Guidance on Insurance

What type of insurance does your group need?

Any activity, including activities undertaken by volunteers, involves risk. Having insurance will not prevent things going wrong, but it can spread the burden of risk and compensate for any negative consequences if things do.

Every organisation, whatever its size, has a duty of care to its staff, both paid and unpaid, its service users and any members of the public coming into contract with it. The organisation can be held legally liable if things go wrong and must therefore ensure that it has insurance to protect both staff, paid or unpaid, and the organisation in terms of the following:

  • Loss or harm to staff, both paid and volunteer,(for example, a personal injury arising out of an assault by a service user) can result in claims by the volunteer against the organisation;
  • Loss or harm caused by staff, both paid and volunteer, (for example, theft from a service user by a volunteer) can result in claims from a third party both against the volunteer and the organisation.

What type of insurance?

The type of insurance and the level of cover required will depend on the exact nature of the tasks undertaken by the organisation and its staff, both paid and volunteer. The organisation will need detailed discussions with an independent insurance broker. The broker will need to know the number and ages of staff and volunteers, all the places where they will be working and the types of work they will be doing.

Public liability insurance

This covers against sums of compensation the organisation may be legally liable to pay. This could be loss or damage to third party property or injury to persons, other than employs. It is important that the policy refers specifically to volunteers. If the organisation is holding a one-off event like a festival, arrange specific cover.

Employer’s liability insurance

This covers claims for compensation by workers for injury or damage sustained during the course of employment. Volunteers are not employees, but they may not automatically be seen as third parties for public liability insurance either. It is therefore important that the policy refers specifically to volunteers.

Personal accident insurance

This provides payments to compensate for injury or death that occurs in the course of an organisations work, regardless of who is responsible (that is, no legal liability has to be proved). Although not compulsory, it is usually recemented, especially for volunteers working at a high risk of injury, such as voluntary outdoor pursuit instructors.

Professional indemnity insurance

Doctors, Lawyers, accountants and practitioners of similar job hold professional indemnity insurance to cover themselves against incorrectly given advice or services. Voluntary and community organisations may decide to take out cover for any paid staff and volunteers who give advice. However, it is quite costly and organisations must therefore ask whether it is truly needed.

Director liability insurance

If the organisation is set up as a company limited by guarantee, this type of insurance provides limited protection for company directors who are volunteers against the risk of personal liability arising from breach of trust. It does not cover losses as a result of illegal actions and is not the same as the organisations indemnifying itself against a loss to its funds resulting from the acts and defaults of its trustees.

Vehicle insurance

This is a legal requirement to cover against any claims arising out of an organisation having vehicles on the road. If the organisation owns the vehicles, it must ensure that any volunteer drivers are covered under the policy. If volunteers are using their own cars during volunteering, is important that their own insurance policy covers them for this. Most insurance companies extend cover to minimal or no cost. It is vital that the organisation holds written confirmation for the cover.

Finding the right policy

It is worth carrying out risk assessments on all volunteer roles before looking for (new) insurance to minimise risks and thus avoiding spiralling cots. Such assessments consist iof the following

  • Identify risks
  • Evaluate risks
  • Take steps to control risks
  • Review risks regularly.