Personal Accident Insurance for Pupils
It is often assumed by parents that if an accident occurs at school, the school can be held responsible and that financial compensation will therefore be made. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that the liability of the school is strictly limited to cases where there is proven evidence of negligence.
In the vast majority of cases, the injuries sustained are minor and the circumstances of the accident will reveal no evidence at all of negligence on the part of the school. There are, however, some accidents which can have long term consequences or result in some form of permanent disability but still without any evidence of negligence on the part of the school. The advantage of a personal accident policy therefore, is that whilst in no way preventing further action to seek damages in cases where negligence is alleged, payments under the policy are made on the basis of the injuries sustained and are not conditional on proving liability.
In order to provide parents with the opportunity of arranging appropriate insurance cover at a very competitive cost, the Local Authority has a scheme with Zurich Municipal Insurance Co. at a cost of only £12 per year (including tax and administration). The policy runs from 1st September to 31st August of the ensuing year and provides cover for 24 hours a day, 365 days per year and so is not limited to just when children are at school. If you are interested in arranging such cover for your child, Summary of Cover and leaflet with Application Form can be downloaded, or obtained from the school . Completed forms should then be returned to the school accompanied by a cheque for £12 made payable to the school. Confirmation of cover together with a copy of the full policy will subsequently be forwarded to you by the LA’s Insurance Team via the school.
Please note that if you wish to arrange cover for your child but he/she is transferring to another school from September, it will be necessary to make contact with the new school/college to make the necessary arrangements, assuming that the school is participating in the scheme.