OL S JO U R N A L - Allianz

J O U R N A LS C H O O L S

Pupils Personal AccidentMeet our External Team

Record Keeping & Procedures

Pupils Personal AccidentMeet our External Team

Record Keeping & Procedures

2 EditorialWelcome to 2005.

3 Allianz Leagues 2005.And this year’s winners are…

3 Allianz Cumann na mBunscol NewsRound up of News from around the Country.

4 Meet our External TeamWe profile our restructured External Team.

5 Wave GoodbyeWe say goodbye to three valued colleagues.

6 Legal ReviewA review of recent legal judgements related to schools.

7 Advice - Professional IndemnityWe offer some insight into losswhich may arise out of allegations offaulty or wrongful advice.

7 Allianz at Opportunities 2005Allianz takes a stand with FÁS.

8 School SecurityEvery September, we receive anincreasing number of property damage notifications following there-opening of schools. We look atways to help prevent damage.

9 Forum for Reconciliation through EducationAllianz recently supported a conference on the promotion of reconciliation through education inLimavady, Co Down.

9 Allianz DES IPPN Bursary Awards 2005Michael Nolan presents the 2005 Awards.

10 Pupil Personal AccidentWe outline our Pupil PersonalAccident Scheme 2005/2006.

11 Record Keeping & ProceduresWe look at the need for schools to give on-going and detailed consideration to the issues of procedures and record keeping.

2 Allianz Schools Journal 01/05

Contents

Cover Picture:

Summer holidays and exams beckon

in the near future. Best of luck to all

who are sitting exams

Dear Friends

Now that the school year is drawing toa close and you are all no doubt lookingforward to the summer holidays, it may be an opportune time to highlight a number of issues that have beenraised with us by you over these lastfew months.

In our Legal Review Section we reviewa number of school claims that haverecently been settled in court. Wehighlight the importance for schools tocarefully check the accuracy of anyinformation or advice which they areproviding and the exposure to losswhich may arise out of allegations offaulty or wrongful advice.

We bid farewell to 3 colleagues whohave recently retired and introduce ourrestructured External Team.

On the Risk Management front, we include a timely reminder and recommend that you carry out a security check prior to the school closing for holiday periods.

We highlight the need to adopt appropriate procedures and recordkeeping, the resulting benefits wherethey are implemented and where theabsence of same can contribute adversely to claim settlements.

On the sponsorship side, we bring younews from around the country onCumann na mBunscoil, Allianz NationalLeagues, Forum for Reconciliationthrough Education and the Allianz DESIPPN Bursary Awards 2005.

You will also find details of our PupilPersonal Accident Insurance. We aredelighted to again allow a 20% premium discount to those policiesarranged through our web sitewww.allianz.ie/allscoil.

If there is any additional information wecan provide in relation to any of thearticles published, or indeed, if youhave any issue you wish to raise, pleasedo not hesitate to contact us.

If you have a query regarding yourschool insurance and wish to contact usby email, our address [email protected]. Please quote yourpolicy number in the subject title of theEmail. Our specialist school web site iswww.allianz.ie/allscoil.

You can also contact our EducationTeam on 01 613 3941 or your localAllianz Representative.

Yours sincerely

Michael NolanMember of the Board of Management

Allianz Leagues 2005

Allianz Schools Journal 01/05 3

This year’s Allianz Hurling & FootballLeagues were the most exciting in thepast few years. With the experimentalrules in place for the duration of theLeagues season, things were bound to beheated. Floodlit games were also moreevident this year and proved a big hitwith the fans. Here are all the winners:

Allianz Football League Division 1Champions 2005 – Armagh.

Allianz Hurling League Division 1Champions 2005 – Kilkenny.

Allianz Football League Division 2Champions 2005 – Monaghan.

Allianz Hurling League Division 2Champions 2005 – Offaly.

Allianz Hurling League Division 3Champions 2005 – Mayo.

Allianz Cumann namBunscol NewsAll the news from around the country.

SympathiesWe would like to send our sympathiesto the family and friends of Pat Trainorwho passed away recently. Pat was theTreasurer of the National Executive ofCumann na mBunscol. Ar dheis De goraibh a anam.

National NewsAllianz recently committed to being theNational Sponsor of Cumann namBunscol activity for the next threeyears. We also extended our sponsor-ship of the Allianz Football & Hurling

Leagues for another three years.Announcing the sponsorship extensionBrendan Murphy, Allianz Ireland ChiefExecutive said, “We are delighted withthis association which is now consoli-dated as one the most successful andlongest running sponsorships in GAA.The commitment by Allianz to theLeagues, and through the Cumann namBunscol initiative to the involvementof children in sport, are in keeping withthe policy of Allianz Ireland to con-tribute to the wider community.”

Ballboys and Quiz TimeCumann na mBunscol participants PaulCampbell, Shea Freeman, GerardDoherty and Ryan McCabe all fromArmagh were the ball boys at the recent

Allianz Football Match between Armaghand Kildare and they did a great job!

The annual Allianz Cumann namBunscol Ulster Primary School Quiztook place recently in Monaghan. Itproved to be a great success and allwho participated had a great time. ScoilIosagain from Buncrana were the even-tual winners and will go on to representUlster in the All Ireland Quiz Finals.

Camogie in DownThe Annual Indoor CamogieCompetition was held in March inDownpatrick, with the final between StMary’s, Kircubbin and St Patrick’s,Ballygalget. St Patricks proved the wor-thy winners in the end by 2 goals.

Kieran McGeeney, Armagh captain, lifts the National League

Division 1 Cup. Allianz National Football League, Division 1 Final,

Armagh v Wexford, Croke Park, Dublin.

Picture: David Maher/SPORTSFILE

Kilkenny captain Peter Barry lifts the cup. Allianz National Hurling

League, Division 1 Final, Clare v Kilkenny, Semple Stadium,

Thurles, Co. Tipperary.

Picture:Ray McManus/SPORTSFILE


Dave O’Sullivan ACIIDave takes over responsibility for development and customer relations inour Religious, Education and SocialInsurance Division. Dave’s role in thisposition includes consolidating the veryclose relationships enjoyed with ourReligious and Education Customers allover Ireland. In this re g a rd Dave headsup the team of Business DevelopmentExecutives who are profiled in this issue.Dave, a Dub, joined Allianz in 1980.Moving first to the Midlands and then inthe late 80’s to Dundalk as BranchM a n a g e r, over the last number of yearshas specialised in insurance for Religiousand Education Risks. Dave, an Associateof the Chart e red Insurance Institute, ism a rried and has 2 sons. His varied i n t e rests include football, hurling and golf.Phone: 087 2528016Email: dave.o'[email protected]

Ciaran WhelanCiaran, who commenced his insurancecareer in 1994, joined Allianz in June2000. Now married and living inSwords, Ciaran has a keen interest inGaelic Games and has representedDublin since 1996 winning an All Staraward in 1999. He commenced hispresent role in 2001 and is responsiblefor the Dioceses of Dublin, Meath,Armagh South, Ardagh & Clonmacnoise,Kilmore and Clogher South.Phone: 087 6382526Email: [email protected]

Shane Mooney ACIIShane who is based in our GalwayOffice joined Allianz in 1977 and hasworked mostly in the Religious, Education and Social InsuranceDivision. An Associate of the Chartered Institute, Shane is married with 2 children. He commenced his present role in 2001 and is responsible for the Dioceses of Tuam,Galway, Elphin, Clonfert, Achonryand KillalaPhone: 087 9190428Email: [email protected]

Assisting Ciaran and Shane in theNorthwest will be Mairead Mullins and Tom Brennan. Mairead and Tom are both based in our office in Sligo.

Tom BrennanPhone: 087 2528011Email: [email protected]

Mairead MullinsPhone: 087 2485065Email: [email protected]

Meet Our External TeamFollowing restructuring within our Religious, Education and Social Division, we profile our restructured external Team with a view to develop further our service to our Religious, Education and Social Customers throughout the country.

Brian Tobin ACIISince joining the company in 1973, Brian has worked with Allianz in both the U.K. and Dublin before re t u rning toCork in 1984. Brian is married and has 2 grown up children. He is the holderof 4 All Ireland hurling medals at minorand under 21 level and 2 Cork CountySenior Championships with Blackro c k .Brian is responsible for the Dioceses ofK e rry, Cork & Ross, Cloyne and Cashel & Emily.Phone: 087 2580779Email: [email protected]

Aidan WimsAidan joined Allianz in 1975. A nativeof Sligo, Aidan worked for a time in ourHead Office and moved to our CorkBranch in 1977. Since 1995 he hasworked full-time in the Religious,Education and Social Insurance Division.Aidan is married with 3 sons. He isresponsible for the Dioceses of Killaloeand Limerick. Aidan will also assist with

other Dioceses in the Southern RegionPhone: 087 2528012Email: [email protected]

Martin Sinnott ACIIMartin is presently based in ourKilkenny Office. Until recently Martinhas been working as a CommercialBusiness Development Executive and islooking forward to his new role in theReligious, Education and SocialInsurance Division. Martin, who is anAssociate of the Chartered InsuranceInstitute, is married with 1 son. He isresponsible for the Dioceses of Kildare& Leighlin, Ferns, Ossory and Waterford & Lismore.Phone: 087 6862329Email: [email protected]

Our Business Development Executivesare there to provide advice and guidance on insurance or risk management issues and will be delighted to hear from you.

In addition our dedicated Religious,Education and Social Insurance Te a mwill continue to further develop our s e rvice to you under the leadership ofM a ry O’Brien.

Telephone: 01 613 3941Email: [email protected] School Website:www.allianz.ie/allscoil


Wave GoodbyeAfter many year’s loyal service with theg roup we must re g retfully say goodbye tot h ree of our colleagues. They have nowdecided that it is time to hand in theirnotepads and concentrate on their fami-lies and individual personal intere s t s .

Michael ConcannonMichael worked in the insurance indus-try in the U.K. for fifteen years beforereturning to Ireland in 1978 when hewas appointed inspector at our GalwayBranch. In 1985 he became BranchManager. Since 1994 he has workedfull-time in the Religious, Education andSocial Insurance Division.

Sean O’DwyerSean joined the group in 1967 andworked in the South-East and in Dublinuntil 1973 when he moved to anothercompany. He rejoined the group in1980 and since then has worked mainlyin the Waterford and Kilkenny areas.Since 1995 he has devoted all his timeto the Religious, Education and SocialInsurance Division.

Liam ScallyLiam joined the group in 1965 and wasbased in his native Tullamore until thelate seventies. Following a year inKilkenny he moved to the SalesDepartment in Head Office in 1979. In2001 he returned to Tullamore as aBusiness Development Executive andfor the past number of years has beenworking exclusively in theReligious,Education and Social Division.

We would like to take this opportunityto wish Michael, Sean and Liam manylong and happy years of retirement andto thank them for the years of loyalservice they have given the group.

Legal ReviewWe continue our review ofsome school accidents whichhave been settled in the High& Circuit Courts in the last 6 months.

CASE 1:The plaintiff was 6 years at time of acci-dent. He was running and collided withanother pupil in an area where there waskerbing constructed by concrete bre e z eblocks. He fell backwards onto a row ofsharp breeze blocks and sustained ani n j u ry to his left kidney resulting in 11%loss of function. There was no issue overthe actual initial collision between thetwo pupils. The plaintiff's case was thatb reeze blocks were sharp and unsuitablefor the purposes of kerbing.

By way of background this was a twoteacher school with no funding toupgrade the grounds. It was the parents who carried out the work. Ourengineering evidence was strong andwas to the effect that the edge of theblocks were not sharp and did notincrease the severity of the injury.Case heard by Judge Gilligan whoawarded a40,000 to the plaintiff.

CASE 2: Two Primary School pupils collidedwhilst running. Plaintiff’s nose was broken by other pupils forehead. CircuitCourt awarded a12,697. This wasappealed and case was dismissed on thebasis that nothing could have been doneto avoid accident.

CASE 3: The plaintiff , a six year old was injure din the classroom when hit in the eye by apencil which was catapulted by anotherpupil using a rubber band. He sustained a

penetrating injury to his eye. The accident happened while the pupils were eating their lunch. There was a teacher inthe classroom. The Judge re f e rred to the“loco parentis” rule in assessing the s t a n d a rd of care owed to the pupil anddismissed the claim. The issue of costswas re s e rved for another date and weresubsequently awarded against the plaintiff .

CASE 4:On 2/3/99 the plaintiff, then 17 yearswas injured during PE class. He was p a rticipating in a game of indoor 5 a-sidefootball. There were 2 games taking places i m u l t a n e o u s l y. The plaintiff, a gifted foot-b a l l e r, twisted his knee while going forthe ball. He sustained a complete tear tohis right cruciate ligament. High Courtp roceedings were issued alleging over-c rowding in the P.E. hall. A full defencewas filed. Prior to trial date the plaintiffa g reed to withdraw his claim on the basisthat we do not pursue him for costs.

CASE 5:Child fell in school. Dental injury,three teeth broken may need root canal,will need cosmetic treatment andrestoration. Case partially heard byJudge O’Hagan, we settled for a7000.

CASE 6:Pupil tripped and fell and was trampledby another pupil. Angulated fracture tothe right arm. Full recovery. Liability inissue. Judge Moran ruled on a500 anda605 for costs.

CASE 7:Whilst teacher was out of classroom fora few minutes, dispute between twostudents started with name calling, thenpunches ending in one stabbing anotherwith a penknife brought to school in hisschoolbag. Case settled for a22,500.The Claimant claimed for a 1.5cm scaron his buttock and psychologicalinjuries which, the judge had commented, were very serious.


TeachersDiscriminationClaim Settled

D uring an interview process ofappointing a new Principal, afemale teacher at the Primary

School who applied for the positionalleged she was asked discriminatoryquestions. The teacher also allegedthat confidentiality of the interviewprocess was breached. Because ofirregularities alleged, the process wasre-run and a second set of interviewstook place. A different candidate wasrecommended to the one chosen inthe earlier interview. No appointmentwas made following the second roundof interviews and it was necessary tohold a third round of interviews andon this occasion the successful candidate was appointed. The unsuccessful teacher made a complaint under the EmploymentEquality Act 1998 alleging that shewas discriminated against on thegrounds of gender and marital status.

The Equality Officer found in herfavour and awarded her a10,000 ascompensation for the loss suffered asa result of the discriminatory ques-tions asked at the first interview.Surprisingly, the Equality Officer alsoawarded the maximum possibleaward of two years salary as compensation for the victimisationwhich she found the teacher had suffered. Interest of 8% on the fullaward was also awarded.

The school appealed the severity of the award to the Labour Courtand following negotiations settled the teachers claim in the sum of a25,000.

I n this particular case a pupil in a primary school sustained dentalinjuries as a result of an accident in

the schoolyard. Some initial dental workwas carried out, however the dentistadvised that further work would beneeded when the child reached the ageof eighteen. It was estimated that theoverall cost of dental treatment wouldexceed a10,000. A Civil Bill allegingnegligence on the grounds of lack ofsupervision was issued, however it wasconsidered that the School had a gooddefence to this aspect of the claim.

In addition, it was alleged by the parents that they had been misinformedby the School in relation to the natureand extent of cover for dental expenseswhich had been affected by the Schoolunder a Pupil Personal Accident (PA)policy. The PA policy in question, whichwas not an Allianz policy, restricteddental and medical expenses to a maximum period of two years after anaccident (The Allianz Pupil PA policydoes not contain such a restriction – seeseparate feature in this newsletter fordetails of the Allianz PA cover).

Unfortunately a letter sent by theSchool to the parents purported to coverall dental injuries and did not mentionthe 2-year limit which applied to suchclaims. A legal opinion was obtained inwhich Counsel expressed the view thata court would in all probability find thatwrongful advice had been given by theschool. The claim for wrongful advicewas therefore agreed and settled inaccordance with legal advice. The ultimate cost of the claim – dentalexpenses plus incurred legal costs – islikely to exceed a20,000.

This case clearly demonstrates howimportant it is for Schools to carefullycheck any information which they areproviding to ensure that it is accurateand not in any way misleading or capable of misinterpretation.Appropriate procedures in this regardshould be implemented by all Schools.With regard to issues in relation toinsurance cover, you should contact ourEducation Team on 01 613 3941 oryour local Allianz representative.


Allianz at Opportunities 2005

OPPORTUNITIES 2005, Europe’slargest careers, education and skills fair,was officially opened by the Minister forTrade and Employment, Micheál MartinT.D., on Friday 14th January 2005. Inexcess of 85,000 people attended the 4 day event. Allianz Ireland used thefair to establish a ‘Talent Pool’ whichmay be accessed as vacancies arise overthe next 12 months. Opportunities2005 is organised by FÁS and sponsored by the Irish Independent.

Pictured at the Exhibitors’ Reception:

President Mary McAleese;

Michael Carr, Director HR, Allianz Ireland;

Brendan Murphy, Group CEO, Allianz Ireland.

Advice – Professional Indemnity

Exposure to loss arising out of allegations of faulty or wrongfuladvice by Schools/Boards of Management can arise under many headings, not all of which are directly related to the “educational” aspects of the school. A recent claim regarding theprovision of “advise” by a school in relation to insurance coverhighlights this issue.


W e would thereforerecommend that you carryout a security check prior to

the school closing for holiday periods.The following areas should receive particular attention:

• All exit doors, windows and skylights should be securely locked. Limit the number of keyholders to senior personnel only andensure that all keys are removedfrom the premises when they areunoccupied.

• All valuable equipment should beout of sight and if possible stored instrong rooms, particularly duringholiday periods.

• I n t e rnal doors should be left unlockedwith the exception of fire doors.

• Keep yards and grounds free frommaterials that could be used asammunition. Loose materials leftoutside the buildings can be used forarson and vandalism i.e. waste leftin rubbish bins and skips.

• Coat scalable walls and drain pipeswith anti climb paint.

• Ensure that external lighting is inworking order. The advantages ofexternal lighting are twofold. It illuminates pathways and car park-ing areas to enable authorised individuals see and move safelyaround the school grounds after darkwhilst denying intruders the cover ofdarkness by illuminating their accessroutes and target areas and thusmaking them visible to passers-byand neighbours.

• Water supply should be turned off atthe mains. All water taps should bechecked to ensure that they are fullyclosed. This is particularly importantduring winter holiday periods.

• Basketball rings, goal posts, playground and other such equipment likely to attract childrenshould be removed where practical.

• Ensure that any Burglar Alarms, FireAlarms and CCTV cameras havebeen activated.

• Regular patrols of the school buildings and grounds during holiday periods are recommended,as is the removal of any mail frompublic view.

• Cash is an attractive target. It shouldbe a firm rule that cash is not kepton the school premises overnightand particularly during weekends orholiday periods.

Management embraces the way inwhich activities of maintenance andhousekeeping are carried out. It is a factthat schools, which look neglected, aremore prone to vandalism, theft andarson. A good working relationshipwithin the school and local communityand well understood procedures arehighly effective in reducing losses at little or no cost. Security and Prevention require discipline. The best and most comprehensive burglaralarm and CCTV system is only effective if it is switched on.

Every September, we receive an increasing number of property damage notifications following the re-opening of Schools. As the school holidays are approaching, school buildings and grounds will inmost cases, not be used over the summer months.

Security in the School – a Timely Reminder


T he primary aim of the Conferencewas to enable Catholics inschools to consider how they,

individually and as a sector, couldembrace the ‘promotion of reconcilia-tion’ as a core principal of education.

The aims of the conference were:• To enable Catholic schools to

embrace a shared vision of the ro l ethey play in promoting re c o n c i l i a t i o nwithin their own communities and beyond

• To celebrate and disseminate good

practice ongoing within Catholic schools

• To identify and articulate the chal-lenges which Catholic schools facein the promotion of reconciliation

• To share with key partners the widercontribution which Catholic schoolscan make to the common good anda shared future

• To consider a context to promotefurther dialogue and development.

Over 300 people attended to hear anumber of key speekers including Archbishop Sean Brady, Primate of All

Ireland, Professor Gerald Grace,Director of the Centre for Research andDevelopment in Catholic Educationwithin the Institute of Education at theUniversity of London. Also speakingwas Rev Ian Willis, Secretary of theChurch of Ireland Board of Education(NI) and Dr Duncan Morrow, ChiefExecutive Officer of the NorthernIreland Community Relations Council.

Above from left:

Paul McCann, Allianz, Dave O’Sullivan, Allianz,

Bishop Donal McKeown (Main Orchestrator of Conference),

Adrian Toner, Head of Allianz Northern Ireland

PromotingReconciliationThroughEducationAllianz recently supported aconference on the promotionof reconciliation through education in Limavady,Co Down.

Congratulations to Siobhan Cairt ú i r,Gaelscoil na Rithe, Meath and MaryM c G a rry, Our Lady of Good CounselNational School Dublin who are thew o rthy recipients of the Allianz DESIPPN Bursary Aw a rds 2005. The Aw a rd sw e re presented at the IPPN AnnualC o n f e rence which was held in Dublinlast Febru a ry. Allianz has supported thisinitiative since it’s launch in 2000 andrecognises the importance of pro v i d i n g

o p p o rtunities for school leaders to pro-fessionally develop outside of Ireland.

The two winners will travel to Canada this summer on a research and study visit.

Pictured left to right: Michael Nolan, Member of the Board of

Management, Allianz, Mary McGarry, Príomhoide, Muire na Dea

Chomhairle Infants, Mourne Road, Drimnagh Dublin 12, Siobhán

Cairtúir, Príomhoide, Gaelscoil Na Ríthe, Domnach Seachnaill,

Meath and Minister Mary Hanafin, Minister for Education & Science

Allianz DES IPPN Bursary Awards 2005


E v e ryone loves to see children ru n-ning and playing, but every year anestimated 16,000 children re c e i v e

hospital treatment following an accidentin school, on the road or at home.

The resulting medical bills can be veryexpensive. As the leading provider ofinsurance for schools in Ireland, Allianzalso provides extensive Personal Accidentcover for pupils’ both in and out of school.

Our standard Pupil Personal AccidentScheme was launched to provide aseries of benefits, following non-culpableaccidents to pupils in schools or in con-nection with a school related activity.

For schools with personal accidentcover there is the “Peace of Mind” fac-tor for Parents, Teachers and Principalsthat the various benefits, in particularMedical/Dental expenses, resultingfrom an accident can be recoveredunder the policy. The standard covercan be extended to cover non-schoolrelated activities for a modest additionalcharge as outlined below.

For the last couple of years, we haveprovided a facility to submit details viaour schools web-sitewww.allianz.ie/allscoil. We acknowl-edge that arranging pupil personal acci-dent cover can be cumbersome andtime consuming and we are grateful forthe work done by Principals, SchoolSecretaries and Parents Associations inmaking this scheme the success it hasbeen over the years. In appreciation forwork done, we provide a 20% discountfor schools who arrange their cover viaour web-site. Alternatively, schools mayarrange cover in the normal manner butwill not be entitled to a 20% discount.

In order to arrange your Pupil PersonalAccident cover in September 2005 (pleaseidentify whether you fall into category 1,2 or 3 below and note the following):

1 Schools who have an existingpupil personal accident policywith Allianz and wish to renewtheir policy via our websitewww.allianz.ie/allscoil.A newsletter will be issued to you inthe near future, noting your existingpupil personal accident policy n u m b e r, detailing the pro c e d u re fora rranging cover on-line in September.

2 Schools who have an existingpupil personal accident policywith Allianz and do not wish touse our website.For schools who do not wish to availof the 20% discount via our web-site,you may arrange cover in the norm a lmanner by re t u rning your applicationand premium details via the postalsystem. Should you decide to pro-ceed on this basis you should contactus on 01 613 3900 to request appli-cation forms, so that you can for-w a rd to parents prior to September2005. Please note we will not beissuing application forms toschools who wish to submitdetails via our school web-site.

3 Schools who want to arrange apolicy with Allianz for first time.There are many schools throughoutthe country who may not have pre-viously arranged pupil personal acci-dent insurance. For schools whomay wish to arrange cover witheffect from September 2005 andavail of our 20% discount via ourwebsite, you may contact our

Education team on 01-613 3900who will be glad to assist you inarranging cover.

Please find below details of 2005 premiums for both Options whichremain unchanged from last year,together with details of benefits provided under the policy.

Option A – All PupilsTo avail of this option all pupils must beincluded and the level of cover must becommon to all pupils.School Activities only � a4 per pupil24 Hour Cover � a7 per pupil

Option B – Specified PupilsSchool Activities only � a5 per pupil24 Hour Cover � a8 per pupil

BenefitsBodily Injury Benefit (d)

Death 7,500

Total and irrecoverable loss of sight in one

eye or use of one limb by physical severance

at or above the wrist or ankle 75,000

Total and irrecoverable loss of hearing in

one ear 7,500

Total and irrecoverable loss of hearing in

both ears 50,000

Total and irrecoverable loss of sight in both

eyes or use of both limbs by physical severance

at or above the wrist or ankle or permanent total

disablement preventing the Pupil from gainful

employment of any and every kind 125,000

Medical surgical or dental charges including

hospital nursing treatment and ambulance hire

not recoverable from any other source 10,000

If you require more details in relation toour scheme, please contact ourEducation team on 01 –6133 900 oryour local Allianz Business Executive.

Pupil Personal Accident Insurance - 2005/2006


T he need for Schools to give ongoing and detailed considera-tion to the issues of pro c e d u re s

and re c o rd keeping has, particularly inrecent months, been a feature in relation to the settlement of a numberof legal liability claims under the following covers:• Employer’s Liability• Public Liability• Professional Indemnity• Employment Practices Liability

We have successfully defended claimswhere appropriate records were main-tained and procedures were preparedand actively pursued. Unfortunatelywe have also experienced situationswhere the absence of such recordsand procedures contributed adverselyto claim settlements, for example:• Absence of a Safety Statement (as

required by the Safety, Health &Welfare at Work Act).

• Absence or inappropriateness of policies and procedures in relationto issues such as Admissions,Bullying, Discipline, Equality, StaffAppointments etc

• Absence of written confirmationfrom the Department of Education & Science (DES) in relation to:• Temporary Teachers• Additional Teachers• Approval & Withdrawal of

Approval for Special NeedsAssistants

• Lack of clarity in relation toArrival & Dismissal of Pupils, AfterSchool Activities (games etc),School Trips & Supervision.

We appreciate that changes in legisla-tion, largely driven by the necessity tocomply with EU directives, and com-pliance with p ro c e d u res established bythe Depart m e n t of Education &

Science, increase demands on Schools.It is essential to bear in mind however,that compliance with such legislation is not optional – it is a legalre q u i rement. Non-compliance c a nexpose the School to the possibility ofthe incurrence of fines or penalties.F u rt h e rm o re, such non-compliancecan impact adversely on the settlementof claims.

The adoption and utilisation of sets ofappropriate procedures, includingre c o rd keeping, will result in benefits toSchools in a number of ways, such as:(a) Assist in ensuring the protection

of School assets.(b) Consistency of approach to

addressing issues and problems( c ) I m p roved quality of re c o rd keeping(d) Reduction in the number of

delays/queries(e) Reduction in costs/expenses(f) Improved level of defence in

claim situations.

B o a rds of Management should maintaina p p ropriate re c o rds of all discussions,meetings, agreements, etc. Appro v a l sf rom the D.E.S. should always bere c o rded in writing. The implementa-tion of such an approach by Boards ofManagement will be of considerablebenefit in avoiding any subsequent confusion or mis-understanding in relation to what should or should notbe done or what was agreed ora p p ro v e d . F u rt h e rm o re, as we have saide a r l i e r, in the event of any claims o c c u r-ring under the policy, the availability ofsuch re c o rds can be crucial to the suc-cess or otherwise of any defence.

With regard to the issue of insurancein relation to procedures and recordkeeping, the Allianz Custodian SchoolProtection Policy provides cover for

the legal liability of the School andthe Board of Management in respect of:• Bodily Injury to Employees –

(Employers Liability Insurance)• Accidental Bodily Injury to third

parties and accidental damage tothird party property – (PublicLiability Insurance).

• Breach of duty arising from anynegligent act error or omission,breach of warranty of trust or confidentiality, libel or slandercommitted in good faith –( P rofessional Indemnity Insurance).

• Claims arising out of WrongfulEmployment Practices(Employment Practices LiabilityInsurance)

all arising out of or in connectionwith a School Related Activitywhich is defined in the policy as:

“any activity usual to a schoolwhich is carried out with the fullknowledge and authority of andunder the control of the board ofm a n a g e m e n t / g o v e rnors of theSchool or of any other personspecifically authorised by them”

The policy cover is not dependent onor subject to the implementation ofp ro c e d u res, there f o re resulting legalliability attaching to the School and/orthe Board of Management is covere d ,subject as always to the terms, condi-tions, limitations and exclusions of theP o l i c y. H o w e v e r, the existence ofa p p ropriate pro c e d u res and writtenre c o rds will enhance the possibilitiesof successfully defending claims, thusreducing the cost of claims which, int u rn, will have a positive impact onp remiums. It is there f o re in all ouri n t e rests that Schools should give serious attention to the issues of p ro c e d u res and re c o rd keeping.

Procedures & Record Keeping

Documents

OL S JO U R N A L - Allianz