Insurance and Luncheon Clubs
What are the risks that Luncheon Clubs face?
Like all organisations, a luncheon club owes a duty of care to the public and its own volunteers. Accusations that they have failed in this duty may follow damage to property of injury.
Examples of things that might go wrong include:
- Food poisoning of a service user
- A service user slipping after a spillage was not mopped up
- A volunteer burning themselves in the preparation of food
- Damage caused to the hiring facility such as scratches on a wooden floor or damage to curtains
These are just examples. While claims are rare, we do live in an increasingly litigious society and it is sensible for luncheon clubs to consider these risks.
What sort of Insurance cover is required?
There are two critical areas of cover for luncheon clubs. Public Liability Insurance is important for any group that come into contact with the public. It covers the cost of the legal defence and subsequent compensation costs where you might be at fault for injury or damage to members of the public.
It might sound odd to suggest that Employer Liability Insurance is important too. However, within the context of the insurance policy, volunteers are generally treated as unpaid members of staff and therefore are not considered members of the public. Therefore, a claim bought by a volunteer (such as the burn example above) would not be met under a public liability insurance only policy.
Are my Activities covered by the Community Centre or Church?
Some luncheon clubs might be run in conjunction with a community centre or church and may consider themselves cove red by that insurance policy. If you are in this position, it is important to check that this is correct.
Insurance policies are issued in the name of a policyholder and often do not cover more than one organisation. Therefore, for your luncheon club to be insured it should be seen to be a part of that organisation. The luncheon club should be a project of that group. Furthermore, the church or community centre should be responsible for the risk management of the group and the insurer providing the cover should be made aware that a luncheon club is part of the activities of that group.
If you are an autonomous group, handling your own finances and managing your own activities, then you should consider insurance for you as an independent body.
