Sport and play · equipment · damage to the course
Golf and your insurance
A sliced ball that hits a window, a car or a fellow player is the classic golfing claim. Who ends up paying depends on where it happened and to whom you are liable.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Golfen en uw verzekering.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
Liability starts with Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code: if you acted carelessly, you are liable for the damage. If you hit a ball off the course and a window or a parked car is damaged, that is damage to a third party and in principle falls under your liability insurance for private individuals. Shouting a warning before the ball can hit anyone is part of the care expected of you; failing to do so counts in the assessment.
The position is different with a fellow player or flight partner. In sport and play a higher threshold applies: participants accept a certain risk between themselves that goes with the game, so not every unfortunate shot leads to liability. That does not make it impossible. Playing a shot while someone is clearly within range, or throwing a club in frustration, falls outside what goes with the game and is regarded as unlawful.
Your own equipment is another matter. Clubs, bag, trolley, electric cart and golf watch are damage to your own property and therefore never fall under liability. At home they usually fall under the home contents insurance, but away from home the cover is often limited and sometimes subject to a sub-limit. Separate golf insurance covers the set on the course as well, in transit and while travelling.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare personal liability insurance (AVP).
What to watch out for as a golfer
Four situations in which golf comes down to the policy conditions and not to the rules of the course.
Theft from the car or from the clubhouse
Golf sets mainly disappear from car boots and unattended lockers. Many policies cover theft from a vehicle only where there is visible damage from forced entry, and even then with a reduced maximum or only if the items were out of sight. Without signs of forced entry, claims are almost always refused. Keep purchase receipts and report the theft to the police straight away.
Damage to the course or to borrowed equipment
If you drive a hired buggy into a bunker or damage a green, these are items in your had in your care. They fall under the care, custody and control exclusion on the AVP and are not covered. The same applies to a borrowed club that breaks. Check the club's hire terms to see which risk is placed on you.
What golf on a liability policy does not solve
Outside the cover are intent (Article 7:952 DCC), damage while playing sport professionally or giving paid lessons, and damage caused with a motor vehicle, including a motorised buggy on the public road; the compulsory insurance requirement of Article 2 WAM applies to that. Likewise, wear and breakage through normal use of your own clubs is not insurable damage.
Golf trips and cover abroad
If you take the set abroad, check whether the luggage cover on your travel insurance includes sports equipment and what maximum applies to it; for expensive equipment that is often lower than people think. Damage or delay in carriage by an airline usually has to be claimed there first before an insurer comes into play.
What does your premium depend on?
- Value of the equipment — the replacement value of clubs, bag and electric trolley
- Type of cover chosen — liability only, or equipment and course damage as well
- Area of cover — the Netherlands, Europe or worldwide for golf trips
- Excess — a higher excess lowers the premium
- Family or single-person cover — whether more family members play on the course
- Claims history — earlier claims count towards acceptance and premium
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
What is covered
| Situation | Liability (AVP) | Golf equipment cover |
|---|---|---|
| Your slice goes through the window of a house alongside the course | Yes | No |
| Your electric trolley rolls off the path into a parked car | Yes | No |
| A fellow player drives the buggy over your driver | No | Yes |
| Your bag falls off the carrier and two shafts are bent | No | Yes |
| You strike your iron into the ground in frustration and the shaft buckles | No | No |
| Your golf watch goes missing between the clubhouse and the car park | No | Provided that |
Damage to someone else runs through liability, damage to your own set never does; that is the dividing line on which golf claims keep coming unstuck.
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
My ball hits a car in the car park. Who pays for that?
If you acted carelessly, you are liable under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code and the damage to that car falls in principle under your AVP. Report it to the owner and to your insurer, and do not admit liability of your own accord. If the car park lies so close to the course that the club failed to take adequate measures, the course owner may also have a part to play.
I hit a fellow player with my ball. Am I liable?
Not automatically. In sport and play a higher threshold applies, because participants accept a certain risk between themselves that goes with the game. An unfortunate shot therefore by no means always leads to liability. If you played the shot while you saw, or should have seen, that someone was within range, that defence does not hold and the insurer treats it as an ordinary tort.
Are my clubs insured through my home contents insurance?
At home, almost always. Away from home the cover is more limited: many policies apply a separate, lower maximum to possessions outside the home and strict requirements for theft from a car. If the value of your set is higher than that, separate golf or valuables cover is the way to go. Check the sub-limit on your policy schedule before you assume anything.
Is hole-in-one cover something for me?
That is not damage cover but a contribution towards the round of drinks that is customary at many courses. It has nothing to do with liability or with your equipment and is sometimes offered as part of golf insurance. Treat it as an extra and let your choice of policy depend on the liability and equipment cover, because that is where the real risks lie.