Many machines are now only emptied by the gaming rental company rather than the club themselves. This means that if collection is on a weekly or bi-weekly basis that the machines can be holding several thousand pounds each which is making them a target in our clubs.
Access to the premises might be gained by tampering with the alarm contacts whilst you are trading. When you close up for the night you may not notice that the alarm has not armed properly leaving your club vulnerable to an undetected attack. If the alarm is not sounding to notify of a break in the thieves can spend a long period of time breaking into the machines using axes or hammers for example.
It is vital that anyone who is responsible for setting the intruder alarm when the business is closed understands exactly how the alarm works and can recognise if the alarm does not set properly. If you are in any doubt the premises should not be left unattended if the alarm is not fully operational otherwise your claim is not likely to be paid.
Even with a fully operational alarm your Insurance policy may typically only provide cover in gaming machines to a limit of £500 per machine and £1,000 in total unless you have notified Club Insure and arrange for the cover to be extended.
Although the gaming machine rental company may insure the machine itself they will usually expect you to insure the contents. Read your rental agreement to clarify your responsibility and if you have any queries please contact your account handler.