By CroquetClaude · 7 min read
What your insurance covers
Clubs affiliated with CAQ are covered by Croquet Australia's National Insurance Program, arranged by V-Insurance. The 2026 policy year in plain terms.
Clubs are insured through Croquet Australia's National Insurance Program, arranged by the broker V-Insurance Group. It comes with affiliation. It is not a CAQ policy.
V-Insurance 24-hour help: 1300 172 321 or +61 2 8599 8660.
The broker's summary says: "do not admit liability under any circumstances. Contact V-Insurance Group immediately to notify any incidents."
The figures below are for the 2026 policy year. The programme ends on 31 December 2026 and may change at renewal.
This guide is for committee members and volunteers who want to know what the club's insurance covers and who to ring when something goes wrong.
How clubs do it
- Someone is hurt at a club event or on club grounds, a member threatens legal action, a lawyer's letter arrives, a government body makes contact, or a committee member is named in a legal document: clubs ring V-Insurance on 1300 172 321 or email sports@vinsurancegroup.com.
- On the call, clubs give the club's name, say it is affiliated with CAQ, and describe what happened. V-Insurance logs it and gives a reference number.
- For a liability matter, the broker's summary says not to admit liability.
- For a Personal Accident claim, the summary says the claim form's declaration "needs to be signed by your Club".
- V-Insurance may ask for the incident report, photos and witness statements. The How to Make a Claim page has the forms.
Who insures the club
The V-Insurance Clubs Summary of Cover 2025/2026 says the programme "covers Croquet Australia and all State/Territory, all affiliated Clubs". V-Insurance Group is the broker, not the insurer. The cover "commenced on 31 December 2025 and expires on 31 December 2026".
The main covers, 2026 policy year
| Cover | What it is for | Limit | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public and Products Liability | When the club is "held liable for a negligent act", such as a visitor hurt on club grounds through the club's fault | Up to $20 million | $500 |
| Professional Indemnity | Coaches and officials | Up to $20 million | $500 |
| Personal Accident for volunteers | Non-Medicare medical costs at 85% up to $1,500; lost income at 85% up to $250 a week (after 7 days, up to 52 weeks); set amounts for death and for paraplegia or quadriplegia | As listed | $50 a claim (nil with private health cover) |
| Association Liability: Directors and Officers (D&O), plus Professional Indemnity, Employment Practices and Crime | Claims against the club or committee about how the club is run | $2 million a claim and $2 million in total for the whole period; Crime up to $500,000 | $1,000 ($5,000 for employment practices, statutory liability and crime) |
A member's own injury in play comes under Personal Accident cover, not Public Liability. The V-Insurance FAQ says Personal Accident "covers you for injuries you sustain while participating in insured Croquet related activities", and that it cannot pay for anything Medicare covers, including the gap. The member cover is set out in the Individuals Summary of Cover 2025/2026.
Volunteers also have a personal protection in law, separate from insurance: s.39 of the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld). See the guide Civil Liability Act: volunteer protection.
What the programme does not include
The Clubs Summary says "Your club may need additional insurance" for property, workers' compensation, events and travel. The What is Covered? page lists these as not automatically available: fire and perils, machinery and electronic equipment, property and equipment, money, deterioration of stock, CTP, motor vehicles and workers' compensation.
WorkCover Queensland says: "In Queensland, if you employ workers, you must cover them for work-related injury or illness with an Accident Insurance Policy." It also says: "You don't have to cover volunteers."
When paying a member for work can make them a worker is in Paying people at a club.
A club can download its own Certificate of Currency from V-Insurance's Certificate of Currency page by choosing its state and club name.
What the broker's summary does not answer
The summaries are not the policy wording. The wording is not public: the Document Downloads page says to "contact Croquet Australia or V Insurance Group directly" for a copy. These questions need the wording, so V-Insurance is the one to ask:
- what the exclusions are (the summary lists Crime cover, so a flat "fraud is not covered" may not be right)
- what happens if a club gives notice late
- whether a volunteer who is not a registered member is covered (the volunteer section says "members aged 2-101")
- whether every club in Australia shares the $2 million D&O total
- whether there is any cyber cover.
Where this comes from
- V-Insurance, Clubs Summary of Cover 2025/2026 (Feb 2026): who is insured, limits, excesses, phone numbers, claims rule, other insurance
- V-Insurance, Individuals Summary of Cover 2025/2026: members' Personal Accident cover
- V-Insurance, Frequently Asked Questions: Personal Accident and Medicare
- V-Insurance, How to Make a Claim
- V-Insurance, What is Covered?
- V-Insurance, Document Downloads: policy wording on request
- V-Insurance, Certificate of Currency
- WorkCover Queensland, Who your policy needs to cover (updated 29 Jun 2026)
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), s.39: volunteer protection
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