Insurance and Incidents
How does someone make an insurance claim?
All claims will require an incident report to be completed as a starting point.
if you are reporting an incident on behalf of a BSF member / team / League
If you are reporting an incident on behalf of a BBF member/club
For BSUK events (Coronation Cup, Jubilee Cup, London Winter Indoor or BSUK corporate events):
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, we can look to make improvements to help reduce these in future.
Another reason to report incidents is associated with insurance provision. We are required to maintain a record of any incident that might give rise to an insurance claim under their respective policies, 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.
Insurance
We take out insurance policies in their names covering civil liability for their member, personal accident cover for programmes that BSUK run. The insurance is arranged through Howdens.
More information about the cover is provided on this page, with further detail available on request.
BaseballSoftballUK Insurance Cover
Directors, officers, staff, coaches, officials and volunteers of BaseballSoftballUK
BSUK Licenced Coaches
Corporate 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 corporate events programme while involved in an official 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.
Personal Accident.
Covers:
- BSUK Licenced Coaches while coaching baseball or softball in or out of their club environment
- Members of corporate teams 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.
Who is covered? UK residents who are BSUK coaches, officials, employees, volunteers and committee members.
For more information on what is covered, download the policy schedule here or send us an email
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?
We renew insurance policies every year an dit covers a full 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.
To obtain a copy of BSUK’s civil liability insurance certification, click here: BaseballSoftballUK
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