The August Bank Holiday is just around the corner – but have you considered your insurance requirements during the bank holiday frivolities?
Bank holidays mean long weekends – An opportunity to hold an outdoor event to entice customers into your establishment, here are a few considerations to ensure that your clubs and bars are adequately covered and your licensees are aware of the latest legislation. Does your insurance cover such an event? Are you even aware of your insurance responsibilities?
Legislation
All entertainment events are classed as work, as are most activities, so they are subject to the Health and Safety at Work Act and the various other regulations passed under it. Also it is virtually certain that any volunteers working at the event will be classed as employees for the purposes of Employers Liability and Health & Safety legislation.
An event organiser has a duty to ensure that any premises, open spaces, means of access and egress, and any plant, equipment and substances are safe and without risk to the health of any employees, volunteers or visitors.
As you want to hold a safe event, make sure you carry out a risk assessment and act upon its findings to eliminate and mitigate risk to your employees and volunteers and the members of the public who attend.
Make sure that you know whether you need a Temporary Event Notice from the local licensing authority.
Insurance
If you are planning any event which includes activities of a hazardous nature, then you must contact Club Insure as soon as possible because liability insurance may not be in place unless specifically agreed by your insurer.
Hazardous events might include, but not be limited to: Archery, Assault course, Bouncy castles Bungee jumping, Clay pigeon shooting and Firework Displays & Bonfires.
If outside contractors are employed to provide attractions, the event organiser should check that each attraction provider holds adequate public liability insurance with an indemnity.
If you allow people who are not employed by you to run stalls, displays, rides, sideshows etc., you should ensure that they have their own public liability insurance to cover both property damage and accident or injury to members of the public. Despite the Unfair Contract Terms Act, some conditions observed recently have endeavoured to place onerous responsibilities upon the event organiser, which should have been catered for by the suppliers’ own liability insurance.
Money
At this time of year if you are dealing with additional functions your takings may well be higher than normal. In addition to this you may not be able to bank the money as regularly as normal. Now is a good time to review your policy to check what the limit is in respect of the money you keep in your safe and what you are permitted to have on your premises.
Your money should be locked in an Insurance Company recognised safe when the premises is closed for business otherwise your cover could be limited to typically £500. Locked filing cabinets, tills, offices and cupboards would not be regarded as a safe and money in excess of £500 kept in any of these would not be covered.
Are the current policy limits adequate? If not you may need to consider banking your takings more regularly or contact our office to see if your safe limit can be increased. Please remember that the keys to the safe must be removed from the premises when it is closed for business or the keys locked securely in another safe. If you are not complying with this warranty then in the event of a claim you could find that you have no cover.
Security and Alarms
With extra people in the venue, many of which may be new patrons it is important to remain vigilant. Please ensure that when the premises are closed for business that the alarm is set and if you have any doubt that the alarm is not working properly then do not leave the premises until the issue is resolved.
We have come across instances where a patron has tampered with the alarm contacts during the course of a trading day unbeknown to the club. When the alarm is then set at the end of the day the alarm does not set properly. This might show as a fault on the alarm panel or simply mean that the sound that is usually emitted when you are leaving the premises does not cease as it should. Always check that this exit noise has ceased as you would expect.
If you are aware of any issues with your alarm even if it has been reported to the alarm company and is being fixed we must know about this as soon as possible and the venue must not be left unattended if the alarm is not in full working order
Expert advice
Club Insure are award winning, specialist’s brokers for the sports & social industry. For further information on any of the subject matter mentioned above, to arrange a confidential face to face review or to speak to one of our experts – simply visit our website or call 0344 488 9204.
