Insurance

[JohnRoss]

Hi all, we had an association meeting last night and one of the members brought up a point that he heard that the terms of the insurance we recieve from the UBKA and in turn the BBKA, with our membership has now changed and we must now pay £500 excess if we are sued by someone over a sting. Has anyone else heard of this?

 

[Russel]

From FAQ's on BBKA site: " third party for injury, or other loss, deemed to have been caused by the Member, or their bees, whilst undertaking beekeeping activities or through the normal use of their hive products. The limit of this cover is presently £10,000,000 with each new claim carrying an excess of £250 for third party property damage claims only that is payable by the Member. All other claims have nil excesses. "

 

[Beesand]

Glanced at the BBKA site this morning to look at insurance and there was definitely something on there about £500 excess. Will read it properly this evening.

 

[JohnRoss]

As far as I can make out that £500 applies for property damage only, or Professional Indemnity.

 

[alanf]

Is that a change of broker? IIRC it was previously Towergate, but that's Hiscox.

Two provisions, under "Professional Indemnity"

Excess: £ 500
Excess Applies to : each claim or loss excluding defence costs

and under "Public and Products liability"

Excess: £ 500
Excess Applies to : each agreed claim for property damage only

I'm not a lawyer, but I have bought insurance on mine and an employer's behalf. I read the professional indemnity cover as being if bees sting someone, and they claim it's through your negligence, they would have to prove it in court. Defending that would be covered without excess but if damages were awarded you (or the BBKA?) might be liable to pay the £500 excess. But I would think that would be exceptional. First they would have to prove that it was your bees that were involved and that you behaving outside of all the accepted practices for managing those bees. Similarly, the property damage excess would have to be where you didn't take reasonable precautions to avoid accidental damage, or perhaps had no permission to enter someone's premises.

Given the relatively low cost (one pound per member per year) they cannot consider it's a high risk of being sued. And an even lower risk of losing a case. Actually I can't recall any report of a successful court case against a beekeeper, unless anyone is aware of examples.

 

[blackcavebees]

Hi all, we had an association meeting last night and one of the members brought up a point that he heard that the terms of the insurance we recieve from the UBKA and in turn the BBKA, with our membership has now changed and we must now pay £500 excess if we are sued by someone over a sting. Has anyone else heard of this?

John, not sure what association you pay your insurance to. If it an association affiliated to UBKA then it is not through BBKA, but a policy through UBKA and FIBKA. If you are at Greenmount ask Gail Orr, the treasurer for details. Members of the INIB have their insurance through BBKA and it is an excess of £500 I believe. A bee inspector had a slip on the wet grass on way to inspect someone's hives in Co Down and I believe put a claim in against the beekeeper which was upheld and paid out through the Insurance. Personally I'd rather pay the heavy excess than the £000s involved in a claim. Generally I don't invite folks to my apiary!

 

[Teemore]

BBKA changed from Towergate to Hiscox an few years ago and the excess payable on property claims was increased to £500 at that time (had been £250). The increase (I gather) stemmed from an increase in the number of claims arising from botched cut outs and swarm collections where property was damaged....
Last time I enquired of Gail Orr about whether an excess was payable in relation to claims made through UBKA insurance, he was unable to answer but that was a year ago. I have since been told that a £500 excess is payable in relation to UBKA insurance (it is separate to FIBKA insurance but I think is with the same insurance company) but I would rather hear that from the horse's mouth than go on hearsay ... I'll enquire on Saturday at Greenmount. JohnRoss, you should have access to a copy of your insurance cover note and you should also be able to request a copy of the policy schedule. Your association should have a copy to hand and this will tell you all you need to know about an excess payable.