BASC to remove "Legal Expenses Cover" wef 31 July 2020

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Conor O'Gorman said:
BASC acts in the best interests of its members and shooting.



BASC’s resources are managed by Council so that we can continue to fight for shooting and benefit members.
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Are you lobbying for the return of the phrase "since your last application" in regard to the medical question on FAC/SGC forms, to save members and shooters the current charge what you will fiasco, which only benefits GP's wallets?
 
Smelly Yeti said:
I always opt for legal protection in my insurance policies as have had use it before and certainly couldn’t have fought my case without it! Given that ,when I renewed my membership last Dec, legal protection was one of my deciding factors I’m raging that BASC have simply ‘decided’ to remove this cover half way through my membership period!! They undoubtedly have some pathetic clause within the small print allowing this to happen but when I agreed to pay them a fixed annual fee it was on the expectation that the services they claimed to provide would be honoured. Given the shambles that has been made over local wildfowling & now this.... in the words of Duncan Bannatyne... I’m out! :mad::mad:
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Same - I renewed in January.

@Conor O'Gorman - just to be clear were not talking about renewals from said date- even though I took out membership for a year, the cover I have will not be honoured from the 31st July, rather than when my membership expires in Jan 2021?

Please advise.
 
FISH BOY said:
Same - I renewed in January.

@Conor O'Gorman - just to be clear were not talking about renewals from said date- even though I took out membership for a year, the cover I have will not be honoured from the 31st July, rather than when my membership expires in Jan 2021?

Please advise.
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When they stop paying the premiums, I would suggest cover will stop at that moment.
 
Hopefully all BASC members are fully informed of this decision and don't find themselves left out in the cold further down the line.

Not wanting to take a cheap shot but the parting comment of the accountant at the 2020 SGA AGM was 'Our income is down yet expenditures are up for this year, however, this is not a cause for concern as the purpose of a charitable trust is not profit making.'
 
So, £1m over approximately 155,000 members that works out at £6.45 per member. Assuming this is additional to the £13.50 mentioned earlier suggests around £20 pa for insurance and legal expense cover. Given we indulge in a potentially high risk sport and are constantly under attack from tree-huggers, vegans, aggressive sabs and outfits like WJ, I'd suggest that isn't an unreasonable sum.
As someone highlighted earlier, a large number of members join solely for the insurance so I'm not sure I get the logic behind this move.
 
Mickeydredd said:
So, £1m over approximately 155,000 members that works out at £6.45 per member. Assuming this is additional to the £13.50 mentioned earlier suggests around £20 pa for insurance and legal expense cover. Given we indulge in a potentially high risk sport and are constantly under attack from tree-huggers, vegans, aggressive sabs and outfits like WJ, I'd suggest that isn't an unreasonable sum.
As someone highlighted earlier, a large number of members join solely for the insurance so I'm not sure I get the logic behind this move.
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But the membership cost stays the same? So an extra cool £1m to the BASC pot.

Quite happy to give up on my magazine posted out every few months if they want to raise some pennies.

Having a member of the family recently relying on their legal expense cover on home insurance to help him in a bind, I for one would certainly like to know I had it available in a tight spot.

I have stuck with BASC for 20 years, primarily for the insurance and as saving my own skin is more important to me I will be forced to look elsewhere for my cover.
 
Any other suggestions for organisations who offer full insurance as that is one of the main reasons I pay a subscription?
 
Conor O'Gorman said:
The full text of the BASC briefing on this topic is as follows:

BASC acts in the best interests of its members and shooting. With regards to the legal expense’s insurance only around 150 (1 in 1000) members a year make a claim, and of those only around a half (1 in 2000 members) have their cases taken up. Yet the legal expenses policy costs almost £1 million. The cost of this insurance continues to rise rapidly each year, whilst at the same time stricter conditions and exclusions are being added to the policy.

The legal expenses insurance policy is no longer providing a product which is in the best interests of members. As a result, BASC Council has decided to remove it from the membership package from July 31, 2020.

We have not taken this decision lightly.

The decision does not affect the membership liability or personal accident insurances which includes:

  • up to £10 million Public Liability Cover
  • up to £10 million Employer Liability Cover
  • up to £10 million Product Liability Cover
  • up to £50,000 cover for personal accidents resulting in the loss of sight, hearing, or limbs
Our firearms teams will still be on hand to provide advice and guidance to all members on firearms and licencing matters. Our public liability and personal accident insurances are unaffected and remain in place.

BASC’s resources are managed by Council so that we can continue to fight for shooting and benefit members.

Legal expenses insurance Q&A

Q: When will he cover end?

A: This insurance cover will cease on 31st July 2020.

Q: Why is BASC making this change?

A: The cost of paying for this type of insurance is increasing at an astronomic level, it’s not fair that all members should be paying for a cover that most members will never use, that is not in the best interests of our members and is potentially against the Financial Conduct Authority rules.

Q: Will this decrease the cost of membership?

A: No, the cost of providing insurances as part of the membership package is approximately £13.50. The cost varies each month depending on the size of the membership and of course at renewal when the annual premium is calculated. The rest of the membership subscriptions goes to the running of the Association and all the additional activities we undertake like judicial reviews for example. Partial refunds will also not be given for the reason stated above.

Q: In the years that the policy has been in place, has it made much difference?

A: Whereas there have been some individual successes the police have maintained gross inconsistency, indeed in some cases it seems to have been worse.

Q: Will I still get help from the BASC Firearms team with issues I may have with the possession and use of firearms?

A: Yes, absolutely, the firearms team within BASC are a unique member benefit and will now be able to focus even more on direct assistance of members.

Q: What are the BASC firearms team going to do to help?

A: The BASC firearms team will continue to operate at a strategic level lobbying the Policing minister, Home Office, and liaising with National Police Chiefs Council Firearms and Explosives Licensing Working Group to represent shooters interests and strive for a fair and consistent licensing system.

Q: The cost of insurance is advertised as £13.50 yet we are saying that it is too expensive why is that?

A: £13.50 is an approximate cost of the insurance element and it varies from month to month and year to year depending on the number of members and the cost of renewing the policies. The significant increase in the cost of the LEI would increase the approximate cost greatly and impact our financial resources to enable us to provide all our current services.

The BASC firearms experts are on hand to give direct help, support and advice to individual members on specific firearms licencing and possession issues.
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So as a member I have some questions.
1. Since I paid an annual subscription for membership an all the benefits it embues on me, why am I now to receive less benefit than that for which I have paid?
2. Are you saying that purely the legal expenses cover costs 13.50 pounds per member, or the entire policy cover cost this per member? I find it hard to believe that half of the membership fees are spent on legal insurance cover when only 75 members (0.001%) gain a direct benefit.
3. How many claims of any nature were upheld last year?
4. What was the total of payments awarded to claimants last year?
Does legal expenses cover account for a disproportionate amount of claims?
 
The BASC account of affairs regarding calculations and costs is reading like a fairy story, I suggest that if they can't get basic maths correct they are either incompetent and unfit to be in the job or maybe "strangers to the truth"
 
leec6.5 said:
Im done, after many years as a BASC member, infact I’m done with shooting organisations full stop!

i will be searching for private insurance from the end of July.
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Please don't be shy with your finding Lee as this is the way I'm thinking of going.. None of the organisations are worth it..
 
Legal eagles please comment.
Surely when I joined a contract was formed for the period so how can that change without my consent?
If this is ok, what would stop them reducing the liability cover from £10m to £1m at a whim?
Thats it for me, out of this at renewal. :mad:
 
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