3rd party insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung)

[Mark Heaps]

Re club insurance your concerns are valid but at £20 you are not taking much of a gamble.(I don't really think that club officers know the potential liabilities attaching to them in their positions) Fortunately whilst injury and death caused by rc aircraft are not unknown such problems must be very rare with tanks but don't take the risk- witness the exploding tank model in Germany a while back the consequences of which could have been awful.

Hi Peter
To answer your last point first, I did witness it and from close quarters. My father & I were stood less than four meters away filming it when it exploded. Luckily no one was injured when it happened but the consequences could have been very awful and very severe.

Here in Germany, I beleive any resulting claim would have been against the owner. The owner would then invoke his 3rd party insurance. If the insurance provider can talk their way out of it or cannot pay, the liabilty falls back to the owner. PL insurance through club membership is for me a big gamble. Can I be sure the PL insurance will pay out ? If it doesn´t, have I a valid legal claim aginst the club and if so, could the club cover the resulting claim ?

[Peter Silcock]

Mark the legal system may differ in Germany but in the UK I cannot see that specific modellers public liability insurance could avoid a claim unless policy conditions have not been complied with or an exclusion specified in the policy applies. For example taking the exploding Tiger incident the policy may exclude liability arising out of the use of gunpowder or other explosive material. As far as a club is concerned once you have paid your subscription PL insurance will start if included within the membership benefits and Insurers are under contract to deal with any claims. If you fail to pay or renew a subscription or if the club fails to pay the premium no cover is in force. In the latter case Germany may be different but I would suspect that in the UK club officials may be ultimately held financially responsible for any loss. That is why I say that club officials are not necessarily aware of the potential liabilities which may devolve on them. All in all a bit of a minefield(oh dear)but thankfully one which you are very unlikely to encounter.

[Mark Heaps]

Peter, due to the EU, the legal system is probably very similar between the UK and Germany.
I work on looking at what is specifically included in the cover, and not what is specifically excluded. eg A standard german PL policy does not cover liability incurred by ownership of a dog. For that cover you require either an extension to your policy with premium loading or a seperate PL insurance .

[Steve Stuart]

On a practical note as someone who has organised events over the years for various things, and now latterly attendance with 1/6th Tanks, all I can say is that personally holding Public Liability Insurance of some sort is a requirement for attendance in todays world.
If you are a member of a Club such as the UK Tank Club or the Southern Armour Group PL Insurance is part of the reason for joining. Most Clubs Insurance here in Britain is provided by the Insurance Broker, Walker Midgley, and they do provide an economical 'stand alone' for the Independent Armour Operative who doesn't belong to a club but does want to join in with others for informally organised meetings.
So, my exhortation is to get PL Insurance from whatever source, and if you are attending an event , please do bring along a photocopy or two at all times so that if someone wishes to see the paperwork, they can, and they will depart satisfied? Do not allow a Jobsworth any leeway for self aggrandisement!
Steve