Club Cover differs to the instructor insurance which is provided with membership. Not everyone needs it, so it’s important to understand who it’s for and whether it’s needed.

We can’t say (legally), so you’ll need to consider what the cover is for and make that assessment.

Cover is for the club, as it’s own legal entity. If you think about this in terms of an incident;

Let’s imagine during a class a student falls doing a spinning kick and breaks their hip. The initial public liability concern is going to be with the instructor teaching, because he/she has been supervising. Let’s imagine, for arguments sake, the instructor had their back to the student or had popped out to the toilet when the accident occurred.

In that example, the instructor may still be liable for negligence and their insurance may be effective, but you may well find the claiming party pursue the club as an entity – be that sole trader, limited company, LLP, etc, for damages as it’s ultimately the company responsible for training and overseeing the instructor.

That’s one of many examples where club cover can sometimes be needed. It also provides £10,000,000 Employer’s Liability, which is needed if you’re hiring instructors, volunteers, freelancers, work experiences and so on.

As standard for clubs, we can provide;

Club cover is not a substitute for instructor public liability. It also does not cover premises, meaning if you lease a premises or own a property, public liability arising from injury to a person whilst on your property is a separate risk that requires (often generic) premises public liability insurance. It also doesn't provide any sort of contents cover for fixtures, fittings or equipment. We can offer up to £5,000 contents cover to instructors, but this is separate to any core club cover.

Club Cover Vs Instructor Cover is purely a question based on where the liability resides. If a club has more than one instructor / assistant, even if they're unpaid, there may still be the need for Employers Liability by law. There can also sometimes be public liability (insurance for injuries to third parties or damage to property) applicable to a club as a legal entity rather than an instructor, especially if there is a limited company, LLP or other separate legal entity. This is generally for claims arising outside of the direct class setting where the instructor's insurance would usually be in force. Please don't hesitate to let us know if you would like any further clarity on this.

There's more detailed information about our available club cover options and features on our public bmaba.org.uk/clubs website, here.

No, it doesn't cover insurance for the venue itself. This is to do with where and how liability resides. The affordable price of the cover is based on the insurer assuming a fairly minimal risk with the corporate (legal) business itself being insured for it's conduct, for lack of a better word. For example, if a student is injured in John Bloggs Karate LTD's class, the initial public liability will usually reside with the supervising instructor. That's why Club Cover is not a replacement for Instructor Insurance.

If on examination, the Instructor is found not to be at fault, but a systemic failure at Club Level is believed to be responsible for the failing (for example, poorly issued risk assessments or out of date lesson plans) then the company as a legal entity may be pursued for the claim instead. That's the crux of where Club Cover (Business Insurance) applies.

The cost of insuring a venue is dynamic; no two venues are the same. The insurer wouldn't charge the same for a 400 sqft matted room as they might for a 3,500sqft full gym facility, because the risks are different, as are the likelihood of claims.

Club Cover (Business Insurance) wont provide cover for venue based liability. For example, a student slips on a wet floor in the changing rooms, a hot beverage is split on a customer in the cafe, or a car is damaged in the car park. These would be venue based liability matters, and require a different and more substantial policy.

If you have a dedicated venue which is not insured by your landlord or the premises owner, we would recommend not using our Club Cover, and instead asking us to refer you to the insurer for a direct insurance provision. This can then wrap up the venue liability alongside the club's legal liabilities into one package. You can of course use any highstreet or online insurer too, provided you're comfortable with their scope of cover.

No, it won't. For the same reasons as given above, if you have a dedicated venue which is not insured by your landlord or the premises owner, we would recommend not using our Club Cover, and instead asking us to refer you to the insurer for a direct insurance provision. This can then wrap up the venue liability alongside the club's legal liabilities into one package. You can of course use any highstreet or online insurer too, provided you're comfortable with their scope of cover.

This is because a student training without any oversight or supervision is not under the direct insurance provided by the supervising instructor, nor would it be covered by the Club Cover as the injury is occuring in a dedicated training facility.

You can view the association group cover policy documents through which your club cover is assigned below. Please check your BMABA club cover certification is accurate.

You can include club cover with any renewal - please just go to 'club' rather than 'individual' when renewing In MyBMABA. If you'd like to activate club cover mid-term, please jump onto chat and we'll be happy to help.