Easter weather eggstremity
20 March 2008
Typically associated with sunshine, daffodils and the start of British spring, Easter this year is set for wintry weather conditions of hail, sleet and snow.
At the earliest that it can possibly be, this could perhaps be the cause for such drastic Easter weather. The last time that Easter fell on 23 March was 95 years ago in 1913.
So with the prospect of snow over the Easter weekend, will children still be as enthusiastically scouring their homes, gardens and local parks in the quest to find their chocolate eggs?
Vicky Jacomb, Team Leader for the Charity Assured Team for Lloyd’s broker Aon, says: “If events such as Easter Egg hunts are to be held outside over the bank holiday weekend then event cancellation would be the appropriate cover due to bad weather conditions but only if the event cannot be moved inside.
“If the event is an indoor activity then the organisation is not at a loss, but if the organisation had booked a celebrity to open the event than there is an insurance policy that covers non attendance.”
Despite the sub-zero temperatures expected, an abundance of Easter related activities are still taking place across London. These include Easter Egg hunts at the Imperial War Museum, Kew gardens, Battersea Park, Hamleys toy store and the Churchill Museum where children will have to track down clues and decipher codes.
Jacomb added: “Public organisations such as parks and museums will need to have a public liability policy that covers injury or damage caused by, or to, the public.”
“If Kew Gardens for example hid an Easter egg in a flower bed and a child falls over, causing injury or an allergic reaction to something, then Kew Gardens could be sued for negligence.
“Initially we would assess whether the risk is high, medium or low. In this case if an egg was placed in long grass then that would be determined as a low risk, but if it was placed on a wall where children would have to climb up then that would constitute a high risk.
“It is vital that organisations like this have this policy in place as a result of the compensation culture that we live in. As long as they follow the rules and guidelines, then insurance companies can help them.”
Meanwhile, even the food industry is going green this Easter. Chocolate giant Cadbury’s has announced that this year it will be reducing the amount of packaging it sells with its eggs; launching a range of chocolate eggs wrapped only in foil to be more eco-friendly. It says that it will reduce its use of plastic by 247 tonnes and cardboard by 115 tonnes this Easter.
Last updated on 20 Mar 2008
