With the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee just a couple of weekends away, many of us will be perfecting our Victoria sponge recipes and packing up our picnic baskets. Yet, in the celebratory flurry, be sure not to forget about your public liability insurance!
If you’re planning on holding a Jubilee celebration in your area, you may need to check that you’re properly insured…
This won’t be the case for all parties in every area of the UK, but for some counties and localities, councils are demanding that organisers get public liability insurance to protect against injury or illness.
These regulations won’t apply to any private shin-digs, however, if you’re holding a street party or celebration on your village green, it is important to check with your council that you don’t need to arrange any extra protection. For some organisers bunting has been a particular bone of contention as far as insurance is concerned. Some event organisers have found that stringing up bunting is going to cost them an awful lot of time and money simply to get it approved! Yet not all councils have been completely inflexible. The vast majority have relaxed their usual regulations in order to help the UK properly celebrate Queen and Country!
Hampshire, for example, has relaxed the usual need for public liability insurance for small celebrations but they have stated that larger events of over 500 people really ought to have public liability insurance of at least £10million (you will still need a licence to hang bunting from your local lampposts though!).
For the most part, however, UK county councils are asking organisers to get their insurance sorted. Surrey, Denbighshire and Dorset are just three counties in which you’ll need to get you cover done and dusted before you can get your glad rags on.
So why is this red tape necessary? Well, public liability insurance is designed to protect organisers against the accidental injury of a member of the public, or for the loss of or damage to their property. Although arranging this might not sound like ‘jolly good fun’, it does ensure that everyone can enjoy themselves on the big day, without worrying about any of the potential risks out there.
Should any member of the public become injured or ill as a result of any Jubilee celebrations, the responsibility and therefore the legal issues will fall upon the event’s organisers. The right level of cover will ensure that those who have worked hard to make the Jubilee fun for all family do not face expensive court costs or pay outs.