Mountaineering huts

Protection for your club's assets

With many mountaineering huts being located in remote areas and non-standard in construction, it is important to get the right cover. Howden and the BMC has a bespoke solution for insuring huts with Hiscox Insurance.

Your club is covered for:

Public liability – up to £15m (£10m for Republic of Ireland)
Representation on any mountaineering hut management committee or acting as a trustee
Employers liability – up to £10m
Property cover – policy excess of £1,500 for flood damage and £500 for storm damage

Your club can arrange cover for:

Buildings, including those of non-standard construction
Contents
Equipment
Plant
Business interruption
Flood and storm damage

Liability Insurance

A BMC club that owns a hut or a hut trust is protected by Public Liability Insurance with a limit of indemnity of £15 million, or £10 million for Republic of Ireland. This policy include cover for committee members, directors and trustees who may be held liable if an incident occurs.

To protect your club in the event of an incident resulting in death or injury caused to employees, we can provide clubs with employer’s liability cover upon request. This applies to employees including cleaners and maintenance personnel, as well as volunteers. The limit of indemnity per incident will be £10 million, with the exception of a terrorist incident which will be limited to £5 million per period.

Maintenance by volunteers

Huts often need maintenance and many clubs have volunteers willing to carry out any work required, but this can bring additional risks. The club has a duty of care to its members and so could have a liability for injuries suffered by volunteers whilst they're working on the hut on the club's behalf.

Hiscox Insurance has agreed to provide employers liability cover for clubs in respect of their liability towards volunteers. Employers liability cover applies to both employees and volunteers who carry out work at a hut. This would protect you if there is a case of legal liability for damages and costs arising out of death or injury caused during any work.

Work undertaken by volunteers subject to the following conditions:

Cover is not included for any work at height, use of chainsaws, work on gas appliances or electrical work that requires Part P certification. If a club has volunteers who intend to undertake such work it should be referred to Howden for approval before it commences. Find out more about the information insurers will need you to provide.
If the volunteer is a working tradesperson or contractor, the club should contract them to do the work professionally regardless as to whether there is fee. This way the liability for the works and any injury to the volunteer rests with the tradesman's own professional insurance, rather than the BMC club. If the work performed under these circumstances includes work at height, use of chainsaws or electrical work, this does not need to be referred for approval provided the contractor provides evidence of their insurance. If the contractor is simply working as a volunteer as part of a working party, however, this would fall under the clubs insurance.