National Organisation Affiliation Fees
Personal Liability Insurance
It’s great to see so many of you out there playing golf, not just regular golfers but new golfers and some coming back into the fold.
I thought I would steer away from COVID-19 for a while and let you know something that not many of you may know about.
During the early part of Lockdown some members of golf Clubs cancelled their subscriptions and some Golf Clubs, to help their cash flow approached their National Organisations requesting a possible refund of affiliation fees.
Some, like Scottish Golf and Wales Golf, offered help:
Scottish Golf announced that it was inviting clubs to apply for a refund of up to 25% on their total 2019/20 affiliation fee invoice as part of an immediate financial commitment of more than half a million pounds.
Golf clubs in Wales were being given a five-month affiliation fee ‘holiday’ by the country’s national governing body to help offset estimates losses of £5.6million brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The way in which affiliation fees are collected does differ between nations and there are differences between the nations as to how the affiliation fee is spent which makes many golfers ask the question are affiliation fees good value?
In England, the situation with England Golf is, and this is my only experience:
As part of your club membership subscription you pay an annual affiliation fee to your National Golf Organisation, in the case of England this is England Golf. This will be £9.50 in 2020.
The following explains how England Golf uses the fee to benefit both you and the game of golf.
- Obtain your handicap and authoritative advice: England Golf administers the CONGU handicap system and calculates and assign members’ handicaps, as well as adjudicate on queries.
- Experience first-class competitions: Over 6,500 England Golf members of all ages and abilities compete in their 55 club, regional and national championship events every year.
- Invest in elite amateur performing at the highest level: England Golf provides the very best coaching, competitive opportunities and funding for 150 regional and 50 national squad players.
- Protect players and the sport’s reputation: England Golf keeps our sport safe, managing all safeguarding and disciplinary cases for the amateur game.
- Help golf clubs thrive and grow: England Golf supports golf clubs to get more people playing golf. Last year this work introduced an additional 250,000 people to the game, which resulted in 17,000 new memberships.
- Get great golfing benefits and discounts: Every England Golf member can take advantage of their ever-growing range of their exclusive offers, discounts and prize-draws by registering with our My England Golf programme.
Amongst these benefits is one that Golf Clubs do not always tell their members about and that is Personal Liability Insurance
As of 1 July 2019, every member is provided with £10m personal liability insurance as part of their affiliation to England Golf.
England Golf is working with specialist insurance broker Bluefin Sport to provide this cover, which is underwritten by Allianz.
It provides personal liability insurance for golf club members in the event that they are held liable for injuring someone or causing serious property damage at a golf facility.
The cover is provided for members playing at any club in the UK. There is no excess in respect of personal injury claims, and just a £500 excess in respect of damage to third party property.
In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak all golf clubs should be aware that insurance provided free to members via the England Golf affiliation fee is not valid during this period of course closure.
You can read the Insurance FAQs by clicking here or downloading a copy by clicking on the button below:
Enjoy your golf and Stay Safe and Play Safe
Tony