British Holiday and Home Parks Chairmans Foreword

Below is an extract from the Compass September 2007 Newsletter

Dear BH & HPA Member,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to this edition of Compass News.

The summer of 2007 has presented some particular difficulties for BH & HPA members, not least due to the extreme weather that has impacted across the UK. During June and July, severe flooding affected member parks on the Yorkshire Coast, through Lincolnshire and significantly within the Heart of England, Thames and Chiltern branch areas.

Over 1,200 holiday homes have been written-off by these floods underlining once again the need to ensure appropriate insurance cover is in place on every park and for every home.

It is now approaching 30 years that the Association has worked in partnership with JLT Leisure and the Compass team to ensure the parks industry has access not only to the correct covers, but also to the specialist knowledge and experience required to respond effectively should disaster strike. Within this edition of Compass News, Gareth Birch, the Compass Schemes Managing Director recounts incidents faced by BH & HPA members and the work undertaken in conjunction with JLT to rebuild their businesses. These case studies provide important lessons in ensuring adequate preparation against the worst happening on individual parks.

It is clear that key to success in handling a major incident is a parks ability to remain in control of the claims process and to work through an insurance broker who is dedicated to close liaison with the park throughout the settlement process. Many new and untested insurance products have come onto the market offering cheap and purportedly hassle-free alternatives to the proven facilities available to members. However, as this edition of Compass News serves to underline, when it comes to securing the future of the park business, it is essential that BH & HPA members work actively to ensure their park and their customers are adequately and appropriately protected.

I trust that you will find Compass News both interesting and informative and on behalf of the Association, I would thank JLT Leisure for their continued support of BH & HPA and the parks industry, safeguarding the future of our park businesses.

Mike McCann
BH & HPA National Chairman