Well, at least you would have thought so.
A group of fourteen pensioners, their ages ranging between 70 years and 90 years, have been meeting each week for the past eight years for a few games of whist and a good old natter.
The players pay for the use of five tables in a small corner of the communal room at a sheltered housing complex of 20 flats at Neville Court, in the village of Heacham, Norfolk. Six of the players are residents of the complex.
However, enter ‘health and safety concerns’. As some of the players are visitors to the complex, they are now required to take out an insurance policy if they wish to continue their weekly sessions, the cheapest available being 250 pounds per year.
The housing association say they do not have the necessary 2 million pound public liability insurance to cover non-residents.
The rule concerning insurance has apparently been in force for many years but it was only when the current hire agreement was updated that they decided to do a check on various groups and their insurance cover.
If they don’t have the public liability insurance to cover non-residents, are general visitors to the complex, family of residents for example, required to produce an insurance policy before being allowed to enter?