Tennis Club Insurance
A tennis club's insurance is mostly about its courts. Surfaces, fencing, nets, surrounds and floodlights represent almost all of the club's capital, and resurfacing is expensive enough that a damaged court can take a season to put right.
Coaching is where clubs most often get the position wrong. Many coaches are self employed, running their own lessons on the club's courts, and the question of whose insurance responds if a pupil is injured depends on arrangements clubs rarely document. A coach without their own cover, treated as if they had it, is a real gap.
The membership structure creates a second question. Members play against each other, and injuries during play can lead to one member claiming against another, or against the club over the condition of a court. Member to member cover exists precisely because the club's ordinary public liability may not treat members as third parties.
We can advise tennis clubs on court and floodlight cover, the coaching arrangements that decide who is insured for what, and the safeguarding position for junior programmes.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Court surfaces and surrounds
Damage to surfaces, fencing and nets from storms, vandalism, tree roots or frost. Resurfacing is a significant cost and a damaged court reduces the club's capacity for a whole season.
Floodlights and evening play
Floodlights extend the playing day and are valuable, exposed and occasionally the subject of neighbour complaints. Failure or damage removes winter play entirely for most clubs.
Coaching arrangements
Self employed coaches using club courts, sometimes running their own programmes. Whether the coach, the club or neither is insured for a pupil's injury depends on written arrangements most clubs do not have.
Member to member claims
One member injuring another during play, or a member claiming the court surface caused a fall. Members may not be third parties under standard liability wording, which is why this cover is asked for specifically.
Access control and unsupervised use
Clubs with gate codes and no staff present have people on site with nobody supervising. Injuries and damage then happen with no witnesses and no record of who was there.
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: courts, floodlights and clubhouse
Surfaces, fencing, nets, floodlights, pavilion and contents, with cover for the cost of reinstating courts after damage.
- Court surfaces and fencing
- Floodlights and cabling
- Pavilion and contents
- Storm and vandalism damage
Public liability
Injury to visitors, guests and members of the public, and damage to their property, across the courts, the grounds and the clubhouse.
- Visitors and guests
- Condition of courts and paths
- Limits commonly £5m or £10m
- Required by LTA registration
Member to member liability
Claims between members arising from play, which standard public liability may not answer because members are not necessarily third parties.
- One member injuring another
- Claims about court condition
- Ask for it specifically
- Common at member run clubs
Employers' liability and coaching
Legally required for employed staff and volunteers. Where coaches are self employed, the club needs evidence of their own liability cover rather than assuming the club's policy covers their lessons.
- Employed staff and volunteers
- Legally required
- Coaches' own cover evidenced
- Written coaching agreements
Management liability and abuse
Personal liability of officers and committee members, and abuse cover where the club runs junior coaching and holiday programmes.
- Officers and committee members
- Grant and funding conditions
- Abuse allegations
- Checked coaches required
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Number and type of courts, and whether they are owned or leased
- Whether courts are floodlit, and the age of the lighting
- Reinstatement cost of courts, fencing and floodlights
- Whether a clubhouse is owned, and whether it has a bar
- Coaching arrangements: employed, self employed, or a franchise
- Whether coaches hold their own liability cover, and whether it is checked annually
- Whether courts are accessible unsupervised, and how access is controlled
- Number of junior members and whether coaches are checked
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Court reinstatement values
The number of courts and the cost of resurfacing them is the main property factor, and clubs frequently understate it because they think in terms of original build cost.
Floodlighting
Valuable, exposed and expensive to replace, and it extends the hours during which the club is in use, so it affects both property and liability rating.
Coaching model
A club employing coaches carries their activity; a club requiring self employed coaches to hold their own cover pushes that exposure elsewhere, and insurers rate the difference.
Junior programme size
Large junior and holiday programmes bring more children on site more often, with the safeguarding requirements and abuse exposure that follow.
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.
Gradual deterioration of surfaces
Wear, moss, cracking and fading are maintenance rather than insured damage. Storm, impact and vandalism damage is insurable; a court reaching the end of its life is not.
Self employed coaches' own liabilities
A coach running their own lessons is generally responsible for their own liability. The club's policy is unlikely to cover their business, which is why evidence of their cover should be a condition of court use.
Member to member claims where not included
Standard public liability may not treat members as third parties at all, so this needs to be added rather than assumed at a club where members play each other every week.
Unsupervised access conditions
Where courts are open by gate code with nobody present, insurers may apply conditions about signage, inspection records and lighting.
Common questions
Our coach is self employed. Whose insurance covers their lessons?
Theirs, in almost all cases, and the club should see evidence of it before letting them use the courts. Clubs frequently assume their own policy covers anyone on site, which leaves a genuine gap if a pupil is injured during a private lesson. Make annual evidence of cover a condition of court access.
One member injured another during a match. Are we involved?
Possibly, and this is what member to member cover is for. Standard public liability may not treat members as third parties, so a claim between two members can fall outside it. Ask your insurer specifically whether it is included, because at a members' club it is a live exposure.
Are our courts insured against storm damage?
Fencing, nets, surrounds and floodlights normally are, and surfaces are where it depends on the cause. Impact and storm damage is usually covered; cracking and wear at the end of a surface's life is a maintenance cost. Make sure the reinstatement values you declare reflect what resurfacing costs today.
Members use the courts when nobody is there. Is that a problem?
It is manageable but insurers typically ask about it. Keep a record of court inspections, make sure lighting and surfaces are checked regularly, and have signage about use at your own risk. The records are what help when an injury happens with no witnesses.
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.