Insurance and Incidents

 

Introduction

It is important to report any incident linked to a baseball or softball activity that results in an injury or accident. This could include an injury to an individual or damage to property. By building up a picture of the type of incidents that most commonly occur in our sports, BaseballSoftballUK and the British Softball Federation can look to make improvements to help reduce these in future.

Another reason to report incidents is associated with insurance provision. BaseballSoftballUK is required to maintain a record of any incident that might give rise to an insurance claim, and to pass it on to the insurance brokers for their own records in case a claim arises later. More information about insurance is given in the section below.

Please note that sending in the Incident Report does not automatically make it an insurance issue and does not constitute an insurance claim being made; it is initially just part of our record-keeping. We will only forward the record on to the insurance brokers if the incident is something that would be considered under the terms of the insurance policies should a claim arise.

For more information, please visit the incident reporting page.

Insurance

BaseballSoftballUK and British Softball Federation (BSF) take out insurance policies in their names covering civil liability for their members. BSUK also takes out personal accident cover for programmes that BSUK run. Insurance is arranged through Howdens. 

More information about the cover is provided on this page (below), with further detail available on request.

BaseballSoftballUK logoBaseballSoftballUK Insurance Cover
Directors, officers, staff, coaches, officials and volunteers of BaseballSoftballUK
BSUK Licenced Coaches
'Hit the Pitch' leagues and teams

 

BSF logoBritish Softball Federation Insurance Cover
Directors, officers, staff, coaches, officials and volunteers of the BSF
Affiliated leagues and teams

 

 

Types of cover

BaseballSoftballUK

Civil Liability. 

Covers:

  • BSUK Licenced Coaches while coaching baseball or softball in or out of their club environment
  • BSUK staff and volunteers while working for BSUK
  • Leagues and teams that are members of BSUK's Hit the Pitch programme while involved in an official Hit the Pitch activity such as a training session, game or event.

Main cover provided:

  • Employers Liability: £10,000,000 (any one occurrence restricted to £5,000,000 in respect of any one event arising directly or indirectly out of acts of Terrorism)
  • Public and products Liability: £10,000,000 any one claim
  • Directors & Officers Liability: £5,000,000 any one period
  • Professional Indemnity: £10,000,000 any one claim
  • Abuse or molestation: £2,500,000 any one period

Cover is provided for civil liability cases raised against the insured party while involved in one of the official activities above. Claims are assessed on the basis of whether the incident was a result of the insured party's negligence; accidents are generally not covered. Cover is included with the Hit the Pitch or Coach Licence fee.

Personal Accident. 

Covers:

  • BSUK Licenced Coaches while coaching baseball or softball in or out of their club environment
  • Members of Hit the Pitch leagues and teams while involved in an official Hit the Pitch activity such as a training session, game or event. 

Provides cover for some costs resulting from injury while involved in one of the official activities above. Cover is included in the Hit the Pitch or Coach Licence fee.

Who is covered? UK residents who are a registered member of a Hit the Pitch league or team or the BSUK Coach Licence Scheme, plus BSUK coaches, officials, employees, volunteers and committee members. 

More about Hit the Pitch is available via the Hit the Pitch website and information about the Coach Licence Scheme is available via the Coaching section of this website.

For more information on what is covered, download the policy schedule here or send us an email 

Email

British Softball Federation

Civil Liability.  Covers registered members of BSF clubs or teams for civil liability cases while involved in an official club or team activity such as a training session, game or event. Claims are assessed on the basis of whether the incident was a result of the club or team’s negligence; accidents are generally not covered.  This insurance is mandatory for BSF members.  A fee is for this insurance is charged by the BSF and included in team affiliation fees.

Please note there is an excess charge of £250 on any claim under this Civil Liability insurance which will be at the claimant’s/club expense

Personal Accident. The British Softball Federation previously provided personal accident cover for its members subject to leagues/teams opting in to this cover, but from April 2024 onwards personal accident cover will be mandatory for all members and the cost will be included in team affiliation fees. There is no excess charge on personal accident claims

Covers:

  • Coaches while coaching baseball or softball in or out of their club environment
  • Members (players) of British Softball Federation leagues and teams while involved in an official activity such as a training session, game or event. 

Provides cover for some costs resulting from injury while involved in one of the official activities above.

 A summary of cover can be found here.

Email

If you would like to make a claim for an injury sustained whilst playing baseball or softball or to report an incident, please click here

Travel insurance

Travelling baseball and softball teams (including Great Britain national teams) should ensure that they have adequate sports travel insurance in place when taking place in competition overseas. This is an additional cover that is not provided through the usual BBF and BSF public liability and personal accident policies. 

Trip managers can choose to either organise group travel insurance for the whole team or ensure that team members obtain cover individually. The advantages of a group policy are that it ensures every team member is insured to the same level and it would allow for the whole team to travel back in the case of injuries or illnesses rather than only the individual concerned. It might also enable you to secure a reduced rate per person by buying in bulk.

If asking individuals to obtain their own cover, please make sure that they each understand the level that is required.

Key criteria to look for in a policy:

  • Check that the policy covers taking part in baseball and softball in organised competition and tournaments; some insurers will only cover 'casual' play.
  • Cover should include medical expenses as well as simply compensation for an injury. For example, an accident that occurs in the USA could result in expensive medical and repatriation bills.
  • Compensation for the value of sports equipment if lost, stolen or damaged. Enhanced cover might include emergency hire of replacement equipment.
  • If in doubt, ask the insurer to provide written confirmation of what is covered so that you can be sure it covers your specific needs before buying.

Protectivity

Protectivity Sports Travel Insurance will provide cover for the whole time that you are on a trip away from home. It will cover you for any general travel issues, plus any issues related to the chosen sport(s). Cover is provided for your chosen sport, plus all other sports in the same sports group or lower groups.

Policies can be single trip or annual multi-trip. Annual policies allow multiple single trips of up to 90 days each. There are three levels of cover available to choose from which allow you to select how much cover you require for cancellation, baggage, sports equipment, etc.

To get a quote from Protectivity, please click the image below:

Other providers will be available so it might be worth shopping around but please ensure that they meet the criteria above.

What if your club plays both baseball and softball?

For clubs that play both baseball and softball, getting the right insurance is vital. As a general rule of thumb, if your club plays both sports then you'll need to insure the baseball teams through the relevant baseball authority (BBF) and the softball teams through the BSF. In other words, you can only get cover for participating in organised softball competitions by insuring through the softball insurance policy; likewise, cover for participating in organised baseball competition requires the baseball insurance.

The exception is that if you are a baseball club and want to play a game of softball within your club (for example, as part of a family fun day) then you are covered under the baseball policy as this is considered as a fun additional club activity. IT would be the same if your softball club wanted to try a game of baseball within your club: that would be covered on the softball policy. 

How does your club get covered?

Your softball club or team will be covered by the insurance policies described above providing that it pays the relevant affiliation fee as requested by the BSF each season. The BSF will let its members know how much fees will be for different categories of teams prior to the new season starting.

How long does cover last?

BaseballSoftballUK and the British Softball Federation renew their insurance policies every year. Currently, BSUK and BSF insurance cover runs each year from 2 April through 1 April of the following year.

This means that clubs or teams are insured if they train over the winter or play indoor competition during the winter or spring before their next membership affiliation fee is due.

Certificates of Insurance

Venues often want leagues, clubs, or teams to demonstrate that they have civil liability cover to protect against accidental damage to property, injury to spectators etc. 

You can obtain a copy of the BSF’s civil liability insurance certification by contacting British Softball Federation

To obtain a copy of BSUK’s civil liability insurance certification, click here: BaseballSoftballUK (Hit the Pitch / Licenced Coaches)

How does someone make an insurance claim?

Insurance claims can be made by emailing

Email

 All claims will require an incident report to be completed as a starting point.

In all cases, please remember that a separate incident report must be provided to BaseballSoftballUK, even if it does not result in an insurance claim.

Report an Incident