BGA MEMBERSHIP FAQs

It is an annual subscription and lasts for a 12 month period from the day you join.

7-10 days. Please contact us if you do not receive your Welcome Pack after this time period.

BGA membership is open to under 18 year olds. If you choose the Insurance Membership (Bronze, Silver or Platinum), then the parents name and date of birth will be required to complete the purchase. 

The BGA is not just about helping grooms who are unfortunately in not great employment situations.

We exist to offer career advice, representation and recognition of the brilliant job that grooms do.

Yes we can upgrade you at any point.

Please contact our Membership Officer on 07590 258907.

YES! The BGA has many high profile riders/employers as friends and fans of our work – incidentally they join all of their grooms.

If your boss does not wish for you to join your professional association, then please do consider if they are a good employer with your best career interests at heart.

Of course.

Anyone that works hands on with horses is welcome to join the BGA as we are the professional association for everyone. 

It is necessary for insurance purposes to confirm your status. Look at this chart to clarify: 

The BGA is an annual subscription and we do not give refunds if you decide to cancel part way through the year. However you can cancel your insurance providing you have not made a claim. You MUST inform the BGA before cancelling any direct debit, otherwise you may incur a fine and it can affect your credit rating.

It will cover you for all activities as a groom, including riding. (Please note it does not cover you if you are riding in a race.)

Read the key facts thoroughly.

There are three levels of cover to choose from, starting with Bronze and moving up to Platinum, the benefits of each of these cover options are outlined in the membership join area.

Your insurance cover will start as soon as you have completed the membership sign up and paid for your membership and insurance.

Unless you have a previous injury or illness, for which KBIS require further information, you will not need to do anything further. If you answer yes to any of the medical questions on the application form, KBIS will send you a medical form and cannot put you on cover until they receive this back and it has been sent to the underwriters, so please look out for this email.

If KBIS do require any further information then they will contact you directly. 

The monthly instalments are collected on the BGA’s/KBIS’ behalf by a company called Premium Credit.

Premium Credit apply an 8% charge to the premium to cover the costs of the agreement, this works out as an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 18.5% (for comparison). 

No because not all grooms require Public Liability insurance as many will fall under their employers’ combined liability policies. 

PL covers third party property damage or bodily injury that arises due to your negligence or legal liability. It is voluntary and so you must consider the risk of an accident involving someone else.

If the yard you work at has Public Liability you will possibly fall under it, but you should check.

The personal accident policies only covers you while you are at work and not at other times.

This limitation is implemented to keep the cost of insurance low.

When you complete the insurance membership sign up, you will be given the opportunity to increase your policy cover to include accidents (bodily injury) which occur while you are riding/handling your own horse(s) or any other form of personal recreational riding. 

Yes, the BGA personal accident policies provides you with world wide cover 24/7.

However, the policy does not include cover for repatriation (getting you home after an injury) or medical expenses.

It is important to purchase BGA Travel Insurance if you are working abroad, even it it is for a few days.

You should contact KBIS as soon as possible to advise them of the incident.

You can do this by phone on 01635 247474 (option 3) or email ask@kbis.co.uk.

KBIS will then send you a claim form and tell you what you will need to do next, including any further documentation that you may have to submit for your claim.

Your insurance policy can be cancelled, provided you haven’t made a claim.

If you paid by Credit/Debit card you will receive a pro-rata return of premium.

If you pay by direct debit your payments will be cancelled, however the cancellation date of your insurance may pre-date the date you instruct KBIS to cancel your policy due to the membership fee being payable in full. You MUST inform the BGA before cancelling any direct debit, otherwise you may incur a fine and it can affect your credit rating.

Don’t worry, KBIS will run through this with you, if you choose to cancel.