@mjray I imagine if you joined the conversation along the lines "If I don't have CTC membership but I do have XYZ..." the response maybe of been quite positive. It's a bit like ringing customer services and saying your product is xxxxx in the first sentence.........
actually, not. I spent untold hours looking in to insurance and every policy I looked in to with the exception of the CTC and LCC insurances (both Hiscox brokered by Butterworth Spengler) were pants. BC was a close call. This, that or the other (ETA, other, perfectly respectable, UK organisations, German organisations.....) were nowhere near.
So - for the avoidance of doubt.
1. It's a CTC affiliated club ride. It used to be a CTC Member Group (the Cheam and Morden) ride, but we got too big. The CTC gives the club officials £10M of cover for sixty quid a year. That's a really good deal - and if you don't believe me, spend the time to work out how much it would cost to do the same rides under BC rules (which would include helmets). I did ask the LCC, but, while they were happy to give us an award, the commercial side of it just didn't work for them.
2. Everybody has to have qualifying third party insurance - so that in the event that the organisers are blameless but one of you causes an injury to another one of you, there is a line of action.
3. It is completely wrong to suggest that the CTC's insurers will not meet a claim made by one member against another.
4. Given the amount of fun that lots of people have had thanks to the CTC's insurance cover I have absolutely no qualms about telling people that they have to join if they want to come on the ride. None whatsoever. If people don't like it they can do a BHF ride.
5. I do check on the CTC numbers if I'm not sure. One rider lied to me about his number and was told to sling his hook.
6. Mr. Jay does not get to come on the rides until he writes me a fulsome apology for timewasting. **** me, can you imagine the fuss and bother at wayfinding points? And, no, as Adrian will point out, I'm not a nice person.