Travelers Tees Up Golf Course Claims

Imagine stepping into the tee box, concentrating on keeping your left arm straight and head down. You ease your driver into a backswing, drop the club face down, and listen to the crack of a golf ball taking flight. You look up and realize in horror that the ball is indeed traveling fast and far … as it hooks left into the parking lot full of BMWs, Mercedes, and Lincolns.

A scenario like this would seem commonplace — and the reason for many golf course insurance claims. But according to Travelers' recent study, there are other, more likely reasons for a course to make a call to its agent to report a claim.

For instance, fires account for just four percent of all claims made by courses, but they add up to 40 percent of property loss costs. According to Travelers, fires typically originate from electrical deficiencies in golf cart storage areas, often due to the use of improper chargers or lack of electrical capacity.

Next, Travelers said that slips, trips, and falls are more prevalent at golf courses because of the rolling terrain, water hazards, and various pathways and walkways. Combining severity and frequency slips, Travelers said that trips and falls have the largest impact on golf courses and are typically the most preventable.

Lastly, destruction from storms — including wind damage and inclement weather — make up 23 percent of total claim costs for golf courses. This is often due to falling tree limbs and leftover debris following a storm.

So be sure to still yell “Fore!” if you strike an errant ball, but you might want to make sure that you are a safe distance from the clubhouse, and standing on solid ground.