Insurers review implications of £1m damages claim.
Insurers are likely to tighten conditions on leisure policies and home contents insurance following a bouncy castle accident that left a teenager brain damaged, a UK law firm has warned.
Thirteen-year-old Sam Harris of Spalding, Lincolnshire, suffered a broken skull when he was kicked in the head by a 15-year-old during a party in Strood, Kent, in 2005.
Last week, a High Court judge ruled that the parents who hired the castle for their children’s party, Timothy and Catherine Perry, had not provided enough supervision.
Damages in the case are £1m and the couple is reportedly insured for the cost under home contents, though the insurer is not known.
Kathy Dwyer, a partner with Davies Lavery and an expert in sport and leisure claims, said there might be implications for home contents policies.
She said: “In relation to leisure policies, for example school fun days, or professional organisers who take out policies, insurers may be tighter on policy conditions. That’s because this case is saying that the level of supervision required is very high.
“Insurers are probably standing back while underwriters think about the implications of it.”
An Aviva spokesman said claims for such damages would be covered under home contents.
The spokesman added that Aviva offered £2m for liability cover as standard, which included negligence but not recklessness.
He added that pay-outs would depend on individual cases.
