Are you organising a club event?
The following is designed to help you through the important things to consider!
First - Is your event covered by the Rotary insurance?
It is very easy to check...... Go to the Rotary GB&I site then go to /For Members/Club and District Support/Compliance.
Here you will see listed Rotary Club insurance Guide . In the content you will find activities automatically covered and a list of exclusions on the policy. If your proposed activity is not listed or even in the exclusions then you MUST contact the insurer. For an adittional payment they my be able to increase the cover for you.
IF YOU ARE NOT COVERED BY THE ROTARY INSURANCE OR CANNOT OBTAIN ADDITIONAL COVER THEN YOUR CLUB IS OPEN TO ANY CLAIM AND IT WILL BE AGAINST YOUR CLUB!
Second - Once you have planned your event you are requirted by law, under the Health & Safety at Work Act, to complete a Risk Assessment. Guidance on this can be found here. Failure to complete a robust Risk Assessment opens your club to litigation and could nulify your insurance cover for post the event.
With the best will in the world, accidents happen. If members of the public or Rotarians are injured at your club event event or any damage to hired or borrowed equipment occurs then it is essential that information is gathered asap. This will be required, by the insurance company, possibly to Police, Courts or HSE. A guidance on what information to collect can be found here.
Depending upon the severity of the accident or incident, unwanted media attention may be attracted! It is very important that information is contained and controlled. Failure to do so could result in statements made being used against Rotary and impair our insurers ability to defend the case. Gudance in how to manage a "media crisis" can be found here. Remember, nothing said to the media is "off the record"!!!!
For further help contact the District H&S Advisor Mike Lade - 07803 038858