Tourist guides may not realise the extent to which they are liable for any harm that may befall tourists while under their care. Sue van Winsen investigates.

Tourist guides are at the front line of the travel experience. Often, they are the ones to make or break a holiday – and a positive experience is likely to result in lifelong memories for those with whom they interact. However, the flipside, is that if things go wrong, it is very likely that a costly legal battle could ensue – especially if the tourist feels that a crisis could have potentially been averted.

According to CEO of SATIB, Gavin Courtenay, tourist guides have a duty to conform to reasonable standards of care. “For example, could the tour guide have foreseen the possibility of his or her conduct injuring another? And, if so, could steps have been put in place to guard against this danger? And furthermore, did the tour guide take the steps in question? If not, the tour guide would probably be considered negligent,” he says.

Courtenay adds that, in the tourism industry, most claims that give rise to liability are personal injury claims. “It is also possible for a liability to arise under circumstances where no first aid is available or no proper evacuation plan is in existence.”

Discussing examples of the type of personal injury claims that SATIB most regularly deals with, Courtenay says most commonly they see cases arise from guides conducting specific wild animal interactions with guests, for example leading guests on Big Five game-related activities. He says claims from guides leading adventure-related activities are also quite regularly seen.

Usually, claims arise when a guide has been involved in an incident that has resulted in a guest suffering an injury or a loss. The tourist usually initiates legal proceedings, with the intention of seeking compensation for this injury or loss.

“It is therefore critical that all self-employed guides carry their own liability insurance cover, and guides in full-time employment make sure that their employer carries adequate liability insurance cover that extends to cover actions of all staff members,” he says.

There are several key questions guides can ask of their employers, or their insurance company, to ensure that they are adequately covered should the worst-case scenario happen. According to Courtenay, some of the critical issues to cover include:

• Is the risk cover substantial enough to ensure personal and business security?
• In the case of overland trips, does your cover extend to guides operating outside the borders of South Africa?
• Are there any policy cover exclusions or cover conditions? For example, if you are a guide conducting unique activities such as adventure excursions within a Big Five reserve, or any other adrenaline-type experiences, you need to ensure that your cover extends to these types of activities.
• Ask about the policy excess structure, and find out how it will be applied.
• Guides should look at the value-adds offered by a specific policy. In particular, does it include credible specialist incident management services provided by their insurers? In the event of a serious emergency, having credible and effective assistance that can be immediately called on is priceless and in many instances will significantly reduce the possibility of a bad outcome and potentially later legal action against the guide or adverse publicity.

Discussing the insurance solutions offered by SATIB, Courtenay explained that the company offered a specialised tour guides policy, where its clients were able to access their policy, claims, transaction history and download their insurance cover certificates directly through an online portal. “This puts guides in direct control of their insurance coverage at all times,” he says. “In addition to this, all clients have access to SATIB24 incident management service, where emergency services and professional medical assistance are made available 24/7.”