Understanding Insurance for Sports Clubs and Associations:
What You Need to Know *

Sports clubs play a vital role in communities, providing opportunities for physical activity, social engagement, and skill development. However, operating a sports club comes with various responsibilities and risks. Understanding the types of insurance that may be suitable for sports clubs is an important step in protecting both the organisation and its members.

Types of Insurance Relevant for Sports Clubs and Associations*

Several types of insurance may be relevant for sports clubs, each addressing specific risks:

1. Public & Products Liability Insurance: * Provides cover for claims made against the club for third-party injury or third-party property damage. For example, if the club is sued by a player as the player believes the club is at fault for the injury. Or if the club has a canteen and someone falls sick from the food sold.
2. Professional Indemnity Insurance: * Coaches and trainers often offer advice and guidance to members. Professional indemnity insurance may provide cover if claims are made against the club for alleged negligence or errors in these professional services.
3. Player Accident Insurance: * Player accident insurance provides cover if a club member or volunteer gets injured. This often includes loss of income payments, capital benefits, cover for non-medicare medical benefits. It’s important to ask your broker what is or isn’t covered.
4. Property or Business Pack Insurance: * Property or Business Pack Insurance is designed to cover premise based risks. This can include cover for property damage (e.g., due to fire/storm), theft, glass replacement.  Clubs that have a location or club room tend to consider property insurance to cover the contents in the premise.
5. Management Liability Insurance * Management liability policies are designed to cover claims arising from mismanagement of the company, club or association. Cover can include employment practices liability, directors and officers liability, crime, statutory liability and work place health and safety incidents. For example, the treasurer of club may misappropriate funds, this could be looked at under the crime section of the policy. Another example may be a claim relating to a work place health and safety incident for a volunteer, could fall under a management liability policy.
6. Cyber Insurance Cyber attacks are a risk for all organisations, including sports clubs and associations. Sports clubs tend to hold Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of members such as emails, phone numbers, date of birth etc. Organisations that hold lots of PII records are targets for cyber-attacks. Cyber insurance can protect sports clubs by providing an incident response team if an attack occurs, pay for the financial costs of a cyber attack occurring, such as legal fees, notification costs, virus extract, costs to others and losses to the club due to the cyber-attack.
7. Travel Insurance * If your sports club or team travels regularly, you may need to consider travel insurance to provide cover whilst on sports trips.

Other insurances sports clubs may want to consider is event cancellation insurance, voluntary workers insurance, abuse insurance, machinery/commercial motor insurance (for example ride on mowers at a cricket club).

Factors to Consider When Assessing Insurance Needs*

When considering what insurance might be suitable for your club, the following factors may be relevant:

• Type of Activities: The type of sport, for example heavy contact sports such as AFL or Rugby are at higher risk of injury compared to a walking club or group.
• Number of Members: Larger clubs may face greater liabilities due to increased participation.
• Assets Owned: Consider the value and type of equipment or property your club owns.
• Legal Obligations: Some states or governing bodies may require specific insurance coverage for sports clubs.

Additional Steps for Risk Management*

In addition to obtaining insurance, implementing a robust risk management plan may help minimise potential issues. This could include incident response registers, regular inspections of grounds and set-up of equipment prior to use, ongoing training for coaches, dual authorisation on payments and have clear safety and risk management procedures.

Seeking Professional Guidance*

Determining the most suitable insurance for your sports club may require professional input. Consulting with a qualified insurance broker familiar with sports organisations in Australia can provide suitable advice based on your club’s specific circumstances.

Disclaimer: The content of this blog article is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional advice. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we make no guarantees about the completeness or reliability of the information. For guidance regarding what and how much business insurance cover you need, we recommend consulting with a business insurance broker. Any actions you take based on any information provided here are at your own discretion.