Insurance

Insurance Information 2011/12

As part of the affiliation you can opt to take out the insurance cover that is provided via our colleagues at Youth Scotland. In seeking to do so you should complete the Affiliation and Insurance form duly completed and accommpanied by a cheque payable to LAYC for the right amount as detailed on the form. Your insurance is deemed to have commenced when recieved by LAYC but please note that your Employers Liability Insurance certificate, which you need to display in your work premises, may take a few weeks to process prior to it arriving  from Youth Scotland.

All groups affiliated to LAYC must have adequate insurance cover and if you have taken out Affiliation only membership we will require you to complete a section on the form confirming and providing sufficient details of the insurance cover you have in place.

Affiliation and Insurance year

The affiliation year and insurance year runs from the 1st November to the 31st October and you will be sent a new affiliation form in advance of the end period but please ensure you notify us of any change of mailing address as this can delay or prevent this getting to you in good time. The insurers allow for a further months cover post the 31st October till the end November in order that late comers are not at risk of not having insurance cover in place during that time. However, after that  (post 31st November) you will have deemed not to have taken out cover with Youth Scotland and therefore your insurance will have lapsed. Any affiliation with insurance after that date will commence from the date of reciept and cannot be back dated.

Who provides the cover?

Youth Scotland use the number of  members they have to negotiate and reduce the costs of the insurance to the best deal possible. Over the past number of years the actual insurance  has been with the insurance company Ansvar (this is the name on your certificate) and this is provided through an insurance brokers Towergate MacDonald Reid and Scott who are based in Glasgow.

As part of their support package to affiliated groups, Towergate MacDonald Reid and Scott with deal with and offer any guidance you need in respect of an insurance enquiry or claim. The designated contact for LAYC/Youth Scotland groups is Lynne Tumilty who can be contacted on either 0141 223 6907 or by email Lynne.Tumilty@towergate.co.uk

What is covered?

The insurance cover is designed with the needs of youth and children groups in mind and provides the following insurance  -

• Employers Liability Insurance - up to £10 million limit for any one claim
• Public Liability Insurance – up to £2million limit for any one claim including up to 12 (single) overnight trips per group per annum
• Additional Public Liability Insurance – you have the option of extending cover to £5 million by purchasing a further £3 million of cover (see form for details and costs)
• Member to Member Insurance – up to £2 million limit for any one claim
• Product Liability Insurance – £2 million for any one claim
• Additional Public Liability – if you take out the additional PL cover, both Product and Member to Member cover is extended to £5 Million for any one claim
• Contents Insurance – up to a maximum of £2,500 with a £200 excess

What does this mean?

• Employers’ Liability Insurance (ELI) covers any person you have hired or is under contract to your group including volunteer helpers. ELI cover enables organisations to meet the costs of any compensation and legal fees for employees (paid and volunteers) who are injured or made ill at work as a result of negligence. By law, you must have ELI and be insured for at least £5 million. Groups without ELI are liable for a hefty fine and not be covered for any damages awared against them. You must also display the ELI Certificate that you will be issued with by Youth Scotland via Towergate McDonald Reid and Scott and Ansvar. Please note  you are also required to retain these certificates for at least 40 years.
• Public Liability Insurance (PL) covers any person other than employees who, as a result of negligence, maybe injured during the activities of your group or by products supplied by your group. This type of insurance covers any award that is made (including related legal fees, costs and expenses) as a result of the negligence of a worker, volunteer or member of your group. The standard cover under this current policy has a limit up to £2 million for any one claim. You can extend this cover by a further £3 million and please check the Affiliation and Insurance form for the details and additional fees.
• Hazardous and excluded activities - a number of activities are considered by the insurer to be hazardous and/or excluded and therefore not covered by this policy. Please check that list thoroughly and if in any doubt please contact Towergate MacDonald Reid and Scott to get clarifaction or advice and if additional cover can be purchased directly although this is not always possible. 
• Contents Insurance within the package covers up to a maximum of £2,500 whilst in your premises. A £200 excess applies to all claims and please check the policy for what it does and doesn’t cover.

What are legal liabilities?

An organisation can be held legally liable if it is proven that it was negligent or failed to take ‘reasonable care’ to prevent injury or damage to property. This includes the actions of all employees and volunteers while they are working for the organisation. This liability arises from a duty of care on all individuals and organisations to avoid carelessly injuring clients and members of the public or causing damage to their property through negligence.

Please note that a liability claim can only be successful if the insured is proven to be negligent in their actions and has caused some type of injury to the claimant or damage to property during their time in connection with the youth group.

Why do you need cover anyway?

As an employer you have a legally responsibility towards your workers, volunteers, youth or children’s group or a member of the public. You could be held legally liable and at risk of being sued if someone is injured as a result of your neligence or breach of duty. Liability insurance isdesigned to pay any compensation and legal costs that occur if your group are found to be at fault. 

Activities in your groups

The insurance policy offered by Ansvar covers general activities that insurers would expect youth and children groups to be involved in. Inevitably some groups will become involved in other activities that may be considered by the insurers to be hazardous which can range from fireworks displays to archery to high level walking for example. Hazardous activities require certain additional safeguards and conditions to be met and they are usually require an increased insurance premium. If you are in any doubt is hazardous or excluded then contact Towergate MacDonald Reid Scott.

Some activities are considered by the insurer to be excluded and Ansvar will not insure these as listed below:

• any type of motor vehicle
• moutain biking
• boxing
• bungee run
• gorge walking
• cliff or rock climbing
• earth balling
• elastic rope sports or activities
• flying
• hand gliding
• horse riding
• hunting
• martial arts
• mountaineering
• paint balling
• parachuting
• polo
• pot holing
• professional sport of any kind
• racing
• roller blading
• shooting
• skate boarding
• water activities (except swimming)
• winter sports

If your group is keen to take part in an activity(ies) that are listed as excluded then you should arrange for these activities to be provided through a recognised Activity Centre or provider. In doing so make sure the company or organisation has the appropiate health and safety measures and licences in place and that they fully comply with the required Scottish, UK and/or European legislation. You should also ensure and seek documentary proof that they have all the neccessary and adequate insurances in place.

The Youth Scotland Insurance Policy

If you wish to view or download a copy of the Insurance policy as written by Ansvar then please go to the  Member’s Only Resources section of the Members area.

Please note this document is only available to member groups and would have  been included in your affiliation pack as proved to you by Youth Scotland.