Picnic needs £5 million public liability insurance

Posted on July 22^nd 2009

Local event organiser, Ian Blackwell, has just been asked to organise public liability insurance for over £5 million for one of Britain's most archetypal and dignified trademarks - the picnic! As part of the Eden projects, 'The Big Lunch', Blackwell wished to stage a simple picnic for the local community and to encourage interaction between neighbours. However, the local council told Blackwell that should he wish to have this picnic he will have to secure public liability insurance for the event to go ahead.

The event organiser dutifully rang up his insurance providers in order to secure cover, who were equally as baffled as Blackwell, considering the picnic to be a 'low' risk; eventually, cover was secured for the premium of £70.

However as Totnes Town Council in Devon explained the insurance was to cover the event organiser should any misfortunate accidents occur; Blackwell on the other hand found it hard to imagine what accidents could transpire as no particularly treacherous activities had been planned. "The worst" he imagined, "that could happen, would be someone choking on a chicken bone or being stung by a wasp."

To add to the dubious liability insurance request, Blackwell had checked that should the picnic of been a birthday party in the park, individuals would have been responsible for their own actions.

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