CEO Update | September 2024

Over the past two years, the BMC has faced significant financial challenges, resulting in a substantial deficit of £625,000 in 2023. Since then, we have stabilised our organisation and are on track to achieve a small surplus by the end of this financial year as summarised in a previous update.

Increasing costs of Combined Liability Insurance

BMC Combined Liability Insurance has been a central part of our membership for over 35 years, providing assurance to clubs and individuals that cover is in place in the evert of major accidents or claims against members and clubs. The fact that all BMC members have liability insurance gives peace of mind to landowners, and this has underpinned many access agreements across England and Wales over the years; access to some sites is specifically dependant on this insurance.

As we plan for 2025 and beyond, the BMC face rising premium costs for our Combined Liability Insurance cover due to a second catastrophic claim (November 2023) in recent years. While we managed to absorb most of these costs in 2024, continuing to do so is not sustainable without making significant changes to member services.

To meet this rise in premiums, we propose the following Membership fee adjustments for 2025:

RPI Increase

A 3.60% increase based on the RPI (Retail Price Index) as of July 2024 for non-insurance related elements.

Combined Liability Insurance Cost Increase

An increase of £4.57 per member (£9.14 for families) to cover the rising cost of Combined Liability Insurance not covered by the RPI increase.

These proposed changes aim to distribute the insurance cost increase fairly across all members ensuring that we are able to operate sustainably while continuing to deliver our important services on behalf of the community.

More details into our service delivery, increasing costs and our proposed adjustments are explained in this video:

The BMC welcomes your thoughts on this proposal and invite you to submit feedback to office@thebmc.co.uk. Please provide your input by 2pm on Wednesday 18th September. A final decision on 2025 fees will be communicated to members by Monday 30th September 2024.

Members Forum | 11th September 2024

2025 membership fees were discussed at the recent members forum (11th September). The agenda also included a Q&A with Olympian Erin McNeice, and the announcement of our Volunteer Award Winners. See details and slides from the meeting here.