Clubs and Pubs Insurance
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra

A club or pub may serve members, guests and the wider public through several distinct activities. Explain the structure of the organisation and whether it operates dining, bars, entertainment, functions, sporting facilities or community programs. Identify areas managed by another operator and activities run by volunteers. A committee-led club can have different decision and staffing arrangements from a privately managed venue, so describe who approves contracts and oversees daily operations. Include seasonal tournaments, fundraising events and external hire of rooms. The broker needs to understand the whole organisation rather than only the licensed trading area.

Consider which assets and revenue streams belong to the organisation. Buildings, kitchens, sporting equipment, gaming or entertainment systems and member databases may have different owners or service arrangements. Explain whether the venue owns the premises or leases them and which repairs it must arrange. Describe stock, cash and specialist equipment concentrations during busy events. Ask how the proposed program separates venue liability, property damage, management exposures, volunteer-related options and interruption. Insurance maintained by an affiliated body or sporting association should be examined on its actual terms, including the named entities and activities, instead of assumed to cover the local operation completely.

Bring the constitution or organisational structure, lease and representative supplier and event agreements to the review. Identify who can sign on behalf of the organisation and whether related entities operate parts of the venue. Keep committee approvals and significant contracts accessible when officeholders change. Insurance clauses should be considered alongside indemnities, equipment ownership and cancellation commitments. Ask appropriate advisers to review unfamiliar obligations before accepting them. A volunteer committee may inherit longstanding arrangements, so the practical task is to establish which terms are current and which insurance assumptions have simply been repeated through successive renewals.

Operating records should reflect the range of activities. Retain relevant maintenance information, incident reports, contractor instructions and event plans in an organised system. For volunteers, document their assigned activities and the supervision arrangements rather than treating all participation as one role. Keep asset schedules and financial information sufficient to explain the venue’s ordinary trading and major event income. Where an insurer asks about controls, describe current practice and identify work still outstanding. The existence of a policy manual or an association membership is useful context, but neither should be presented as conclusive evidence of how the venue manages each exposure.

After an incident, prioritise immediate assistance and identify the person responsible for coordinating the organisation’s response. Preserve factual accounts, event records and relevant evidence under appropriate privacy arrangements. Notify the applicable insurance contact and obtain guidance before agreeing to reimburse a patron, contractor or another organisation. Keep communications consistent so different committee members do not unintentionally give conflicting accounts. If damage affects trading, record the impact on member services, public bookings and other revenue separately. Each consequence may need to be considered under a different part of the program, subject to the relevant wording and facts.

Use renewal and committee handover to check changes in activities, ownership, contracts and officeholders. A new function offering, an expanded sporting program or a change of venue operator should be raised explicitly. Review values and the practical time needed to repair facilities or replace specialist equipment. Maintain a contact and authority list accessible to the people who may need to act outside ordinary office hours. Ask the broker to explain the insured entities, relevant limits and significant exclusions. A documented handover helps preserve institutional knowledge without allowing an old insurance description to become a substitute for a current review.