Following a recent high-profile scam where the chairman of the British National Martial Arts Association (BNMAA) conned members out of around £180,000, the National Association of Karate and Martial Arts Schools (NAKMAS) is warning clubs of the importance of professional indemnity insurance cover.
Chairman of the now disbanded BNMAA, Paul Griffin, ran the organisation from his home, eventually being arrested and charged with embezzling insurance money from Amateur Martial Association members to the tune of around £180,000.
NAKMAS – the governing body for the sport -have extended a lifeline to former BNMAA members affected by the scam, but they are strongly urging clubs to get their own professional insurance. Without it, instructors could be vulnerable to lawsuits and members will struggle to get the compensation they are entitled to. This is not even to mention the fact that the fraudulent actions of BNMAA chairman could happen again.
The head of NAKMAS, Joe Ellis, has said:
“Thousands of martial arts enthusiasts who paid their insurance were uninsured under the BNMAA. If they had been injured during classes or in competition, they would not have been covered. Now they have been left stranded by the collapse of BNMAA.”