
- Groundstaff and scorers
- Bar and tea volunteers
Pavilion, machinery and equipment
Buildings, contents, nets, covers, scoreboards and groundcare machinery, including while stored out of season and while in the open.
- Pavilion and outbuildings
- Rollers, mowers and covers
- Nets and scoreboards
- Theft and vandalism
Personal accident for players
Benefits for players injured while playing or practising, including in nets, where fast bowling at short range produces most of the serious injuries.
- Injury playing or practising
- Loss of earnings benefits
- Dental cover, relevant in cricket
- Age limits usually apply
Management liability and abuse
Personal liability of officers and committee members, and abuse cover for clubs running junior cricket and entry level programmes.
- Officers and committee members
- Grant and funding conditions
- Abuse allegations
- Needs checked coaches
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- League and level played, and ECB or county affiliation
- Whether the club owns, leases or hires its ground and pavilion
- Distance from the square to the nearest boundary, road and neighbouring property
- History of ball damage claims, and any netting or screening installed
- Value of groundcare machinery, and where it is stored out of season
- Whether practice nets are provided, and how their condition is checked
- Number of teams including junior and entry level programmes, and coach checks
- Claims over the last five years, including theft and escape of water
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
The ground's surroundings
A ground with houses, a road or a car park close to the boundary is rated well above one surrounded by fields, because the ball damage exposure is a function of geography.
Property values
Pavilion rebuild cost and the value of machinery are usually the largest part of the premium, particularly for clubs that own their ground.
Netting and mitigation
Netting, screening and a record of acting on previous incidents materially improve the liability position, and insurers recognise it.
Security and storage
Where machinery is kept, and how it is secured, drives the theft element. Alarmed and locked storage is worth real money on a fleet of groundcare equipment.
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.
The square and the outfield
The playing surface is a maintenance cost rather than an insured asset. Covers, nets and machinery are insurable; the grass and the square are not.
Repeated damage from a known risk
Where balls have repeatedly damaged the same property and the club has done nothing, insurers can apply conditions or exclude that direction of the ground. Installing netting is the answer, and doing so protects the cover as well as the neighbours.
Machinery left in the open
Cover for rollers and mowers usually depends on where they are kept. Equipment left out overnight, or in an unlocked shed, may be subject to conditions or excluded.
Unoccupied pavilion conditions
Pavilions stand empty all winter, so conditions about draining down, heating and inspection apply. Escape of water discovered in March is a familiar and avoidable claim.
Common questions
A ball broke a neighbour's window. Are we liable?
Not automatically, since a ball leaving the ground is part of cricket. It turns on whether the club took reasonable steps about a known risk, so the important question is what has happened before and what the club did about it. Report it to your insurer even if you intend to settle a small claim yourself, because the pattern matters.
Is our roller and mower covered when stored over winter?
In many cases, yes, subject to conditions about where and how. Insurers ask specifically about storage, and a locked and ideally alarmed building is expected for equipment of this value. Machinery left in the open or in an unlocked shed is where claims are declined.
Do we need to insure the square?
You cannot in any meaningful way, and that is normal. The square and outfield are maintenance items, not insured property. What is insurable is everything around them: covers, nets, scoreboards, machinery and the pavilion.
We run an entry level programme for young children. Anything different?
Yes. Working with children brings safeguarding obligations and an abuse exposure, so you need checked coaches, a named safeguarding officer and abuse cover confirmed in your policy rather than assumed within public liability.
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.