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Free Pharos Response Training for AIM Members – Registration required

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The team at Pharos Response is delivering some additional free hour-long training sessions open to AIM Members.  Please find below training topics and links for you to register.

Please note that you will need a Zoom account to register so if ‘your email is not authorised’, this is because you do not have a Zoom account. Simply set one up in 2 minutes for free using the Zoom ‘sign up for free’ link at the top of the registration page. You will only need to do this once.

How best to manage social media in a critical incident
February 26th 1600
What to include in a first aid kit? Insights from a doctor with significant adventure & travel experience
March 21st 1600
What lessons can we learn from critical incident case studies in the adventure / travel sector?
April 16th 1600
To register, please visit this link and scroll right down to the bottom for the Zoom links.

https://pharos-response.co.uk/sectors/aimmembers/

Any problems or questions with registration, please contact the Pharos team at [email protected].

Lithium-ion batteries: Mitigating the risks

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Our supporting insurer QBE has provided some useful guidance mitigating risks in use and storage of lithium-ion batteries as part of emergency response plans for your businesses.

Lithium-ion Batteries_QBE Pages from qbe-focus-feature-cir-q4-2023 (2)

Free Pharos Response Training for AIM Members – Registration required

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The team at Pharos Response is delivering some additional free hour-long training sessions open to AIM Members.  Please find below training topics and links for you to register this side of Christmas, including a repeat of the recent media training for those of you who missed it.

Please note that you will need a Zoom account to register so if ‘your email is not authorised’, this is because you do not have a Zoom account. Simply set one up in 2 minutes for free using the Zoom ‘sign up for free’ link at the top of the registration page. You will only need to do this once.

Please limit registration to three people per organisation to allow space for more organisations.

 

Keeping people safe onsite: your non-activity H&S duties and how to be compliant

Monday 25th September 1600-1700

For all adventure activity organisations.

Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7016892368682/WN_EEYUi4vdSWOZxzOus4ic_w

 

How to meet a school’s needs of a trip provider and more easily gain trip approval

Monday 16th October 1600-1700

For all adventure and travel organisations serving schools.

Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5016907272623/WN_gJZ9en83SyqpAmmr8pAgvg

 

Critical incident plan: how to structure yours

Monday 20th November 1600-1700

For all adventure and travel organisations.

Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016907273128/WN_il4aC4HMQxifxDlH_p9WIA

 

(Repeat session) Managing the media during a crisis: how to help protect your hard-won reputation.

Monday 11th December 1600-1700

For all adventure and travel organisations.

Register now: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5216883172841/WN_d-so1jP9TYGzuED9Za-6AQ

 

As a reminder for those of you who are not aware of Pharos Response, they are risk & reputation management specialists and provide AIM Members with significant discounts on their 24/7 incident response service.  For details or to subscribe to this service, click here https://pharos-response.co.uk/sectors/aimmembers/

Any problems or questions with registration, please contact the Pharos team at [email protected].

Benefits of the Mutual – Facts

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We started thinking about what makes us different to a traditional insurance provider and why should activity providers consider us over any other, lets face it there’s plenty of options out there.

Here’s just a few benefits of being part of the Mutual.

  • AIM is a Mutual – like a co operative where the Mutual is owned by the Members, for the Members.  Membership offers a network of likeminded providers working towards a common goal.  Members connect with each other to help resolve specific issues or questions.
  • The Members answer to the Members rather than to shareholders of insurance companies looking for large profits.

  • The Mutual is run by a small, dedicated and experienced team and overseen by a Board of Directors all of whom come from the activities industry.
  • AIM’s cover is cost effective and of high quality, tailored specifically to our Members’ needs.

  • AIM is the cover provider that works in partnership with some of the leading industry bodies such as the ABC, IOL, AHOEC, CLOtC & NCC in order to support the various sectors and maintain the high standards for the industry.
  • We provide in house onsite tailored training for Members and their staff on a range of issues including Accident Reporting, Claims Defensibility, Risk Management and Lessons Learned as well as advice on Risk Assessments and Operating Procedures.
  • AIM’s Mutual Manager is a solicitor with 24 years’ experience in defending personal injury claims.  As such we have great in house expertise in risk management and claims defensibility and so work closely with Members on these issues, which stands us apart from our competitors.
  • We handle claims in house and take a strong stance where liability is in dispute, rather than settling on economic grounds as many insurers do.  We consider this helps protect your reputation and brand as well as the integrity of the activity sectors and whole industry.
  • To assist with the many challenges your business faces, the Mutual has partnered with ARAG plc to provide Legal Expenses cover.  This is included with your Membership and provides professional legal and financial support as well as counselling services for staff and their families on any issues they may face and has been utilised by a growing number of Members to help staff mental health.
  • AIM fought for its Members to ensure payments for COVID Business Interruption were paid, when other insurers didn’t.  To date, payments total over £4m.  These have ensured that businesses have been kept afloat and able to continue as well as helping the activity sector recover.
  • We love seeing our Members!  We regularly visit them including for renewal meetings, training sessions, or just on request.
  • As an AIM Member, you are eligible for a share of the underwriting profits in years where a surplus is made and a payment distribution is agreed by the AIM Board

What are you waiting for?  call us or complete the proposal form here and one of our small but dedicated team will get back to you.

We know you won’t regret it that’s why so many of our Members renew with us year after year!

 

COVID 19 – Latest Update

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Supporting our Members through COVID 19 – UPDATE 7

We hope that you are all keeping safe and well and managing to resume businesses and activities or looking to the future with plans to restart.

Just a gentle reminder to ensure you have the correct Public Liability cover in place before you resume activities, email the team on [email protected] if you have any queries.

Keeping everyone safe

We wanted to remind all AIM Members that whilst we have eased from the initial lockdown there are still some restrictions in place and everyone must ensure that they are adhering to current Government guidelines to keep staff, visitors, and participants safe.  Notably to maintain the social distancing required and the hygiene and sanitisation of equipment.  We believe that this will significantly reduce the spread of the infection and any possible suggestion that a person has caught the infection whilst on your site or doing your activity.  Unfortunately, we have all come across instances where people have breached the rules whilst out and about, whether that be in public spaces or whilst shopping.  The team here are available if you have any concerns or queries about Risk Assessments related to COVID 19.

Business Interruption

The FCA test case has concluded and we await the Court’s ruling.  This is expected in September and we will update Members as soon as we have any further news.

Zoom meetings

Thank you to all of you who have attended the Zoom calls.  These have proved popular and there are planned meetings for the following dates.

Wednesday 9th September 17.30 – Co-hosted with Sam Sutton of New Forest Activities

Wednesday 16th September 17.30 – General catch up

Please let Cath Watson know if you would like to attend on [email protected].  If you have any suggestions for other topics, then please do let us know.  The Mutual is here for its Members so please tell us what you would like!

Claims

We know that many of our Members have resumed activities either fully or partially, therefore, please ensure that you notify us promptly if any accidents or incidents occur.  Even where there does not appear to be any failure or negligence on your part, it is important that we can work with you to investigate and if possible head off any potential formal claim.  With the financial difficulties faced by so many, unfortunately this can give rise to spurious accidents and claims as a way of seeking money.  We want to protect you all against such issues, so please ask if you have any concerns or need any pointers for risk management.  Our Mutual Manager, Sophia, and Account Executive, Ralph would be happy to assist with this so please contact them at [email protected] or [email protected].

If you are adhering to Government guidelines then it is unlikely that you will receive a claim that a person contracted the infection whilst on your premises, or whilst taking part in your activity. For a claim to succeed, the person would need to demonstrate that they did not contract it anywhere else.  With pubs, shops and restaurants now open, we envisage that this will be more difficult to prove.  Please be aware that if you do receive a claim, specifically for COVID 19 related issues, the Mutual’s supporting insurers have excluded any cover from the Public Liability section of your cover.  This means that we would not deal with any claim under the Public Liability cover and you would need to defend or settle the claim yourself; the cover would not respond to provide payment of any fees or claim.  We have seen this being excluded throughout the insurance industry as a result of the pandemic.  Unfortunately we have been unable to change this exclusion for AIM Members.

If you do receive a complaint or allegation concerning COVID 19 related issues, please inform us in the usual way, using the contact information below.  Wherever possible, we will assist you with developing a suitable response, including providing you with a template response letter.

For all incidents and claims, please contact the Claims team as follows:

Phone: 01892 888 475

Email: [email protected]   

We hope that you are all keeping well and if you have any queries or concerns do get in touch.  Thank you for your support of AIM.

Please join our closed Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/798451153625523/

Or follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/activitiesindustrymutual/

The AIM Team

 

Managing Risk – MS Amlin talk activities

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Our supporting insurer MS Amlin came to our Member Day at Lord’s in March.  Mandy Maris their Risk Engineer went through a presentation on some top tips regarding managing risk within the activities and leisure industry.

Most members will not be familiar with how MS Amlin supports the mutual so this was a great opportunity to explain our relationship.  The benefits of effective good risk management theory and the relationship between accident investigation and claims.

Details of the presentation are included here for recap.  For members who weren’t able to attend the member day this is a fraction of the content from the day but hopefully gives you some insight into what is on offer at our events.  We really hope to see some of you at our next member days.  Look out for invitations which will appear in your inboxes or on social media.

You can read all about the last AIM member events here:-

https://www.activitiesindustrymutual.co.uk/events/lords-cricket-ground-2019/

 

AIM-Members-Conference-Presentation-client-pack-21032019

 

 

 

Thrills and Unfortunate Spills – Clyde & Co

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Our colleagues at Clyde & Co have put together a round up of recent personal injury cases affecting the activities industry. This article demonstrates that recent case law is positive for the activities industry but that businesses can always protect themselves further.

Thrills-and-unfortunate-spills-

 

AIM Member Profile – Adventure Plus

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Adventure Plus is an interdenominational Christian Charity that works with over 5,000 young people per year in both residential and non-residential settings throughout the UK.

Adventure Plus is not a typical outdoor adventure provider. It is an interdenominational Christian Charity that works with over 5,000 young people per year in both residential and non-residential settings throughout the UK. Programmes combine adventure and education in order to instil positive values in young people, inspiring them and building their confidence to assist in other aspects of their lives.

Founded in 1990, the organisation currently offers a 100% mobile service from its base in Witney, Oxfordshire. Adventure Plus can bring the adventure to young people on their own premises, support them on adventures at one of its Associate Residential Centres, or take them to remote parts of the country for expeditions.

Adventure Plus offer “Total Adventure” activity holidays to individuals and activity programmes for school and youth groups. These programmes operate during term time for groups and for individuals during the school holidays. They even offer a February ski trip in Switzerland.

Their “Adventure Impact” programmes are designed to inspire and mentor vulnerable young people. Referrals can be made by Schools, Pupil Referral Units, Youth Offending Services, Social Services or Youth Organisations. The needs of the group are discussed with the leader and goals for the programme agreed. If possible a meeting with the group will also be held prior to the programme starting. Activities are selected based upon the needs of the group and the agreed programme goals. Outcomes are evaluated at the start and end of the programmes after which results are fed back to referrers/teachers/parents.

Adventure Plus is licensed by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority and a DofE approved activity provider. They are also members of CCI, an association of more than 160 Christian residential centres and holiday organisations in the UK.

Operational Challenges

Adventure Plus Associate centres are located as far afield as Shropshire and Monmouthshire so there are a lot of logistical and transportation challenges in addition to the operational challenges of delivering activities such as abseiling, archery, climbing, kayaking and raft building. Executive Director, Jon Cox is keenly aware of the operational challenges of providing a 100% mobile adventure programme in so many different locations.

“From a risk management point of view we have to have an approach that is both robust and flexible. Our team have to be good at exercising judgement in the field as well as making sure that everything gets safely from store to activity base and back again. Our greatest asset, we are told, is our team of activity  instructors, both staff and volunteers, who are passionate about encouraging the young people we work with each year, through adventure & education in a positive Christian environment.”

Adventure Plus operate all activities with a minimum of 2 staff, usually on a 2:10 staff:child ratio. A full time team of 15 staff is complemented by a network of freelance specialists and over 200 volunteers. Adventure Plus also offers a unique gap year training programme that provides up to 6 trainee instructors with a comprehensive training programme working alongside their experienced permanent team.

Future Plans

Adventure Plus are currently seeking funding to develop their own permanent adventure base in Oxfordshire. They are in negotiations to take on a 50 acre site that could host a range of land-based adventure activities and offer bunk house or tented accommodation. The location is also within easy reach of a waterfront that could offer canoeing, kayaking and raft building.

 

A permanent location would allow Adventure Plus to increase their level of provision and improve efficiency by reducing costs on up to 60% of their operations. This would allow them to increase their range of services within SE England but they would still aim to offer a UK-wide operation via their associate residential centres.

Why AIM?

Jon Cox selected AIM as their insurance partner for a number of reasons:

“Adventure Plus was an early supporter of Activities Industry Mutual and we valued the idea of insuring with a mutual as this reflects our own approach and organisational structure. We also value the fact that we speak to informed people who really understand the practical needs of our organisation and take a positive approach to risk management.”

More info: www.adventureplus.org.uk

 

Lessons Learned – Common Sense Prevails

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Common sense prevails in Court following a slip in a mining museum

Judge rejects claimant’s premise that because he slipped and sustained an injury on a visit to a heritage site, the site owner is to blame, and that it must have been due to “an act or omission by the defendant which it should reasonably have remedied”.

Clearwell Caves, a long standing member of the mutual, is a natural cave system which has been extensively mined for iron ore and operates now primarily as a mining museum, also providing caving activities. The caves are part of a Natural England designated Site of Special Scientific Interest.

This was a case brought by a retired publican who had slipped or stumbled and fallen whilst on a family visit to see the cave’s Christmas Fantasy Display. Although the claimant’s injury seemed slight at the time, it subsequently transpired that he had sustained a broken right ankle, from which he has made a more or less full recovery after 12 weeks in plaster.

The accident occurred in an underground passageway on a slight incline. Taking into account the damp conditions, the surface was covered by compacted ragstone gravel, recently replenished, providing a suitable non slip surface with drainage channels down each side. As is required by the Mines Inspectorate, there are recorded inspections of the mine’s walkways at least three times each day at no more than four hourly intervals.

The claimant’s expert, a Mr Petherick, argued that the mine, which is subject to Health and Safety at Mines Regulations 1993 and 1999, should also be subject to the Building Regulations and legislation covering buildings and constructed public places, such as sports stadiums and supermarkets.

The judge ruled that it was incorrect to equate a mine, with its inherent and unique character, with a supermarket or an office and that building regulations do not apply. He found that the ragstone gravel did indeed provide a suitable non-slip surface for the walkway in dry or wet conditions and that the mine’s recorded inspection and maintenance regime was systematic, regulations compliant and effective.

Comment

Common sense prevailed here in Court. Even in a case of little apparent merit, documented records evidencing risk assessment, good management and a regular inspection and maintenance regime are required to counter a claimant’s argument that because there’s an injury, the facility is to blame and compensation is due.