Specialist Insurance Package for Children’s Activities Providers

Be Prepared, Don’t Panic! Often when people think of insurance, they can see it as a task they need to do as part of running their business and want to get it ticked off the list quickly. Not everyone is fully aware what it is there for and how an insurance package can protect them and their business.

Some of the common incidents we see occur in activity classes are slips, trips and falls or damage to a third-party property. These incidents can happen at any venue and in any type of class so understanding what you can do to reduce the risk of it happening, to meet your requirements as a provider and know what steps to take in the event an incident occurring, can make a huge difference.

Be Prepared

Risk assessments are vital as they allow you to identify and rectify any potential risks prior to a session beginning, which can help you to continue to provide a safe and enjoyable environment.

A few things to consider are:

• When completing your risk assessment, it’s important to use common sense indicators. Depending on the setting these can vary, and new factors can crop up from one session to the next making it vitally important that you are aware of the environment, any risks, and any changes
• If you use props then make sure they are fit for purpose for the session you are running. Maintain good quality equipment and regularly check everything works effectively
• Running through final checks of the room prior to the start of a class can also be a huge benefit to making sure that session is as safe, enjoyable and risk free as possible

Safety precautions can be unique depending on the class, venue and participants making it important that risk assessments are regularly reviewed and not something that are only looked at when there is a problem.

Don’t Panic

The moments after an incident has occurred can be a hugely stressful time. There could be an injured child requiring assistance, angry parents or panicked venue operators.

It is a good idea to prepare for incidents by rehearsing emergency activity and working through a documented plan that sets out an individual’s responsibilities. This helps ensure that you work efficiently as a team to help minimise injury or property damage. In the same way that you might arrange a fire drill, rehearsing for incidents identified in your Risk Assessment can be hugely insightful and invaluable learning in a safe environment. Don’t leave it until a real-world event before running through your emergency plans. Even the most calm and cool-headed people can fall apart when dealing with a stressful situation like a serious injury to a child so practising a drill can help reduce the risk of emotion impeding clear thinking.

Equally important is to analyse previous events and determine what you might be able to put in place to improve the organisation and decision making for future events. Planning and practise can reduce panic.

There are also several things you can do to protect yourself and your business that are non-intrusive and should form part of an incident reporting procedure.

These include:

• Take pictures of damaged property
• Take the details of anyone who witnessed the incident
• Where possible get a witness statement
• Complete a full and detailed incident log
• Ensure that the incident is reported to regulatory bodies if required.

As a business owner, it is important that you do not admit liability for injury and property damage as there may be reasons why, at law, you are not liable.  Your Insurers will assess the circumstances and determine whether you are legally liable.

It’s a requirement to notify your insurer about any incident that could give rise to a loss at the time of the incident. This includes any situation where first aid is administered, an ambulance is called or hospital is attended or if a parent/carer has expressed dissatisfaction. Not every bump on the knee that’s treated with a cold compress would need to be flagged though.  If in doubt, speak with your Broker.

A social media post could also be something that needs to be reports to your insurers. Someone could be alleging an injury took place, the session was unsafe or bringing the name of your business into disrepute. This should be reported to your insurer as something that could potentially become a claim.

Also bear in mind that the statute of limitations for an injury is 3 years but if you’re injured as a child the statute of limitations starts from the child’s 18^th birthday. This can also mean 3 years from medical diagnosis as well as some incidents might not lead to an obvious claim straight away but may manifest as a health concern much later in life.

Buying Your Insurance Package

When you arrange your insurance package, always make sure you have asked any questions you feel you need to. Don’t buy the policy if you’re not sure it’s right for you. At Morton Michel we love it when a customer asks us questions. We get the chance to talk about insurance and we’re some of the few people that get excited by that!

If you have any questions about purchasing insurance then please feel free to contact the Morton Michel team on 0330 058 9861 or email [email protected].

You can find out more about Morton Michel’s specialist insurance package for children’s activities providers at https://www.mortonmichel.com/childrens-activity-providers-insurance

Morton Michel Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Firm reference No. 527300. Registered in England and Wales under No. 5120835. Registered Office: Rossington’s Business Park, West Carr Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 7SW. Morton Michel Ltd is part of the PIB Group.