Rugby Club Insurance
Rugby's insurance conversation starts with injury, and it should. It is a contact sport in which serious injury is a recognised possibility rather than a remote one, and catastrophic injury, meaning spinal and head injuries with lifelong consequences, is the exposure that shapes how the sport is insured.
That is why the sport operates injury schemes rather than leaving individual clubs to work it out. RFU affiliation brings access to cover arranged at national level, and understanding what that provides, and what it does not, is the starting point for any club rather than an afterthought.
Beyond the pitch a rugby club is often a substantial social business. Clubhouses are larger than in most amateur sports, bar and function income can exceed subscriptions, and the building frequently doubles as a community venue hired out to other people, which is an exposure of its own.
We can advise rugby clubs on liability and property cover, on how club level cover fits with the schemes available through affiliation, and on the safeguarding position where there is a mini and junior section.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Catastrophic injury
The exposure that defines the sport. Spinal and head injuries with lifelong care needs, arising from contact that is a normal part of the game. It is why the sport arranges cover collectively and why the level of benefit is a serious question rather than a box to tick.
Routine player injury and loss of earnings
Fractures, ligament damage and concussion happen every season. For adult players in physical jobs, weeks off work is a real financial loss that personal accident cover exists to soften.
Coaching and the laws of the game
Scrummaging, tackle technique and the return to play protocols after concussion are areas where a club's practice is examined after a serious injury. Qualified coaching and documented adherence to the protocols matter.
Clubhouse, functions and hiring out
Rugby clubhouses host weddings, wakes and community events. Hiring the building out to third parties raises questions about whose insurance responds when a guest is injured or the building is damaged.
Mini and junior rugby
Large junior sections bring safeguarding obligations, checked coaches, parent volunteers and an abuse exposure that needs specific cover and genuine policies behind it.
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.
Catastrophic and personal injury cover
Benefits for players seriously injured playing or training. Usually accessed through affiliation rather than bought club by club, which makes understanding the scheme the club's most important insurance task.
- Spinal and head injury benefits
- Usually via RFU affiliation
- Check the benefit levels provided
- Additional cover can be arranged
Public liability
Injury to spectators, visitors, function guests and members of the public, and damage to their property, across the ground and the clubhouse.
- Spectators and function guests
- Ground, car park and clubhouse
- Limits commonly £5m or £10m
- Required by affiliation
Employers' liability, including volunteers
Legally required with employees, and extended to the volunteers who run the bar, the gate, the pitch and the junior section.
- Legally required with employees
- Volunteers treated as employees
- Bar and kitchen staff
- Groundstaff and coaches
Property and business interruption
Clubhouse, stands, floodlights, gym equipment, bar stock and machinery, with cover for the income lost while the building cannot be used.
- Clubhouse and facilities
- Gym and training equipment
- Bar stock and contents
- Loss of bar and function income
Management liability and abuse
Personal liability of officers and committee members, and abuse cover where the club runs mini and junior rugby.
- Officers and committee members
- Employment disputes
- Abuse allegations
- Needs checked coaches and policies
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- League and level played at, and RFU affiliation status
- Number of teams, split between senior, women's, colts and mini and junior
- Whether the club owns, leases or hires its ground and clubhouse
- Clubhouse size, bar turnover and function income
- Whether the building is hired out to third parties, and how often
- Whether a gym or strength and conditioning facility is provided, and how it is supervised
- Coaching qualifications, and whether concussion protocols are followed and recorded
- Claims over the last five years, including injury claims
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Level played
Injury frequency and severity rise with the level of rugby, and the rating follows. Junior and social rugby sits well below senior league play.
Clubhouse and social operation
The size of the building, the bar turnover and the function business are often the largest part of the premium, because they are the largest part of the club's balance sheet.
Hiring out the building
Frequent third party hire brings members of the public into the building for reasons unconnected with rugby, and is rated separately from club use.
Coaching and protocol compliance
Qualified coaches, recorded concussion management and adherence to the sport's own guidance are what a club can point to after a serious injury, and insurers price for their presence or absence.
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 ordinary risks of the game under liability cover
Public liability answers injury the club is legally responsible for. An injury arising from a fair tackle is not the club's negligence, which is exactly why the sport arranges injury benefit cover separately.
Abuse where not specifically included
Not a standard feature of every liability wording. Any club with a junior section should confirm it explicitly rather than assume it.
Unsupervised gym use
Where a club gym is open to members without induction or supervision, cover can be conditioned or restricted. It is worth checking before opening the door to members with a key code.
Hirers' own liabilities
When the clubhouse is hired out, the hirer's activities are generally their responsibility. Without a hire agreement requiring their own cover, the club is the only insured party in the building.
Common questions
Are we covered for a catastrophic injury to a player?
Usually through the cover arranged at national level with affiliation rather than through your own club policy. The important thing is to know what benefit level that provides, because clubs often assume it is larger than it is, and additional cover can be arranged where the committee wants more.
We hire the clubhouse out for weddings. What do we need?
A hire agreement that sets out who is responsible for what, and ideally a requirement for the hirer to have their own liability cover. Without that, the club is the only insured party in the building, and a guest injured at a private function becomes a club claim.
Do our volunteers need to be insured?
Yes, and employers' liability is what does it. Volunteers are treated as employees for that cover, so anybody pulling pints, cutting the pitch or coaching a junior team is covered by it rather than by public liability if they hurt themselves.
We have a gym members can use. Does that affect our insurance?
It does, particularly if it is unsupervised or accessed with a key code. Insurers ask about induction, supervision and equipment maintenance, and cover can be conditioned on them, so mention it rather than treating the gym as part of the clubhouse.
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.