Is this the end of Area Groups?

[Jac]

As Secretary of the Mid Wales and Shrops Group, I have been labouring under the misapprehension that the DCS insurance covers us liability wise for Group meetings. Not so, if you offer to host a meeting at your place then you are personally liable if someone gets injured.

[domsmith]

We notify NFU of any meetings and tours and they are ok about it. open farm sunday etc all covered as part of our policy.

have a word with your insurer

dominic

[Saffy]

What an excellent idea.

Stephanie

[Jac]

I am not saying that you wouldn't get cover on an individual basis. What I am saying is that I have not made it clear to members of our Group that they are personally liable. I have been round the insurance loop with farm visits myself and if you do not specifically dot the I's and cross the t's with 'risk assessments' etc you may find that you have laid yourself open to being sued. Will I offer to host a meeting in the future? Probably not.

How many people who keep their Dexters as pets??? have informed their insurance company?

[Jac]

We notify NFU of any meetings and tours and they are ok about it. open farm sunday etc all covered as part of our policy.

have a word with your insurer

dominic

I would say Dominic that I am very wary of what brokers say to your face or on the telephone. It is only when you ask them to put it in writing or write to the the underwriters direct that you find out what cover is 'actually' provided. You can even have the policy document in front of you and what is written there in black and white can be 'open to interpretation' - and not in your favour either!

[Duncan MacIntyre]

I would sincerely hope that cheap insurance is not the motivation behind most Dexter Groups. The DCS and regional groups should have a symbiotic relationship, with lots of mutual benefits which may be difficult to define. Every breed needs a healthy breed society and local groups are to my mind a necessary part of this. There needs to be good communication between all levels in any society and groups help ensure this - or they should if they are functioning well.

Current DCS council is mindful of this and is currently embarking on a programme of synchronising council meetings with get togethers with local members, the first such being in Exeter in March.

I am pleased to say the Scottish Group managed to have a meeting on Sunday 26th Feb after a gap of many years. We decided to reform ourelves and to maintain affiliation to DCS and the new group constitiution was approved. We had 18 at the meeting, I think the largest ever of Dexter owners in Scotland, and got a committee of 6 without any arm twisting. Only two of our committee are previous members, I felt it was a good sign for the future and I feel much more optomistic about the Scottish Group than I have for some time. It is not easy with so few potential members and such big distances. We had members from 4 different islands present, some from Perthshire and some from the borders (both sides).

Rant over, but if anyone has any isssues about groups they should take it up with DCS Council, either as individuals or via their group.

Duncan

[Jac]

Insurance isn't the motivation behind being involved with the DCS but officials (Group Committees) who arrange meetings of an educational nature for those new to Dexters (like halter training, foot trimming, preparing cows for the show ring etc) need to protect themselves from the risk of litigation.

If anyone thinks that they might be affected by organising or hosting a meeting please get in touch with Sue Archer in the DCS office for further clarification of their insurance liabilities.