27-04-04

Outrage at insurance market

Corstorphine Fair, Edinburgh’s largest community run event today called for insurance premiums to be regulated for charities and associated events.

The Fair, which will be held on Saturday 5th June has approached several insurance companies to gain it's public liability insurance for the event to find that they were quoting excessive premiums, way beyond the payment means of many charities.

Ewan Irvine, vice chairperson of Corstorphine Fair said " I approached the same insurer as the last Fair and was shocked to find that the premium had risen by 1500%. How many charities can afford a premium of £14500 for staging a community fair or gala.

I am now in negotiations with an insurer to provide a more reasonable quotation but it seems that terrorism and the events of September 11th are being used as an excuse for inflating the cost of premiums."

Members of the Corstorphine Fair Committee have contacted their local MP, John Barrett, who has now tabled a number of parliamentary questions to the Chancellor on the issue.

Commenting, he said:

"Although the insurance market got turned upside down after September 11th, I fail to see how it justifies such a massive increase in public insurance costs.  In the case of the Corstorphine Fair, we are talking a rise of almost 1,500% in just two years!.

"The Government has already been looking into the impact of insurance costs on business.  They now need to widen this out to include the impact on community organisations and events.  It would be outrageous if events such as the Corstorphine Fair, events which are so important to the summer calendars of local communities, were put at risk for the sake of insurance company profits."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For more information please contact Ewan Irvine on 0131 476 5815 or John Barrett MP on 0131 339 0339.