Golf Insurance

Dou you have golf insurance? More and more stories are surfacing about golfers being hit by errant tee shots and golf balls and it is recommended to have some form of insurance. Public liability is now a big area of the insurance market in general so it is good to be covered.

Golf is a great sport but your clubs and other equipment can be expensive. And, let's not forget the other expenses or the risks of having to pay out literally hundreds of thousands if things go badly wrong.

For example, how many golfers do you think are injured each year? 1,000, 2,000, 5,000? Read down the page for the answer, and consider what a personal injury might mean for you.Does it not make sense to check the cost of taking out golf insurance?

Here's what you could be covered for:
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Answer to the question "How many golfers are injured each year?" Over 120,000 golfers are injured every year!

One of the leading companies in the "Golf Insurance Market" are Golfsure, check out their policy document here.

Would you be happier if you had some golf insurance, just in case? And if it also covered your clubs and equipment? And your public liability? And all of the other sections described above? Don't wait until it's too late.

Here are those golf insurance claim stories
With a high court ruling in the UK that 'golfers are liable for shots that cause injury' and with over 10,000 golf related injuries per year requiring hospital treatment, it is only sensible that golfers be insured against that wayward shot.

Case 1
In 1998 a 16 handicapper was ordered to pay damages of more than GBP 70,000 after a wayward shot hit a fellow golfer.

The golfer in question had been trying to play the ball over a ditch towards the green but his ball struck a tree, went off at a right angle and hit another golfer who was standing 90 yards away on the next fairway.

Even though the unlucky golfer shouted "FORE" when he mishit his shot the golfer who was hit did not hear the shout and was poleaxed.

The golfer sustained damage to his eye and retina. During the court case the judges upheld the verdict that our unfortunate golfer should pay damages even though he shouted a warning.

This story just goes to show what can happen. I think we have all had to duck at some time when aball has ricocheted from atree or other obstacle.

Case 2

A 26-year-old college student who was permanently blinded in his left eye by an errant golf ball two years ago at Mission Bay Golf Course was awarded nearly $1.2 million by a San Diego Superior Court jury.

The College student was putting on the second green when a poorly hit ball struck by a golfer standing about 45 feet away on the third tee went through a chain-link protective fence and struck him directly in the eye, according to court documents.

The ball's trajectory took it right through the fence, which had 2-inch webbing. A golf ball is about 1 3/4 inches wide..

The jury returned the verdict against the operators of the course, the managers of the course, and the golfer.

The verdict was 9-3. The prosecuting lawyer said two of the jurors wanted to give his client much more money, the third much less.

Although the course is owned by the city, the operators and manager of the course, under terms of their lease, are responsible for all lawsuits, the prosecuting lawyer said.

The three defendants have worked out between themselves how much each will pay. That agreement was not made public.

The golfer had teed off at the first hole and sliced the ball so badly to the right that it landed on another tee.

For his second shot, the golfer was aiming in an odd direction trying to get back to the fairway when he mis-hit his shot and didn't get the desired loft, according to court documents.

The ball then went right through the 6-foot-high fence and struck the unlucky golfer.

It was estimated the ball was traveling between 70 and 90 mph.

"It was so fast, he heard the sound of a golf ball being hit, turned his head a quarter-turn, and got the ball right in the eye. He didn't even have time to flinch," the prosecuting lawyer said.

The safety fence, which is supposed to protect golfers from wayward balls in areas where many golfers congregate, was not properly constructed, according to the lawsuit.

"After two years of denying liability for the accident, the golf course operators and the golfer admitted liability, so the case went to the jury only on damages,"

The jury awarded the injured golfer $185,000 for past and future medical expenses and $1 million for pain and suffering.

Still a computer science student, the injured party no longer plays golf because his depth perception makes it hard to hit a ball, his lawyer said.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

Case 3

A golf shot that injured a maintenance worker could prove costly for an amateur golfer.
An Insurance Corporation has sued the golfer for allegedly not voicing a warning before he teed off and struck an employee with his ball at US Golf Club.

The employer of the worker seeks a financial award after it paid the staff member more than $100,000 to date in benefits.

The attorney who represents the golfer responsible filed a response claiming the maintenance worker was negligent instead.

"We deny liability on the part of the golfer" the attorney said.

The insurance company's attorneys initially filed a petition at a federal courthouse. Lawyers for both parties agreed to dismiss the federal case when a similar complaint was filed in Greene County.

The golfer was among four men playing golf at a club when they noticed the employee about 75 yards away -- left of the tee box -- connecting a hose to a water spigot.

"In spite of the employees close proximity, The golfer 'teed off' second and his ball struck the employee in the head," the petition said.

The employee reportedly suffered a skull fracture, eye injuries and motor skills problems after the incident.

The attorney representing the golfer denied that the golfer failed to utter a warning before the stroke. Efforts to reach the golfer for comment were unsuccessful.

According to U.S. Golf Association etiquette, players should always alert staff nearby or ahead before making a stroke. The traditional word of warning is "fore."

The attorney representing the golfer argued that the employee failed to wear protective headgear, and should not have been in front of golfers he knew or should have known were playing.

The employee received workers compensation, which employers provide to employees injured on the job to eliminate the need for litigation.

However, an employer may sue a third party in an effort to recover some funds paid to an injured employee.

A Department of Insurance spokesman said a claim usually must be "fairly sizable" before an insurer will seek action against a third party.

The general manager, said his club follows a 30-page employee training manual that advises on safety.

Golfers are also advised on proper etiquette to avoid accidents, including pace of play and careful cart driving. The employee has since returned to work at the club.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and USGA officials said they did not keep data on golf course injuries, but this case is not unprecedented.
Source: Springfield News-Leader (Mo.)

Case 4
Another case was of a golfer who says she suffered serious injuries after being hit in the head by a golf ball.

The golfer was the passenger in a golf cart driven by her sister. After finishing a game of golf, the sister drove to a cart return area near a pro shop and barbecue pit. She testified she heard a "whack" and saw her sister tumble from the cart like a rag doll and hit her head on the pavement.

Taking the testimony in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, there was evidence that the owner of the golf course knew that golf balls regularly flew into the area where Diane was injured.

The architect called as a safety expert for the plaintiff, testified that the golf course was unreasonably dangerous. Based on the local building code (referred to as BOCA, for the Building Officials and Code Administrators model code), the expert opinion was that the area of the pro shop, cart return and barbecue pit should have been moved farther from the golf course, or guarded by a fence, because people tended to congregate there.

Defense counsel unsuccessfully argued that the expert did not qualify as an expert because he had no experience with golf course design.

The jury returned a verdict of $ 457,995 in favor of the golfer

What to look for in a Golf Insurance policy?
As you can see from the above stories it is entirely possible to be the unfortunate person to either be injured with a golf ball or be the golfer responsible for causing the accident.

If you have not thought about golf insurance then maybe itis time to do so.
I am currently in discussion with a couple of specialist golf insurance companies to try and bring you the option of a highly competitive policy for yourself and will post further information on the site quite soon.

I hope you enjoy the site and please feel free to recommend the site to your fellow golf friends and come back soon because we will be adding new articles and information on a weekly basis.