BMac
Established Member
Folks,
The thread about home workshops and planning brought this to mind.
Some time ago, while I was attending a woodturning course in a local Further Education College, the matter of insurance arose. This is what happened when I followed up advice to tell my home insurers I had just bought a lathe.
Essentially, I was advised, in College, to inform my home insurer that I had a lathe because it was a valuable single item and, in the event of a theft or fire, it might not be replaced by my insurance company because they were unaware that they were insuring such an expensive machine - a bit like telling your insurer about precious jewellery and paintings etc.
So, I called my insurer and told them about the lathe and they asked what the rating on the machine was. I told them it was rated 'industrial' and they then told me that they would insure the lathe but not anyone who was using it unless they had been taught how to use a lathe at a recognised training provider like a Further Education College or workplace training programme.
When I told them my bro-in-law was already using it with me they asked was he trained to use a lathe and when I told them 'no' they said he was not insured for any harm that might result from using the lathe. I was stunned.
The conversation then turned to what might happen if he did have an accident that required hospital treatment or even left him unable to work any more. The insurance company told me they would not pay any compensation and that he might find his employer could refuse to give him sick pay and redundancy payment because they could consider his accident 'misadventure' - basically, doing something stupid, beyond your capabilities and that you should have known not to do because of the risks involved. Then, for the same reason, his health insurer could refuse to pay up, again using misadventure as the reason for refusal thus leaving me totally liable for his, and his family's, future financial welfare because I had allowed him to use the machine knowing he wasn't trained.
That conversation was with a firm in England at 4.15pm in the afternoon. The next morning I had a priority mail delivery with a letter stating exactly what we had talked about so they weren't giving me a chance to use a time gap as an excuse if there was an accident and I had nothing in writing. There was no extra charge for the lathe on my policy.
The bottom line was that anyone coming into my shop should treat the machines like those in an industrial setting and keep their hands off unless they were trained to use them and had my permission to do so.
Since that episode some of my turning buddies here have contacted their insurance companies and were told the same thing. One friend asked why his insurer was refusing to cover third parties and the underwriter told him it was because when things go wrong on a lathe the machine is relentless and can cause injuries way out of proportion to the initial accident or mistake.
I felt like a real dog having to tell my bro-in-law about the ruling but he was great. I still felt like a dog but, at the end of the day, I am responsible for what goes on in my workshop.
As for personal injury, that is not an issue because home insurance covers third parties and I (or anyone) am not insured in my own home so if I get hurt it's too bad.
Sorry for such a long post but I thought you might find it of interest.
The thread about home workshops and planning brought this to mind.
Some time ago, while I was attending a woodturning course in a local Further Education College, the matter of insurance arose. This is what happened when I followed up advice to tell my home insurers I had just bought a lathe.
Essentially, I was advised, in College, to inform my home insurer that I had a lathe because it was a valuable single item and, in the event of a theft or fire, it might not be replaced by my insurance company because they were unaware that they were insuring such an expensive machine - a bit like telling your insurer about precious jewellery and paintings etc.
So, I called my insurer and told them about the lathe and they asked what the rating on the machine was. I told them it was rated 'industrial' and they then told me that they would insure the lathe but not anyone who was using it unless they had been taught how to use a lathe at a recognised training provider like a Further Education College or workplace training programme.
When I told them my bro-in-law was already using it with me they asked was he trained to use a lathe and when I told them 'no' they said he was not insured for any harm that might result from using the lathe. I was stunned.
The conversation then turned to what might happen if he did have an accident that required hospital treatment or even left him unable to work any more. The insurance company told me they would not pay any compensation and that he might find his employer could refuse to give him sick pay and redundancy payment because they could consider his accident 'misadventure' - basically, doing something stupid, beyond your capabilities and that you should have known not to do because of the risks involved. Then, for the same reason, his health insurer could refuse to pay up, again using misadventure as the reason for refusal thus leaving me totally liable for his, and his family's, future financial welfare because I had allowed him to use the machine knowing he wasn't trained.
That conversation was with a firm in England at 4.15pm in the afternoon. The next morning I had a priority mail delivery with a letter stating exactly what we had talked about so they weren't giving me a chance to use a time gap as an excuse if there was an accident and I had nothing in writing. There was no extra charge for the lathe on my policy.
The bottom line was that anyone coming into my shop should treat the machines like those in an industrial setting and keep their hands off unless they were trained to use them and had my permission to do so.
Since that episode some of my turning buddies here have contacted their insurance companies and were told the same thing. One friend asked why his insurer was refusing to cover third parties and the underwriter told him it was because when things go wrong on a lathe the machine is relentless and can cause injuries way out of proportion to the initial accident or mistake.
I felt like a real dog having to tell my bro-in-law about the ruling but he was great. I still felt like a dog but, at the end of the day, I am responsible for what goes on in my workshop.
As for personal injury, that is not an issue because home insurance covers third parties and I (or anyone) am not insured in my own home so if I get hurt it's too bad.
Sorry for such a long post but I thought you might find it of interest.
