Club cricket insurance: Q&A with Colin from Howden

For our partnership with Howden, we’re addressing some common and trending questions that affect cricket clubs, their members and visitors.

Answers are by Colin Mico, Head of Recreational Clubs for Howden, who has in-depth knowledge of the game as a player, coach and Cricket Development Officer for Caterham CC in Surrey.

📸 Images of grounds used below are for illustration only and may not relate to specific club circumstances.

Q1.) There have been a number of ‘ball strike’ controversies at cricket clubs with Crossflatts a good example.

How does a club protect itself, in terms of insurance, from cricket balls damaging property or injuring individuals? What cover do they need?

Legal precedence for this is provided by two cases – Bolton vs Stone, and Miller vs Jackson.

Bolton vs Stone provides that the club only has a potential liability if the ball leaving the ground could have been foreseen. If it has never happened before, it could not be foreseen.

If it has happened before the onus is on the club to take reasonable steps to mitigate the risk – the reasonableness of provisions in what height of netting would be agreed by the council in planning, and the affordability of any solution.

There is also a survey company that will assess the chances of balls leaving the arena and which parts of the ground are most at risk.

Miller vs Jackson concludes that although every time a cricket ball is hit into a neighbouring garden a nuisance occurs, the house owner has no right to seek a discontinuation of the sport.

The club are expected to manage their risks prudently, but there is a limit to how high the nets can be, and there has to be a degree of “buyer beware” when you are buying a house that overlooks a cricket ground.

Q2. What are the most important considerations for clubs insuring against damage to their clubhouse or pavilion? Does it still centre around sums insured and the rises in labour and materials?

As with all property insurance, you need to ensure that you provide a Fair Presentation to insurers that include information that can be gathered with simple enquiry – that includes adequate reinstatement costs (sums insured).

Failure to do so means that insurers can apply average, or where they feel that the misrepresentation has been wilful, they can void the policy and refuse to pay any claims.

Valuation surveys are available and we have an arrangement with Barrett Corp & Harrington whereby they will offer a desktop survey for just £100 plus VAT. Site visits are usually £500 to £1,000.

It isn’t just the buildings but also contents, machinery and the business interruption cover.

Contents and machinery are on a reinstatement basis – so “New for Old” for contents and nearest equivalent for machinery.

So, sums insured for both need to reflect the replacements costs as shown on Ebay, not the depreciated figures in the accounts.

Business interruption for most recreational clubs should be on a gross annual turnover basis, as most of them are not for profit organisations.

Also the indemnity period should be a minimum of 24 months because most rebuilds are taking longer than 12 months.

So if a club turns over £100,000 per annum on a not for profit basis, then they need a £200,000 sum insured with a 24 month indemnity period.

Q3. When it comes to insurance renewal time for a club, what’s your advice for getting the right policy?

The most important thing is that any insurance policy reflects the actual financial exposures that the club is running – so pay attention to sums insured (as per point 2), security measures and minimum security conditions, claims history, and any onerous exclusions or restrictions of cover that their current insurers may have imposed (such as excluding weather risks on property in the open).

Clubs need to be working with an insurer / broker who takes the time to go through all the financial exposures and helps the club reach the right levels for not only the sums insured but also the terms on which the insurance is put in place.

Why would a club want to gamble on the British weather, by accepting wind / rain / storm exclusion on sightscreens, covers or practice nets?

They could be running thousands of pounds of exposures unnecessarily.

Also, make sure that the insurer that you are using is actually based in the UK and subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation and control. If not, the club will lose all the UK consumer protection that is taken for granted.

Q4. Sometimes at cricket clubs, there is controversy and disputes – what does Howden’s Directors and Officers liability protect volunteers?

This covers officers of the club for any personal liability they may incur whilst carrying out club duties – effectively if they commit negligence in their role in managing the club.

Most club officers are volunteers.

The last thing they would want is to pay their own legal costs to defend themselves against accusations of negligence.

Howden’s Directors and Officers policy provides this legal defence fund no matter who raises the accusation – club member, third party, another officer, parents etc.

In theory, if an officer buys an incorrect insurance policy, and the claim shortfall at time of loss is sufficient to affect the sustainability of the club, that officer could be sued by the membership.

🏏 Three key insurance terms and their meaning

Public Liability

Covers the club against claims for third party bodily injury and property damage arising from the activities of the Club’s members including volunteers.

Employers Liability

Cover the club for claims against them made by employees (including volunteers) for bodily injury and property damage arising out of negligence of the club – normally these are bodily injury claims arising out of an unsafe workplace (i.e. a wet floor behind the bar).

Professional Indemnity

Covers the club and its members for claims against them for financial loss arising from wrongful advice (it excludes bodily injury) – so this would cover captains, coaches and officials.

Thanks to Colin for that dive into the world of insurance for cricket clubs. This is definitely one to read, absorb and pass on to cricket club committees in advance of renewal.

Get in touch with Howden

If you’re a cricket club reviewing its insurance over the coming year, you can get an online quote from Howden and also have a chat to see how they can help.

Howden’s expertise in helping clubs with bespoke cricket insurance is considerable. As the ECB’s cricket insurance partner for the recreational game, all registered clubs receive Public Liability, Employers’ Liability, Professional Indemnity, Directors’ and Officers’ Liability and Cyber Liability.

t: 01883 868521

e: [email protected]

w: Get a Quote Online from Howden

Cricket Yorkshire partners with Howden to share news and advice relating to cricket insurance, here is the section of the website dedicated to cricket club insurance advice.

This is Partner Content for Howden – if the mood takes you, click to read Cricket Yorkshire’s policy on Partner Content.