# Bouncy Castle Insurance



## Mocame (3 Feb 2022)

Hi all, my nephew is making his communion soon and really, really, really wants to hire a bouncy castle as part of the celebrations.  However all of the hire companies now seem to specify on their website that they can't offer public liability insurance.  Can anyone advise whether a domestic policy would cover a bouncy castle erected in the garden?  My sister in law is planning to invite some cousins and neighbours' kids over on the say for some bouncing but is obviously concerned about being liable in the case of an accident.


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## Sue Ellen (3 Feb 2022)

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Mocame said:


> Can anyone advise whether a domestic policy would cover a bouncy castle erected in the garden?



Best for her to check with her home insurer as policies differ so much.


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## Ravima (3 Feb 2022)

Bouncy castle owners should have public liability insurance, but only to cover their negligence. In my experience, there is never a problem with the device itself, but with the supervision, which is the hirers problem. Accidents happen when there are either too many children, unsupervised children or drunken adults joining in the fun! Why should the owner of the device be responsible for them? 

Check with your house insurers. Some will charge a small extra premium. You still need to be careful through as a claim against you will mean your NCB on the house insurance will be affected.


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## DirectDevil (4 Feb 2022)

There has been at least one public liability type claim before the English High Court in recent years arising from a bouncy castle injury.
 It was a serious personal injury case arising from a short lack of supervision of the children using the castle.
The plaintiff won on the grounds of negligence.

Generally, I fear the news that little Johnny or Mary is having a bouncy castle at their party. I pray quietly for thunderous rain as I know that will leave children safer. However, that is just risk-averse little me .

A few thoughts ;

Some household insurance policies may specifically exclude liability arising from use of a bouncy castle.
If so, ask the insurers if they will provide specific cover for the day in question.
Who is indemnified under the policy ?
The household policy will indemnify the policyholder(s) as defined in the contract.
Household insurance policies usually *exclude* liability *incurred under the terms of a contract* unless the liability would have existed anyhow regardless and independent of the contractually incurred responsibility. 
Some of the contracts offered by companies hiring out bouncy castles require you, the party hiring in the castle, to provide them with a contractual indemnity arising out of the use of the castle. Even if a household policy covers - or does not exclude - bouncy castles the contractually incurred liability may be specifically excluded.
Any public liability insurance held by the bouncy castle company will cover *their* legal interests but not the householder's liability.
So what, if I don't have insurance cover ? Will I take a chance anyhow ? If there has been negligence and an unfortunately bad injury results you still have the legal liability. The fact that you may have no insurance cover does not avoid your legal liability. A judgment against you can end up being charged against the title of your house - no thanks !!


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## sharkattack (4 Feb 2022)

A sad state of affairs that this is even been discussed


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## Pinoy adventure (4 Feb 2022)

sharkattack said:


> A sad state of affairs that this is even been discussed



Very true.it’s the reality of life in Ireland in 2022.


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## Leo (4 Feb 2022)

Similar case here last year, albeit on a hotel grounds rather than a private garden.


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2022)

Get the priest to bless the bouncy castle?


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## noproblem (4 Feb 2022)

Get the bouncy castle, and your guests to sign a waiver. Otherwise, forget about it, and the guests


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## peemac (4 Feb 2022)

sharkattack said:


> A sad state of affairs that this is even been discussed


So many people see it as a "guaranteed win" slot machine if their little Johnny scratches his knee on one. 

Hence premiums are huge for such things.

Look how many children's play centres have simply not reopened and are being repurposed to offices and warehousing


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## RetirementPlan (8 Feb 2022)

peemac said:


> So many people see it as a "guaranteed win" slot machine if their little Johnny scratches his knee on one.
> 
> Hence premiums are huge for such things.
> 
> Look how many children's play centres have simply not reopened and are being repurposed to offices and warehousing


Really? 'So many people'? Have there been loads of cases in the courts for knee scratches?

Weren't those play centres repurposed from offices and warehousing in the first place?


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## Leo (8 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Weren't those play centres repurposed from offices and warehousing in the first place?


Some might have been but different planning is required for these, so it's not a simple matter of using an empty warehouse. 

The main issue is the Irish insurers stepped back from this market leaving one UK company covering most of the industry but they left the Irish market stating that the level of awards here made the business unsustainable.


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## ClubMan (8 Feb 2022)

Maybe cancel the bouncy castle and instead get a financial expert or lawyer in to give the kids a lecture on public liability insurance and the litigious nature of Irish society? It'll be educational for them and the party will be the talk of your town for years to come...


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## RetirementPlan (8 Feb 2022)

Leo said:


> Some might have been but different planning is required for these, so it's not a simple matter of using an empty warehouse.
> 
> The main issue is the Irish insurers stepped back from this market leaving one UK company covering most of the industry but they left the Irish market stating that the level of awards here made the business unsustainable.


Fully agree, though that's a little different from the claim of people queuing up to win lottery sized claims for a kid with a scratched knee.


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## Leo (8 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Fully agree, though that's a little different from the claim of people queuing up to win lottery sized claims for a kid with a scratched knee.


It is, but no one mentioned lottery sized wins, slot machines pay out a lot less.


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## fistophobia (8 Feb 2022)

A chap I worked with...
Got onto a hired bouncy castle, after a litre of wine.
Bounced out , landed on his shoulder. Told me he has to get surgery, rotational tendon snapped.


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## Mocame (8 Feb 2022)

Hi everyone, I booked bouncy castles on several occasions when my kids were young and the I can never remember a single occasion on which their websites specified that they can't provide insurance.  So when my sister-in-law mentioned that she had come across this issue it immediately got me worried, hence the post here.  

I personally feel that constant litigation and claims are ruining the country.  An elderly relatively recently had someone injured when trimming back trees on her land.  She had employed an insured company, luckily, but was worried sick about the potential for a claim.  What kind of country are we living in where elderly people have to worry about people suing them and kids can't have some fun playing during a family celebration?


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## Leo (9 Feb 2022)

Mocame said:


> Hi everyone, I booked bouncy castles on several occasions when my kids were young and the I can never remember a single occasion on which their websites specified that they can't provide insurance. So when my sister-in-law mentioned that she had come across this issue it immediately got me worried, hence the post here.


A Slovenian insurer that was providing cover for a time after the UK company pulled out also pulled out of the Irish market last year, so this is a new problem.


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## DirectDevil (9 Feb 2022)

noproblem said:


> Get the bouncy castle, and your guests to sign a waiver. Otherwise, forget about it, and the guests



The bouncy castle providers will definitely protect themselves by not agreeing to that.

You will probably find that you cannot "contract out" of your liability for personal injuries to a guest by using a waiver. 
IMHO a guest would be mad to sign up to such a waiver as you do not know what might happen i.e. a true act of negligence causing injury.


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## Peanuts20 (9 Feb 2022)

Bouncy castle providers can't get insurance anywhere, no one will sign a waiver so unless you are covered via your house insurance, run a mile from having one of these.


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## DirectDevil (9 Feb 2022)

Mocame said:


> SNIPPED TEXT.  An elderly relatively recently had someone injured when trimming back trees on her land.  She had employed an insured company, luckily, but was worried sick about the potential for a claim.  What kind of country are we living in where elderly people have to worry about people suing them and kids can't have some fun playing during a family celebration?



A classically good example of the need for caution and proper advice about liability insurance.

You will find that the side of the contractor's van has a sign saying that they are "fully insured". 
Assuming that to be true you next ask if that means that you - the customer - are covered. 
Most customers believe that the contractor's liability insurance covers them - the customer - too.
It probably does not cover the customer's interests. It probably covers the contractor's liability only.

Does it matter if there is an accident caused by a contractor ? Yes, especially if the contractor does not actually have insurance.

The general principle is that a principal [the customer] is* not* vicariously liable for the negligence of an independent contractor.
However, in certain circumstances, that shield does not protect the principal. For example, if the contractor was executing works that carried a strict liability, or created hazards on the public road and a few more little gems.

BTW if the contractors trimming trees were using a chain saw liability policies might be redundant as many of them exclude claims arising from use of chain saws.


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## argentina (9 Feb 2022)

We got one last year for my Son’s communion; we have a large driveway out the front so wanted to put it there. He had his heart set on one of the slide/castle combos; was surprised how many companies were prepared to rent them out when they couldn’t be anchored down (with the concrete).
We settled on a large (deep) bouncy castle; we had different groups at different times over the weekend- school friends on the Friday afternoon, cousins on the Saturday early afternoon and Neighbors on the Saturday evening.
We had an adult supervise all the time and broke up any messing; when a group had finished we deflated the bouncy castle.
An accident could still have happened etc but we tried as best to minimise the possibility.
Bit nuts that kids can’t enjoy this type of fun really anymore!


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## noproblem (9 Feb 2022)

argentina said:


> We got one last year for my Son’s communion; we have a large driveway out the front so wanted to put it there. He had his heart set on one of the slide/castle combos; was surprised how many companies were prepared to rent them out when they couldn’t be anchored down (with the concrete).
> We settled on a large (deep) bouncy castle; we had different groups at different times over the weekend- school friends on the Friday afternoon, cousins on the Saturday early afternoon and Neighbors on the Saturday evening.
> We had an adult supervise all the time and broke up any messing; when a group had finished we deflated the bouncy castle.
> An accident could still have happened etc but we tried as best to minimise the possibility.
> Bit nuts that kids can’t enjoy this type of fun really anymore!


And this time it's not the Goverment that's to blame. It's your friends parents, so be careful who you invite. Like a licence to print money for some.


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## peemac (9 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Really? 'So many people'? Have there been loads of cases in the courts for knee scratches?
> 
> Weren't those play centres repurposed from offices and warehousing in the first place?


Yes, quite a few for the most minor of injuries. The first question is "how much can we make from this". That's why insurance companies have simply refused to place insurance. Because little Mary and little Johnny are so precious that a scratch on the knee has life altering consequences that need €75,000 compensation. 

They were rarely repurposed from offices, but because of the size of structures they are usually located in business parks and would have full planning permission.

A friend had one. The figures simply no longer added up. Insurance was in excess of €40,000 - he had no claims.


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## RetirementPlan (10 Feb 2022)

peemac said:


> Yes, quite a few for the most minor of injuries. The first question is "how much can we make from this". That's why insurance companies have simply refused to place insurance. Because little Mary and little Johnny are so precious that a scratch on the knee has life altering consequences that need €75,000 compensation.
> 
> They were rarely repurposed from offices, but because of the size of structures they are usually located in business parks and would have full planning permission.
> 
> A friend had one. The figures simply no longer added up. Insurance was in excess of €40,000 - he had no claims.


Would you like to share details of any cases where a scratch on the knee resulted in €75k compensation?


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## Peanuts20 (10 Feb 2022)

RetirementPlan said:


> Would you like to share details of any cases where a scratch on the knee resulted in €75k compensation?


slightly more then a scratch and less then €75k but no shortage of cases. 2 as an example 






						Bouncy Castle Accident Compensation of €40k for Boy who Broke Elbow in Fall | Compensation Ireland
					

€40,000 personal injury compensation has been awarded to a boy who broke his left elbow in an accident involving a bouncy castle. The young male, Rean Jay Cabangal, fell from the bouncy castle at the Courtyard Hotel in Leixlip, Co Kildare. Representing the boy at the Circuit Civil Court...




					www.injury-compensation.ie
				












						€50k damages after boy breaks elbow on bouncy castle
					

A seven-year-old  who broke his elbow  playing on a bouncy castle was yesterday awarded €50,000 compensation against the owners.




					www.irishexaminer.com
				




not to mention those kids who were killed in Australia on one.


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## Leo (10 Feb 2022)

Peanuts20 said:


> not to mention those kids who were killed in Australia on one.


How does that relate to compensation levels in Ireland?


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## RetirementPlan (10 Feb 2022)

Peanuts20 said:


> slightly more then a scratch and less then €75k but no shortage of cases. 2 as an example
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Right, so we're agreed no-one is getting €75 for a scratch on the knee.


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