Lloyd’s provides Australia golf cover
22 October 2008
Golfers across Australia now have on-course liability protection following the announcement of a deal between the sport’s national association and Lloyd’s underwriter Sportscover.
The partnership means Sportscover will be providing Golf Australia’s 400,000 affiliated members with comprehensive personal liability cover. It will also cover the 10 million “pay as you play” rounds that take place at affiliated member clubs every year.
It’s the first time that the country’s national body for golf has either endorsed or bought a programme. Previously, cover was provided on an ad hoc basis.
Under the deal the premiums for the cover will form part of the members’ annual affiliation fees.
Golf Australia’s Manager, Alex McGillivray, says the association decided on the cover after identifying what he described as a “lack of consistency” in liability insurance taken out by members and clubs.
“The situation wasn’t ideal for the development of golf in Australia where potentially 80% of players weren’t covered,” he says.
He cites the Australian “Magnetic Island” incident 14 years ago when an uninsured golfer playing the course struck another player on the head with a ball resulting in a major head injury.
The injured player was awarded Aus$2.6m, but with no cover in place the injured party couldn’t recoup the award.
“We wanted to have a product that’s competitive with other insurance options on the market and we are confident we’ve achieved an outstanding result here,” McGillivray says.
“We are delighted to be working with Golf Australia to provide specialist insurance products that will be of benefit to the golfing community,” says Murray Anderson, CEO of Sportscover Australia.
Last updated on 22 Oct 2008
