Insurance for Playgroup WA playgroups
Why is insurance important?
Insurance is important for playgroups to protect them against claims that may result from something they did or failed to do. All playgroups have a duty of care to members of the public (third parties) who come into contact with them.
Insurance can cover you in the event that someone gets injured during a visit to your playgroup, or any damage caused to the venue or premises you use, as a result of an accident.
Insurance can also cover playgroup members and children for personal injuries that may occur at playgroup (including on excursions) and damage caused to playgroup property through accident, theft or vandalism.
Playgroup WA Insurance
Playgroup WA (Inc) employs the brokerage services of Elliott Insurance to provide the following insurance for Playgroup WA members:
- Public and Products Liability
- Personal Accident and Injury (Child and Adult)
- Property and Contents
This insurance cover IS ONLY APPLICABLE to playgroup specific activities and does not cover activities for non-playgroup activities such as the use of a playgroup venue for birthday parties.
The advice and information given here is general in nature and is subject to change. Specific insurance information and/or advice should be sought from our insurance brokers, Elliot Insurance.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THIS SUMMARY IS NOT THE POLICY WORDING AND ANY CLARIFICATION REQUIRED SHOULD BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE OFFICIAL POLICY WORDINGS WHICH WILL BE PROVIDED UPON REQUEST.
For further information please contact Playgroup WA head office on (08) 9228 8088. For specific insurance information or advice contact Elliott Insurance: Angelene Eynon, on 1300 635 315, aeynon@elliottinsurance.com.au
For a playgroup to receive Playgroup WA’s insurance cover, the playgroup and all attending families need to be financial members of Playgroup WA. It is important to note that to ensure insurance coverage, all families attending playgroup must be financial members of Playgroup WA and the playgroup must be registered with Playgroup WA.
For a playgroup to become a member it needs to register the playgroup on the Playgroup WA membership system, which includes at least three families registering and paying their Playgroup WA membership fee in the system. All additional families who have joined and are attending the playgroup must also register and pay their fee on the Playgroup WA membership system.
Each year playgroups need to renew their membership in the Playgroup WA membership system. Renewals open in December to allow playgroups time to renew for the following year. Every family attending playgroup will need to pay their annual membership fee in order to receive insurance coverage of their family at playgroup.
Playgroup WA sends insurance information annually to all member playgroups. This information includes a Certificate of Currency (which confirms the details and currency of the insurance policy), Insurance Information and Frequently Asked Questions. These documents outline your playgroup’s insurance cover and the insurance company’s expectations. Be sure to read ALL items carefully and make the information available to all your playgroup members.
A Certificate of Currency is likely to be required by landlords when playgroups lease or rent a venue. It will also be required if a playgroup is involved in an event organised by a third party, such as local authority fetes where a playgroup might have a stall to raise membership interest.
Please contact Playgroup WA for information on obtaining a Certificate of Currency for your playgroup.
Keeping records/Attendance sheets
Attendance records are required for insurance purposes. It is important that the playgroup keeps a record of which families and visitors attend each session.
You can use an attendance sheet, a file or an attendance book. An electronic sign-in process may be used. Please ensure records are kept securely.
Attendance records include the following information:
- Date
- Names of all adults and children attending, including babies
- An initial or tick upon arrival
- Names of any visitors
- Records may be scanned and saved electronically. This will require a procedure for storing records and handover to new members or committees.
Note: some venues may require arrival and departure times with signature for each entry, for example schools-based playgroups.
Sample Attendance Forms can be found under the heading Attendance and Enrolment Forms, on the Templates, Information and Checklists page here.
Events and non-standard activities
Fun days, Christmas parties and similar events endorsed by Playgroup WA are standard playgroup activities and covered. If you expect an event to attract more than 500 attendees, complete the Event or Excursion Notification Form (or, for more than one activity, the Event Questionnaire) and a Risk Assessment form and send them to Playgroup WA head office at membership@playgroupwa.com.au no less than 30 days before the event. Playgroup WA notifies Elliott Insurance. For larger events, Elliott Insurance will confirm with the insurer whether any additional premium applies and let Playgroup WA know before the event.
Please note: An additional insurance premium may be applicable if more than 500 attendees are expected at the event.
Recording incidents
An incident may include, but not be limited to, accident causing personal injury or facilities damage, equipment damage, graffiti, vandalism or theft.
It is important for playgroups to fill in an incident report form for any incident that could possibly eventuate in an insurance claim. It is advisable to fill in incident reports while the events are fresh in members’ minds so that if a claim should eventuate all the details are available.
Once completed, incident reports should be sent to Playgroup WA as soon as practical; this can be done by email. Submit the completed form through Playgroup WA head office, which forwards it to Elliott Insurance for lodgement with the insurer. An incident report is not itself a claim. The insurance broker will advise playgroups of any further information that may be required at that time.
For very serious injuries it is best to call Playgroup WA immediately and email the incident report and any other relevant information at the same time. Elliott Insurance will be notified and can help to determine if further action should be taken and their advice and direction can assist in resolving serious matters.
Incident reports should include the following details:
- a description of the incident and resulting damage or injury
- date, time and place
- people present if applicable
- action taken and
- the signature of injured person or caregiver, any witnesses and person completing the incident report.
To assist playgroups, an Incident Report Form template is included in this Playgroup WA Resource Kit - visit our Templates, Information and Checklists page under the heading Insurance. It is a good idea for playgroups to keep a record of incidents. Member playgroups are also welcome to forward electronic copies of incident reports to Playgroup WA at hotline@playgroupwa.com.au for electronic storage.
Insurance claims
If an incident becomes an insurance matter, playgroups should contact Playgroup WA who will contact Elliott Insurance directly.
For specific insurance information or advice contact Elliott Insurance: Angelene Eynon, on 1300 635 315, aeynon@elliottinsurance.com.au