Golf Insurance Claims

As sole proprietor of Golfplan Insurance Europes largest Golf Insurer, I have often wondered why there has never been an open forum for golfers to register their delight, or disgust, as to how a particular claim may have been dealt with.

As a golf insurer we hear many individual horror stories from golfers who, for example, had no idea that the 'New for Old' policy they had purchased, infact reverted to 'Secondhand value' once the equipment became 2 or 3 years old from the date of purchase ! Or more familiar, they had not realised there was no 'theft from car' cover in place between the hours of darkness.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT: 68% of all golf equipment thefts happen at night !!!

This happens because golfers look for the cheapest price first and NEVER bother to read the small print! All the information is there for you to read, by law it must be stated exactly what is covered and what is not, however, many golfers just dont bother to read it, sometimes renewing year after year, paying a 'new for old premium' for second hand cover, and never realising the consequences until they need to make a claim.
So does that make cheap golf insurance a bargin or not? Of course not, good honest Insurance is all about what happens when you need to make a claim, that's the real acid test of any insurer.

Here's another good example:

In June 2010 Golfplan settled a £50,000 accident claim where a client hit his second shot into a tree, the ball came back breaking his glasses and he subsequently lost the sight of his left eye. It's interesting to point out here that some golf insurers would not have met this claim, why? because their small print states they will only accept claims for 'loss of sight in both eyes'!!! This is another good example of 'read the small print', or ask the insurer for full clarification if anything is unclear when you receive your policy documentation.
All insurers must offer you a full money back guarantee, cooling off period, but again be carefull because this period can vary!!!

And finally, another one !!

A very common claim with Golfplan Insurance is: reimbursment of membership fees in the event of an illness or accident making it impossible to play golf. This type of claim could be as much as £2000 in any one year. So you might be suprised to know that most golf insurers only cover you for accidents that happen on the golf course, not much use then if you have a car or skiing accident. Dont worry, your safe with Golfplan, we only offer real cover.

So if there is anyone out there who has suffered a Golf Claim refusal that came as a suprise to them, lets hear from you, even if your are/were insured with Golfplan. Yes even we must repudiate the odd claim that falls outside the terms and conditions of the policy, but it does not happen very often. We do not think that is necessarily true of some of our competitors !

Ron Channon
Managing Director