Injuries at sports camps: liability and insurance

If something goes wrong during a sports camp and a child is injured, people will probably look into who is liable for it. Other children who, for example, were playing a bit roughly or broke the rules of the game will not easily be liable. The same applies to the parents, who are in principle responsible for their children. Usually it will be the organiser who bears the responsibility. After all, the organiser must do everything reasonable to prevent personal injury during the camp. Fortunately, it is possible to take out affordable insurance for this: group and school trip insurance. This page describes the situation in the Netherlands.

Liability in sport and games

Things can sometimes get a bit rough at a sports camp. One child may injure another, for example with a tackle during a game of football. The other child or that child's parents will not easily be liable, however. That is because lenient liability rules apply in sport and games. Even if the rules of the game have been broken, a person is not necessarily liable. Only in the case of behaviour that you would not need to expect in the sport concerned, think of a disgruntled opponent who suddenly slaps someone round the face during a basketball game, can the fellow player be liable. In addition, there may of course also be contributory negligence.

Liability of organisers

Because other participants in the sports camp will not easily be liable, people often look in the direction of the organisers. The organiser of the sports camp can, after all, be expected to take measures to make sure everything runs safely. The organiser will, for example, have to be clear about what is and is not allowed, will have to appoint referees and supervisors with sufficient experience, and so on. If an organiser makes a mistake in this, the organiser can be liable for the resulting damage.

Insurance for personal injury during a sports camp

Anyone who organises a sports camp had better have good insurance. This is often called group and school trip insurance. Despite the name, sports camps, for example, are also covered by this insurance. Group and school trip insurance also covers more than just the organiser's liability. There are countless insurers that offer this insurance.

Cover provided by group and school trip insurance

Group and school trip insurance covers, among other things, the organiser's liability. This concerns not only liability for personal injury, but also liability for belongings that the organiser is responsible for. In addition, group and school trip insurance will usually also cover assistance, repatriation, search costs, extra accommodation costs and even cancellation costs. There is often also cover for damage to accommodation, and legal expenses cover is included in the price.

The exact cover and the limitations can of course differ from policy to policy. Sports camps in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe are usually covered. Sports camps in other non-European countries on the Mediterranean are often covered too, but that is not the case with all insurers.

Taking out group and school trip insurance easily

One advantage of group and school trip insurance is that it is very easy to take out. It is often not necessary to provide the names of all the insured persons; it is enough simply to state the number of insured persons. Of course, individual (annual) travel insurance policies can also cover some of the things mentioned, but with group and school trip insurance there is in any case no need to check who does or does not have such travel insurance. Let alone that it is necessary to check what these travel insurance policies cover.

Price of group and school trip insurance

The premium for group and school trip insurance depends on the number of people being insured and on the cover required. Anyone who chooses winter sports cover including luggage, for example, will quickly pay more than double what someone who is happy with basic cover pays. The length of the trip or the camp also plays a role. With the cheapest insurance policies, basic cover is available from as little as 23 euro cents per participant per day. In practice, however, this concerns very large groups. For basic cover for groups of around one hundred people, it is more like 30 to 35 euro cents per participant per day.