All projects that have been fully or partially funded through the Community Spaces programme must insure their project assets as part of the Terms and Conditions of the grant.
Asset insurance has caused some difficulties for groups. If a project is being supported by a local authority then it is acceptable for the local authority’s insurance to cover the assets. Where there is no local authority involvement, groups need to insure the assets independently.
This blog piece is a space for everyone to share their knowledge and experience of asset insurance. Please feel free to share what you know and point people in the right direction. If you’re struggling with asset insurance then this is the place to ask your questions.
When is an asset an asset? What are the insurable assets in a community garden? Raised beds, a history wall, pedal powered fountain, pergolas, orchard trees, seating??
One of the groups I have worked with so far has had to take out asset insurance, as the council that owns the land couldn’t agree to do more than make the area safe in case of vandalism etc. They can’t afford like-for-like replacement.
After discussion with the Community Spaces team about what the ‘assets’ are, we decided it was basically any improvement made during the project that could be damaged (in this case, tarmac playing surface, metal goals, fences, gates, bins and so on). None of this is movable or even particularly vulnerable but, in a worst case scenario, it’s what would need replacing to return the project to where it was at the point of Practical Completion. So the insured value was not the whole project value but the replacement value of those elements; £30,000 in this case. For a community garden I guess it would be all those items that Marya mentions.
The big problem for us was not being able to find an insurer that would provide asset insurance without packaging it alongside third party liability, which the group didn’t need. This means a much higher premium that the group will need to fund annually for the remainder of the 5 year monitoring period.
If anyone finds an insurer that will do asset insurance on its own then please flag it up!
PS for info, the broker we used was Finance Redirect (www.financeredirect.co.uk). I’m sure there are others out there.
Good morning – another one which starts with an asset insurance discussion over breakfast with one of my groups!!
Dave, how much was an annual premium through Finance Direct then? A couple of my groups are getting nowhere with the council so need to start looking for their own insurance but I could do with a ball park figure to give them to budget for the remaining 4 years.
Thanks,
Rach
The reason we recommend Asset Insurance is that one of our Terms and Conditions (4.52) is that “If any Project Asset is damaged, destroyed or stolen, you must repair or replace it.”
If an asset is damaged/destroyed and the group are unable to replace it, then they are in breach of the terms and conditions. Asset Insurance is the best way to avoid this possibility.
In my former life as Grants Assistant the insurance company Allianz sticks in the mind as one that has provided asset insurance cover for other community groups.
I couldn’t comment on whether it was appropriate for all groups or verify how good the policy is but this may be a starter for quote comparison for any groups struggling to obtain asset insurance.
Hi Rach, Ansvar was the insurance company Finance Redirect used for the cover and they provided £2m public liability (their lowest level) and £30,000 asset cover for about £365 – reassuringly expensive!?! For a group that has no other assets to insure and usually holds a few relatively modest events over a year this is a significant sum. I don’t have the breakdown to hand but I’m sure the PL was the bulk of it.
I would love to be able to point them towards something a bit easier on the pocket for renewal time!
Hopefully, all Facilitators will now have had time to digest the Asset Insurance Guidance circulated by e-mail last week. Guidance is also available for community groups on the Community Spaces website.
I have recently assessed an application where the insurance cover was from NFU Mutual who offer a ‘Britain in Bloom and/or Britain in Bloom Communities Insurance Scheme’. As many of our groups and projects may be picked up under the ‘community’ criteria for BIB and showcased on judging routes, this may be a possible avenue to investigate?
Apologies – this blog post went missing for a few days as we updated the Blog Site.
I’ve recently come across some useful advice that an insurance broker was giving to a group. It indicated that as far as material damage insurance is concerned, a rate of approx £14 for every £1000 worth of asset be applied. For example, the premium for £35,000 of play equipment should be approx £490. This might help as a ball park figure?
I am working with a group, about to submit stage 2. They are desilting a pond in an old woodland and also repairing some paths (some go over stone ‘bridges’) What can they insure under asset insurance. The bridges would be hard, if not impossible to damage, as they are just stone foundations and small wall edge(40cms high) over a brook spanning about 1.8m max, other 2 less than 1m. Not sure how to approach this, how does asset insurance apply to things such as this. If it could be a rate/1000 spent but would anyone cover such items?
pam
Hi Pam,
To be an asset, the item would need to be expected to last more than three years and cost over £500. If the bridges/paths/walls were damaged/destroyed, the group need to be able to replace them to meet the CS Terms & Conditions. They must, therefore, be able to demonstrate that either the landowner (if a Local Authority) will self-insure or that they themselves have insurance in place. I think its probably best to work out the combined cost of the path, foundations & wall that together make up the cost of each bridge to give one value for the bridge as an asset. If this does not exceed £500, it is not classed as an asset.
I think the best way forward is for the group to start ringing around some of the insurance companies mentioned above to start getting some quotes.
If a project is being developed on council land and the council has agreed to maintain and therefore insure it in the future what evidence and paperwork is required to show that this is so?
Hi Ted,
Where the Local Authority owns/manages the site, they will need to state on letter headed paper that all assets are insured and any assets that are damaged, destroyed or stolen will be repaired or replaced for the asset monitoring period. This could be included in the maintenance responsibility letter also required within the supporting info at Stg 2, or separately.
[...] blog post on Asset insurance which is so [...]
I am working on finding competitive insurance quote on our assets of £45,000. I have so far been quoted from £795 up to £2100! Including PLI.
The cheapest quote was obtained by joining the County Playing Fields Association, the website is quite helpful, unless you live in Dorset! You will need to ring someone!
The only issue we face now is raising £800 a year! We are looking for Funding for it but I assume its unlikely!
Hi Lucy – thanks for sharing what you’ve learnt about obtaining insurance. I’m sure other groups will find this really helpful, I found a link to the County Playing Fields Association see: http://www.cpfas.org.uk
Unfortunately, obtaining this kind of funding can be difficult. Has anyone got any funding advice for Lucy?
I’m being given a real runaround on asset insurance – many refusals, from NFU Mutual, from Ansvar, and from another that would cover fire, but not vandalism. One problem is that a grant (from Community Spaces) will be dependent on there being open access to the site, but our insurance dependent on having access controlled in some way (a gated environment). So we’ve drawn a blank on asset insurance, and our deadline for Stage 2 submission is now less than 4 weeks away. HELP !!! Can anyone suggest a company that might be more sympathetic?
Hi Ian,
I’ve had a look at your project and noted that the County Council own your project site and our supporting you. Do they carry out the maintenance of the site? It would be typical for them to hold the Public Liability Insurance for the site.
On projects where the Local Authority own and maintain the site, they are quite often willing to agree to replace the project assets for the 5 year monitoring period. If this is the case, please see my previous comment above on 20th April outlining what evidence is required.
Asset Insurance
http://www.cpfas.org.uk/page.asp?node=15
This is who we are using! Simple and thorough and easy to get hold of someone who knows what they are talking about!
I’ve come across a couple of insurer’s that groups might want to try. See:
http://www.astbury-wren.co.uk
http://www.keegan-pennykid.com
thanks for your suggestions – bethan, lucy, martin. As things turned out we were saved at the eleventh hour by a formal letter from county Library Services (as beth suggested) stating that they would take 5-yr responsibility for maintenance of the assets. Others have since told me that unprotected sites are anathema to any insurance company.
We had hoped to use a company called Came & Co for our playground, as they quoted £109 for £25K asset insurance which was cheaper than other quotes we had received. http://www.parishinsurance.co.uk/Came.asp
However, the proviso is that it is via a parish, who are members of SALC. Unfortunately for Thornham Magna the parish meeting have said they do not wish to be the accountable body. However for those projects who do have support from their incumbent government body, it’s worth checking if they are members of this group. http://www.nalc.gov.uk/Contacts/County_Association_Contact_Details.aspx
This one has caught us out and we are right at the end of the project. Although our council have agreed to the ongoing maintenace of the site and insure the site there is no way they will agree to replace any item which has been damaged or destroyed. If an item got destroyed once what makes you think it won’t be destroyed again. All our play equipment has 10 -15 year warranties is this really neccessary. Not sure how to proceed with this as what funder is going to give you money over 5 years to insure something that is already in place?
Hi Ben,
The reason for this condition, is that Community Spaces wants to fund projects that will be a lasting asset for the community. If sites are not insured, then there is no guarantee of how long it will be available to the public. If a £49,999 project is ‘destroyed’ after a week and not replaced, then this would be a very poor use of public funds.
On projects where the Local Authority own and maintain the site, they are quite often willing to agree to replace the project assets for the 5 year monitoring period. If this is not the case, Community Spaces can fund the first year of asset insurance through the sustainability grant, but then we would expect most groups to be able to fundraise to cover future asset insurance. You can also use the sustainability garnt for future items which will help with future fundaraising events (banners, marquee etc…).
For information, The Friends of Northampton Racecourse acquired asset (£26k) and PL (£5m)insurance from Zurich Insurance. We had considerable problmes identifying an insurer! Cost is expensive (but no comparison at the time, and time was pressing!) at an annual premium of £945 fixed for 5 years.Sourced via Tennyson Insurance http://www.tennysoninsurance.co.uk
…… we secured additional funding to pay for the insurance!
Does anyone know a good insurance company who will insure planting?
Hi Moya
I agree it’s a tricky one. I suppose it would depend on the value of the planting.Is the site council owned? Previous projects I have seen have got the council to agree to self insure should any plants be stolen etc. If not, and the value of the plants is something that could feasilbly be covered by the group in the future, through fundraising etc perhaps they could commit in writing to replacing any plants that die or are stolen for the asset monitoring period. I will have a look back through past projects for you and see if I can offer any more suggestions.
thanks Phillipa
Hi all, I was wondering if anyone had managed to secure asset insurance for a skate park at all as one of my projects is trying to do just that.
All leads welcomed,
Thanks,
Rach