It was great to have an opportunity to meet so many coaches recently at the highly successful CPSA Coaching Conference. I have no doubt that CPSA-qualified coaches and instructors do much not only to develop the talent of the next generation of clay shooters but also to instil the values of safe and responsible gun ownership. Despite popular misconceptions, clay target and other shooting sports rank among the safest of all sports, with a far lower level of accidents than, for example, angling − never mind football, rugby or skiing.
Nonetheless, accidents can and do occasionally happen. With that in mind, CPSA Head Office have asked me to tell you about a new insurance policy they have introduced from January 1 2013 for ground owner members, which gives greater protection not only to the grounds and their staff but to everyone who attends and shoots there.
What you need to know if you own, run or work at a shooting ground
This is a CPSA member benefit which complements, but does not replace, your existing public liability insurance. The new policy is designed to provide legal expenses cover for grounds in connection with legal costs arising from a wide variety of claims made against grounds and their staff.The level of excess payable will depend on the tier of membership subscription your ground has with the CPSA. For further details of the policy, please see the CPSA website.
What you need to know if you are an individual member and believe you may have a claim against a ground or individual, or alternatively that a claim may be brought against you by another individual
Report the incident to the ground and ask them to confirm to you when they have notified their insurers. If there is an accident in which you caused injury to another person or damage to their property, one of your longstanding CPSA member benefits is the member’s liability and personal accident insurance which will indemnify you for any such liability. This covers you for any accident while participating in CPSA-recognised and approved activities, which includes not just clay target shooting but virtually all forms of shooting, not only with shotguns but also rifles and airguns. This insurance also provides you with no fault compensation benefits if you are permanently injured in a shooting accident. Not only are individual members covered by this policy, but so too are all CPSA qualified coaches and instructors, safety officers and referees, regional and county officials, committee members and volunteers. In all cases, if there is an incident which you believe could give rise to a claim being made, whether against a shooting ground or an individual member, it should be reported to staff at the ground and recorded in the ground’s incident book.
The ground should ask all staff who were involved to make a detailed written statement as soon as possible after the event while it is still fresh in their mind. Similarly, if you are an individual member and you believe you have a valid claim or may have a claim brought against you, it is important that you and any witnesses who were present write down your recollection of events as soon as possible. In all cases, the insurers should be notified of any potential claim(s) immediately as delay can result in the insurers reducing the amount they will pay out under the policy. Do not admit liability or make any offer of settlement without first consulting the insurers and any legal advisers appointed by them.
Laura Saunsbury Honorary solicitor www.cpsa.co.uk
This article is reproduced by the kind persmission of the CPSA. It was originally featured in the April 2013 edition of Pull! Magazine.
