Aradlay Insurance Brokers gets APRA cover for amusement ride operators

Aradlay Insurance Brokers has advised that it has secured a facility to place cover for amusement ride operators with QBE Insurance Australia.

Aradlay has established a new division, called Leisure Placement Solutions, which deals exclusively with placement of insurance covers for leisure industry operators.

The new facility has been providing covers since mid-December 2005, although many renewals were already confirmed and accepted for late December and early January. The company is now offering all new business quotes and renewals with this facility, so can offer covers immediately.

To assist with the running of Leisure Placement Solutions, Paul Douglas from Renaissance Underwriting and some of his Renaissance team members have been recruited to work with Aradlay.

Douglas advises “Aradlay is really happy to be able to finally provide APRA approved liability covers for the amusement industry.

“It has taken three years to finally get someone interested in insuring ride operators at reasonable pricing structures, and we are happy to announce that we have achieved this.

Asked whether the premiums are likely to go up, he replied: “There should only be minor increases, enough to reflect that they are APRA approved quotes rather than unauthorised.”

The cover is available to all sectors of the amusement leisure, recreation, sporting and entertainment industries and all classes of rides. Douglas says that no risk management audit is required, but the better the risk management program, the better the premium.

It now remains to be seen how long it will take before showgrounds and other venues - such as council grounds - will only accept APRA approved insurance.

When asked about existing policies with unauthorised covers, Douglas added "we have an agreement with Trans Pacific through which we can cancel existing covers and place them with the new facility without the operators being penalised.

“We are happy to assist with these changeovers if operators want to access the approved insurer straight away.

“We know that it has been a hard slog for a while now and we will do whatever we can to assist our clients.

“It is Aradlay’s position that we will not be offering insurance cover through unauthorised insurers in the future. This has nothing to do with Trans Pacific and we appreciate everything that Trans Pacific did for us and the Australian leisure industry, however, there are now new facilities available to us with an APRA approved insurer and that is the avenue that we want to take.”