A football club in Skerries is facing an uncertain future due to an ongoing dispute with its insurance provider over what has caused structural defects in its clubhouse.
The club claims the deterioration is a result of subsidence and drainage issues which are covered under its policy while the insurer has said the damage has been caused as a result of mica being used in some of the blockwork and that is not covered.
Karl Redmond is one of the volunteers who sits on the Skerries Town FC’s management committee and he said that the club’s “long history in the local community” is under threat as a result of the stand-off.
The club has around 750 members including senior men and women’s teams as well as juvenile teams for boys and girls.
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Mr Redmond described it as “a vibrant club” but said the expansion of the club was “not without its challenges [and] every new season we are trying to manage pitch availability for all our teams and meet the costs associated with running a sports club”.
The main pitch and clubhouse are in the centre of the town and they cater for the majority of the club’s activities.
“All possible revenue streams that include summer camps, kids parties, fundraising activities and our senior ladies and men’s home games are played on our main pitch but unfortunately around two years ago we noted cracking to the side of the clubhouse. We immediately notified our Aviva our insurer of the structural damage and sought their advice.”
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The club was told to commission “various expert reports in order for Aviva to consider our claim” which it did at “great expense”.
It collected several expert reports from two engineers, soil experts and a drainage expert which were submitted as part of the claim.
He said the evidence “confirmed the damage to the clubhouse was as a result of subsidence, effectively due to the deterioration in the drainage system and this was creating additional pressure to the structure of the clubhouse”.
He said that Aviva “eventually commissioned their own expert report which involved one engineer’s report and concluded that certain blocks in the clubhouse are defective and contain mica”.
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He said the experts the club had commissioned “dispute this finding” and added that Aviva “have failed to engage with us. This has resulted in devastating consequences to the club financially and operationally”.
He said it was difficult for the club to make plans for any future initiatives”.
Mr Redmond, who described the club’s financial situation as “dire”, said it was “extraordinary that having always met our obligations as a club to have the necessary cover in place, we have simply been left in limbo”.
He said that the insurance company had agreed to renew their policy this month while making it clear that there was no resolution to the outstanding claim.
He warned that the management committee “may have no option but to close the clubhouse [and] that will result in the likely scenario that the club will fold leaving approximately 750 footballers (mainly children) with no local club”.
Responding to The Irish Times on the matter, Aviva Insurance said its priority was “always to support customers when they need us most”.
“While we do not comment on individual customer cases, we understand how distressing and disruptive property damage can be – particularly for community organisations that play such a vital role in local life.
“We assess each claim carefully and fairly, based on the terms and conditions of the policy and the evidence provided. In some cases, further information or expert input may be required to reach a conclusion.
“Insurance policies seek to provide cover for specified events that cause loss or damage to the property insured, and our obligation to make any payment under the policy is dependent on one of these insured perils occurring. Section 7.6 of the Consumer Protection Code obliges all insurers to endeavour to verify the validity of a claim before deciding on its outcome. This means that we must first be satisfied that any damages claimed occurred, and that the cause of the damage is covered by the policy.”
Earlier this week Mr Redmond expressed dismay at the insurance company’s refusal to engage with the club and said its offers to engage in a mediation process had to date not been accepted by Aviva.
