Many sports clubs probably renew their insurance every year without giving it much thought. The renewal notice arrives, the premium gets paid, and everyone gets back to the important business of running the club.
It’s understandable. Club committees and treasurers are volunteers giving up their time. Insurance isn’t the most exciting item on the agenda.
But there’s a difference between renewing your insurance and reviewing it, and for clubs that have grown, changed, or expanded their activities, that difference can matter a great deal. It can also open the door to something clubs don’t always know is available: a way to turn your insurance relationship into funding for the club itself.
How clubs evolve, and why insurance needs to keep up
Sports clubs rarely stay the same for long. A football club adds a new stand. A cricket club builds a pavilion. A golf club expands their junior programme. A padel club opens its doors to the public for the first time.
Each of those changes affects the risk profile of the club, and when a policy is simply renewed rather than reviewed, those changes often don’t get captured. The cover reflects how the club looked when the policy was first written, not how it looks today.
Nobody has done anything wrong. It’s simply a case of the club evolving faster than the paperwork.
So what does that mean? Failing to keep your insurance up to date can potentially leave you underinsured. If you were underinsured, you face the risk of a claim not being paid or not being paid in full.
More than a policy, a partnership
Insurance doesn’t have to be a one-way transaction between a club and a broker. Through our Club Partner referral programme, when a business-owner member of your club arranges their commercial insurance with Portal Broking Group, we donate a portion of their premium back to the club.
The model is straightforward:
- Your club introduces a business-owner member
- They receive a no-obligation business insurance review and quotation
- If they choose to go on cover, a portion of their premium is donated back to the club
- Everyone benefits, the member gets tailored advice, the club receives funding, and the relationship becomes something more than a renewal date
Trentham Golf Club is one of the clubs to join Club Partner recently, with the funding generated being invested directly into their junior golf programme. This is helping introduce the next generation to the game. It’s one example of what the partnership can look like in practice, and the same model applies whatever sport your club is built around.
The questions that make the difference
When we speak with a sports club about cover or about a potential partnership, we don’t just ask what sport is played. We want to understand how the club operates today.
- Facilities – what’s on site and whether anything has changed recently
- Coaching and staff – whether they’re employed, self-employed, or volunteers, and whether DBS checks are in place where needed
- Any events and tournaments that run outside of regular fixtures
- Equipment – whether it’s fully declared, including when it’s off-site or in transit
- Volunteers and how their activities are covered
- Membership growth and what that means for liability cover
These aren’t difficult questions, but they’re the ones that reveal whether a policy helps to support the club during a potentially difficult time.
What does a business insurance review look like?
A proper insurance review for a sports club isn’t lengthy or complicated. It’s a conversation, one that discusses how the club operates today, what’s changed since the last review, and whether the current cover and the current relationship with your broker still fit.
Most of the time, existing cover is broadly right and just needs updating in a few areas. Either way, the club comes away with a clearer picture.
When did your club last look at what its insurance relationship could actually be doing for it?
If the honest answer is “it just renews automatically,” it might be worth a conversation, both about your cover and about whether Club Partner could work for you.
We could potentially save your club money on it’s upcoming renewal or enhanced levels of cover. In addition, to potentially a new route of revenue to help support your club’s activities.
To discuss your business insurance requirements or find out more about our Sports Club Partner referral programme, don’t hesitate to get in touch 01829 706436 or complete our contact us form and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.