Stay ahead of the game

While it is not a legal requirement to have insurance to run a sporting club in Australia, we highly recommend you consider it to help protect the club, its members, employees and volunteers. Insurance can help mitigate risks and provide financial protection in case of accidents, injuries, property damage or legal claims – and can help keep your club running, if something goes wrong. We also recommend you check what insurance requirements you will need to operate under the rules of the national sporting body of your sport and to use local government facilities.

There are a range of insurance covers that a sports club or team may need to consider to help protect the club, its employees, members and volunteers. Some key types of insurance covers include:

• Public liability – cover for third party injury, property damage and personal injury claims that may arise from the club's activities.
• Property – covering damage or loss to the club's property assets, including buildings, equipment and supplies.
• Personal accident – cover for expenses that arise from injuries while playing during club activities.
• Directors and officers and management liability – helps protect the club's executives, board and committee members from legal claims alleging wrongful acts, errors, or omissions while performing their duties.
• Business interruption and event cancellation insurance – helps protect the club against financial losses if a planned event, such as a tournament or competition, needs to be cancelled or postponed due to unforeseen circumstances like severe weather or venue issues.
• Cybersecurity – helps protect your club’s sensitive information, such as member data, medical and financial records, from data breaches and cyber attacks.

This is not an exhaustive list, but provides a snapshot of some of the key insurance cover options available to sports clubs.