According to Grand View Research, the golf club market will be valued at $4.45 billion by 2027. This provides a great opportunity for those willing to enter this business or who are already in it. However, when you own a golf course, you need to know about golf course insurance policies for your own good.
Golf courses are big, expensive investments that can easily be damaged by weather or even human error. As of October this year, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) says that natural disasters have cost the country over a billion dollars.
Golf courses are no exception to these damages. Without insurance, you’re basically leaving your courses and business unattended and open to huge financial losses. Even working with the right golf management companies might not protect you fully from such damages.
On the other hand, having the right insurance program and policies in place can help protect your private golf course and the overall business from unexpected losses and keep your customers happy.
In this article, we’ll go through a list of insurance policies popular in the golf industry that will help you tackle damages on your golf course as well as protect your employees.
Table of Contents
#1 Golf Course Insurance
Golf course insurance is a commercial property insurance that specifically covers the buildings and grounds at a golf course.
Golf courses can be expensive to build, maintain, and operate. The value of your golf course may need to be protected with the business owner’s policy (BOP), which helps protect against lawsuits related to injuries or accidents on your property. In addition, many state laws require BOPs for certain types of businesses like restaurants and retail stores.
There are various country club insurance programs that oversee and ensure such coverage for your golf courses. In most cases, these club insurance programs tackle a lot of other issues at your golf course as well, like damage to the courses themselves. Opting for such a program will protect your golf course from almost every possible disaster.
#2 General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance protects your golf company against many types of claims, including property damage, bodily injury, and slander. It’s a must-have if your course is open to the public or if it serves food or alcohol on-site.
General liability insurance will also cover damage to third-party property caused by an employee’s negligence in the course of their duties, such as when a golfer hits a ball into someone else’s window and breaks it.
Some policies may even provide coverage for events that occur offsite but are related to your golf course business. For example, liability insurance can come to your aid if you host an event at another location, but one of your employees causes an accident while driving back from said event.
#3 Property Damage Insurance
Property damage insurance covers damage to your golf course. It’s important to note that this type of insurance does not cover the property of guests or members, as it’s their responsibility to purchase a guest or member property protection plan for themselves.
Property protection insurance covers natural disasters and other events outside your control that could cause damage to your facilities, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes.
There are several different types of coverage available when it comes time to purchasing property protection plans.
Actual Cash Value (ACV) is a type of policy that’s paid based on what something was worth at purchase (or replacement cost), minus any wear & tear since then. ACV will only pay out what it originally cost minus depreciation due to age or usage since then.
Then there’s replacement cost that replaces damaged items with new ones at today’s costs instead of paying out according to what they were worth when purchased originally. This could lead to significant savings over time, depending on how often things are replaced during normal maintenance schedules.
#4 Equipment Breakdown Coverage
This is a type of insurance that helps cover the cost of replacing or repairing equipment. It can be purchased as a standalone policy or as part of a larger package, such as general liability and property damage. Equipment breakdown coverage can also include golf carts and other vehicles used on your golf course.
#5 Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance is a type of liability coverage that provides protection on top of your other business insurance policies. If you are sued for something not covered by your other policies, you can turn to umbrella insurance to cover the costs.
Umbrella insurance is usually purchased annually in increments up to $1 million or more. It’s important to remember that this doesn’t increase the amount of coverage under your underlying policy. It merely acts as an additional layer of protection in case you’re sued for damages beyond what your other policies would cover.
#6 Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance provides medical and wage benefits for employees who are injured on the job. Workers’ compensation is required by law in most states, and generally, costs vary depending on the number of employees and type of work performed.
According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), there were around 4,025 private golf courses in the U.S. If you own one of these courses or want to own one soon, it is important to know about these insurance policies and how they can benefit you. Without a good understanding of how these policies work, you might have to deal with unforeseen damages to your golf course by paying out of your pocket.
