Swim England Swim Schools

There are many type of insurance available to businesses to help protect from financial loss. Below are considered the basic insurances you should consider:

Employers Liability - If you have any employees, (which may include volunteers) you are required to hold Employers Liability Insurance under UK Law.  Teachers you use may also be classed as employee’s dependant on their relationship, contract with you.  This protects the swim school if held responsible and are negligent for causing injury to the employee/volunteer during the course of their employment with you.

Public/Product Liability - This protects the swim school if held responsible and are negligent for causing injury to someone else or damage to someone's property

Professional Indemnity - This protects the swim school if held responsible for breach of duty of care, negligent misrepresentation, infringement of intellectual property rights, copyright, trademark, misuse of information, defamation

Management Liability - If you have a committee or operate as a company and have directors, it is strongly recommended you hold directors and officers insurance to support with defence for claims arising from allegations of wrongful acts against individual directors or officers, committee members, trustees arising from this role within the swim school.  

Material Damage - If you have assets owned by the swim school you should also consider Property insurance to protect your for your financial loss should they be lost or damaged.

Business Interruption - Provides protection to your business for financial loss in the event of insured damage to buildings/the pool where you operate eg fire preventing its use.  Cover may be extended to include losses resulting from your inability to provide swimming lessons in the event of pool plant breakdown. This can be investigated with insurers.

Cyber & Data - Covers issues such as breach of copyright, misleading statements (libel/slander) as well as transmitting a computer virus to a third party and breach of data protection. Cover is also available for your own losses, business interruption, cyber-crime and breach investigation.

Legal Expenses - In this day and age, any organisation can be faced with legal problems and disputes which from the outset can be time consuming and expensive, particularly when a solicitor is employed. Legal Expenses policies vary but may include cover for the costs of defending or prosecuting actions, which may involve employment disputes, property disputes, contract disputes or tax enquiries. Abuse incidents will usually be excluded from this cover.

The owner of the pool space you are hiring will usually expect you to hold Public/Products Liability insurance and Employers Liability insurance (where you appoint employees/volunteers). It is important that this insurance recognises the use of leased and rented premises within the policy.

The cost of insurance will vary and depend on the type and levels of cover you chose to buy and  may take into account your previous claims experience which is material information you should share. The General Liability is usually dependant on your level of turnover, wages/number of employees/volunteers and the limit of indemnity purchased. Property insurance based on the type, value of the assets and where they are used/located/stored and business interruption based on revenue.

By way of an indication, Public/Products Liability (including an abuse extension), Professional Indemnity and Management Liability insurance available from Howden for Swim England Members starts from £152 based on a turnover of £5,000 increasing to £1,600 based on a turnover of £300,000. The cost increases dependant on turnover, activities and the limit of indemnity you purchase. With Employers Liability starting from £128.00 based on five employees.  All premiums indicated are before the addition of any insurance premium tax and at November 2023 subject to change at any time.

This will depend on how you appoint/employ your teachers, we recommend you take legal advice regarding their status with you. 

In the following examples the swim school should ensure the swim school insurance includes insurance for these teachers:

• If your teacher(s) are employed by the swim school under a contract of employment the swim school should also ensure that the role of the teacher(s) is insured within the swim school Liability insurances.
• If your teacher(s) are engaged as self employed and working on a labour only basis again the swim school should also ensure that the role of the teacher(s) is insured within the swim school Liability insurances.
• If your teacher(s)volunteer for the swim school again the swim school should ensure that the role of the volunteer teacher is insured within the swim school Liability insurances.

When purchasing insurance and throughout the insurance contract you have a duty to make a fair presentation of the risk to the insurer and therefore ensure the insurer is aware of all your activities.  The insurer will advise if they cannot insure any of the activities noted to them.

Swim school insurance via Howden typically recognise the following pool activity:

• Swimming.
• Artistic swimming.
• Masters and disability swimming.
• Training for and participation in competitive swimming.
• Recreational water polo.
• Pool parties and fundraising events that fall within scope where participation is for swim school/club members only.

 Other aquatic activity which can be considered but must be discussed with the insurers include:

• Open water swimming where the turnover generated from this does not exceed 10% (this is reduced to 5% if coastal open water swimming is also included) of the total turnover – this will be subject to risk management as follows must have:
  • STA open water coach level 2 and qualified lifeguard
  • Maximum group size of 5 and full risk assessments in place
• Competitive water polo.
• Diving from a high dive board.  This does not include the use of starting blocks.
• Open water swimming which does not fall within the above acceptable activities. 
• Lifeguard training or lifeguarding unless they are ASA and RLSS affiliated and all lifeguarding is done as part of a swim school.

The standard Howden swim school insurance will not include scuba diving or any activity using scuba tanks. 

As a swim school member of Swim England Howden will expect you to comply with Swim England Code of Ethics, Policies and Welfare and Safeguarding Policy as detailed in the current Wave Power document.

A qualification appropriate for the business activity they perform must be maintained.

All activities including competitions and teaching/coaching take place at safe venues and with safe equipment which has been subject to your own appropriate and documented risk assessment.

All activities including teaching, coaching and competitions are led by teachers/coaches and officials who are qualified to comply with NGB or UKCC standards.

Risk assessments are produced and followed for all activities, including social events, transportation and trips away from home. Copies to be retained for future reference.

When purchasing or renewing your insurance you will be expected to review and confirm that you can comply with a Statement of Fact, which will detail any other expectations of the insurers.