BMABA’s group insurance arrangements are designed for UK-based members, but the relevant member endorsement provides worldwide territorial cover, excluding the United States of America and Canada. The insurance nevertheless retains a United Kingdom covered jurisdiction.

That distinction is important.

It means that an eligible BMABA member can undertake insured martial arts activity outside the UK without automatically losing cover simply because they have crossed an international border. At the same time, BMABA’s group insurance is not intended to become a domestic insurance product for instructors or clubs that are actually based overseas.

This article explains how that works in practice, with particular attention to members in Northern Ireland who teach or train in the Republic of Ireland.

For eligible BMABA members:

Territorial cover: Worldwide, excluding the USA and Canada.

Covered jurisdiction: United Kingdom of Great Britain, Isle of Man and Channel Islands.

Who can be insured: The member must ordinarily remain domiciled within the UK, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man or Channel Islands, subject to the limited provisions for members temporarily living overseas.

This means a UK-based instructor can, subject to the normal policy terms and the activities for which they are insured, teach or train in places such as the Republic of Ireland, France, Spain, Australia or Brazil.

It does not mean BMABA can ordinarily insure an instructor who is domiciled in one of those countries and operating there as their home market.

These terms are easy to confuse.

Territorial cover answers:

Where can the insured activity physically take place?

For the BMABA member endorsement, the territorial limit is worldwide, excluding the USA and Canada.

Jurisdiction answers a different question:

Under which legal jurisdiction can a covered claim be brought and dealt with under the insurance contract?

The member endorsement retains the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Channel Islands as its covered jurisdiction.

You can therefore have a situation where the insured activity physically takes place in another country, but the insurance contract itself continues to operate within its UK jurisdictional framework.

Imagine an instructor based in England travels to Brazil for five days to deliver a martial arts seminar.

The activity takes place in Brazil, which is within the worldwide territorial scope of the relevant member endorsement. The instructor then returns home to the UK.

If an incident happens during that seminar, the overseas location does not, by itself, mean that the BMABA insurance ceases to apply.

However, if a significant claim followed, there could be additional practical complexity because the incident occurred in Brazil while the insurance arrangement retains a UK covered jurisdiction.

Brazilian law may be relevant to what happened locally. The insurance contract has its own UK jurisdictional conditions. Lawyers, insurers and courts may therefore have to consider how those different elements interact.

This is one reason why worldwide insurance should not be interpreted as worldwide domestic insurance.

The position deserves particular explanation for our Northern Ireland members.

For insurance purposes, Northern Ireland falls within the UK side of the BMABA policy arrangements. The policy wording expressly includes Northern Ireland within its definition of the United Kingdom.

The Republic of Ireland is a separate country and legal jurisdiction. That distinction is made here solely because an insurance policy has to define territories, domicile and jurisdiction. It should not be read as making any wider political or cultural statement.

For many martial arts clubs close to the border, cross-border activity may be completely ordinary.

An instructor might live in Northern Ireland, run their principal club there, and teach another class a relatively short distance away in the Republic of Ireland.

That is quite different in practical terms from an instructor flying from London to Brazil for one seminar, even though both involve international activity.

Yes, subject to the normal terms and conditions of the policy.

An eligible instructor who is domiciled in Northern Ireland can undertake insured membership activities in the Republic of Ireland under the worldwide territorial provision.

That could include, where otherwise within the insured scope:

The operative member endorsement covers members while engaged in the membership activities for which they are registered, within the stated territorial limits.

This is perhaps the most important distinction for members based in Northern Ireland.

The worldwide territorial provision should not be thought of purely as a holiday, occasional seminar or one-off travel extension.

A Northern Ireland instructor may reasonably operate close enough to the border that teaching in the Republic of Ireland forms part of their normal working week.

For example, an instructor might:

The fact that the instructor crosses the border frequently does not, by itself, turn them into an Irish-domiciled instructor.

The important question is the underlying position of the insured member.

If the instructor remains genuinely domiciled in the UK, remains eligible for BMABA membership and insurance, and is undertaking approved membership activities, the fact that some of those activities take place regularly in the Republic of Ireland does not automatically prevent the worldwide territorial provision from applying.

Potentially, yes.

There is an important difference between regular overseas activity by a UK-domiciled member and somebody actually becoming established overseas.

Consider these two examples.

An instructor lives in Northern Ireland.

Their home and principal base remain in Northern Ireland.

They teach four evenings each week, two in Northern Ireland and two in the Republic of Ireland.

They return home to Northern Ireland and remain a UK-domiciled BMABA member.

That is fundamentally a UK-based insured member undertaking some membership activities within another territory.

The same instructor later moves permanently to the Republic.

Their home is now there, their principal martial arts activity is there, and they are effectively operating as an Irish-based instructor.

That is a materially different position.

The member endorsement specifically limits eligibility by domicile. It does not ordinarily include registered members who are not domiciled within the defined UK territories, aside from members temporarily living overseas for no more than six months.

BMABA therefore cannot ordinarily provide its UK group insurance as the domestic insurance arrangement for an instructor based in the Republic of Ireland.

This can also be possible, but the underlying structure matters.

A Northern Ireland club may have good practical reasons to hire venues or deliver classes in the Republic of Ireland.

Where the club and insured instructors remain genuinely UK-based, the overseas location of a class does not by itself remove the worldwide territorial protection available under the member endorsement.

However, the more substantial the operation becomes in another country, the more important it is to speak to us.

For example, there is a difference between:

a Northern Ireland club hiring a venue in the Republic for two classes each week, and

creating a separate Irish business, permanently establishing an Irish headquarters and employing an Irish-domiciled instructor workforce.

The latter begins to look like an Irish domestic operation rather than overseas activity by a UK member.

Where your structure sits somewhere between those examples, contact us. We can review it and, where appropriate, obtain written clarification from our broker or underwriter.

This is an important limitation. Worldwide territorial cover does not mean worldwide eligibility. The BMABA scheme remains a UK group insurance arrangement.

An instructor who is domiciled in the Republic of Ireland cannot ordinarily join BMABA simply to obtain UK group insurance for their Irish teaching activities.

Likewise, an Irish-based club cannot ordinarily use BMABA insurance as a substitute for appropriate domestic insurance arranged for a club established in the Republic.

The distinction is between:

a UK member working internationally, which can fall within the worldwide territorial scope;

and

an overseas person or organisation seeking domestic insurance through a UK scheme, which ordinarily cannot.

The member endorsement does make limited provision for existing members temporarily living overseas.

Its definition of a Member allows someone who would otherwise fall outside the domicile requirement to remain within the definition where they are temporarily living overseas for no more than six months.

If you are relocating temporarily, working abroad for an extended period, or expecting to spend several months outside the UK, please tell us.

This allows us to check the arrangement rather than leaving the question to be tested after an incident.

Suppose a Northern Ireland instructor teaches a class in the Republic of Ireland and an incident occurs.

The physical event has happened within the Republic.

Local laws and legal duties may therefore be relevant to the circumstances of that incident.

However, the BMABA insurance contract retains its UK covered jurisdiction.

This can make an international claim more complicated than an otherwise identical incident in Northern Ireland.

That does not mean there is no cover.

It means there are potentially two legal dimensions to consider:

This is why any potential overseas claim should be reported to BMABA as quickly as possible.

BMABA insurance does not give an instructor permission to ignore local legal requirements.

The member endorsement specifically requires insured members to take reasonable steps to avoid injury and damage, including compliance with applicable laws, regulations and relevant competent authorities.

If you teach in another jurisdiction, you are responsible for ensuring that your activity complies with any requirements that apply there.

Depending on the circumstances, these might concern areas such as safeguarding, vetting, employment, venue operation, taxation, health and safety, first aid or sporting regulation.

Your BMABA membership requirements continue to apply too.

Particular care should be taken when teaching children or adults at risk outside the UK.

A BMABA safeguarding qualification, UK vetting and your normal club policies do not necessarily replace legal requirements imposed by another jurisdiction.

If local requirements impose additional vetting, reporting, recruitment or safeguarding obligations, those must also be followed.

Never assume that complying with UK safeguarding practice automatically satisfies the law of the country in which the class takes place.

For clubs operating regularly across the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland border, this is worth incorporating into the club's written safeguarding and risk management arrangements rather than treating every cross-border session as an exceptional event.

No. This is an important distinction.

The member endorsement carries the worldwide territorial limit described in this article.

That does not mean every separate extension or insurance product supplied through BMABA necessarily carries identical territorial terms.

Different covers can have different conditions.

For example, BMABA's insured event provisions have their own conditions and currently specify UK-only event activity.

Similarly, specialist extensions can have their own geographical, jurisdictional or eligibility requirements.

Therefore, if you are doing something beyond ordinary insured teaching or training, such as:

please speak to us first.

We can confirm which part of the group insurance is relevant.

BMABA cover is not limited simply because somebody receives payment for teaching.

The member policy includes a specific professional activities and conduct extension for qualifying coaches and instructors working within qualifications recognised by BMABA, subject to the conditions and exclusions of that extension.

That is important for cross-border members because teaching in the Republic of Ireland does not have to be charitable, voluntary or an unpaid seminar simply because it takes place outside the UK.

Normal commercial coaching activity can fall within the appropriate insured arrangements where all relevant policy conditions are satisfied.

The same underlying principle applies to insured membership activities.

Where your membership and insurance include the activity concerned, simply travelling abroad does not inherently remove the worldwide territorial provision.

However, competition, organised events and participant-to-participant activity can have different insurance considerations from ordinary instruction.

If you are travelling overseas specifically to compete, taking a group of students abroad, or organising the activity yourself, please check with us beforehand.

The member endorsement expressly excludes the United States of America and Canada from its worldwide territorial limits.

You should therefore never assume that your BMABA insurance permits you to teach, coach or undertake insured membership activity in either country.

If you have a proposed activity in the USA or Canada, contact us before travelling or agreeing to provide instruction.

Separate insurance may be required.

You do not need to ask us for permission every time you cross a border for ordinary activity that is clearly within your insured membership.

However, please speak to us where the arrangement involves a material change to how or where you operate.

In particular, contact us where:

We would always rather obtain clarification before an activity takes place than debate eligibility after a claim.

If an accident, allegation or other incident occurs that could reasonably lead to a claim, contact BMABA promptly.

Do not admit liability or attempt to negotiate or settle the matter yourself.

The policy requires prompt notification of potential claims and circumstances, cooperation with the insurer, preservation of relevant evidence and no admission or settlement without the insurer's consent.

For an overseas incident, retain as much information as possible, including the accident or incident report, risk assessments, attendance records, venue details, witness information and any correspondence received from another party.

Early notification is particularly important where more than one legal jurisdiction could become involved.

This is overseas activity by a UK-domiciled member and can fall within the worldwide territorial provision, subject to the usual policy conditions.

Regularity alone does not automatically make you an Irish-domiciled instructor.

If you remain domiciled in Northern Ireland and are undertaking insured membership activities, the fact that you regularly cross into the Republic of Ireland does not by itself prevent the worldwide territorial provision from applying.

This may still be legitimate cross-border activity, but we would recommend discussing the arrangement with BMABA so that we properly understand your operational structure.

The central questions will include where you are genuinely domiciled and where the club or business is actually established.

Please tell us.

If you become domiciled in the Republic and operate from there permanently, you would ordinarily fall outside the eligibility requirements of the UK BMABA group insurance scheme.

This is not automatically prohibited.

If the underlying club and instructors remain UK-based, cross-border teaching may remain within the worldwide member arrangements.

However, permanent premises and a substantial ongoing operation in another jurisdiction warrant individual review. Please speak to us before establishing the venue so we can confirm the insurance position.

Please contact us.

A separately established Irish organisation can create a different insurance position from a UK club simply hiring an overseas venue.

BMABA should review this before you rely on the UK group scheme.

The simplest way of understanding the policy is:

For most members, this means an overseas seminar, training visit or short period of international teaching is straightforward.

For our members in Northern Ireland, it can also mean something more routine. Cross-border teaching in the Republic of Ireland can form part of normal working life and is not automatically excluded simply because it happens frequently.

The important dividing line is not the border crossing itself. It is whether you remain an eligible UK-domiciled member undertaking insured membership activities, or whether your circumstances have changed so substantially that you are now effectively based and operating in another country.

Where there is any doubt, contact BMABA and we will help establish the position before you teach.