Although it may not sound quite as exciting as Christmas or Easter, Insurance Awareness Day is close approaching on June 28th. The day serves as a reminder for smaller companies and organisations to review their insurance policy details, check that they’re up to date and ensure they are covered for what they need.
There is a phenomenal number of whacky insurances available to purchase. From “alien abduction insurance” to “body part insurance” and “death by laughter insurance”. We doubt that you will need any of these policies, so we’ll focus on more sensible advice for your organisation.
Smaller organisations may not be sure about the type of insurance they need or, it might be the case that renewal time comes around and you accept the first policy from your current provider, rather than shopping around.
Policy Types
Employers’ liability insurance is legally required if your association employs staff. You have the same duty of care for unpaid volunteers and while insurance is not legally required your organisation is at equal risk of being sued for injuries incurred while ‘on duty’. It is important to keep this in mind if you are part of a growing association – it may be time to update your policy if you have employed more members of staff, or if you’re growing and have just started to take on volunteers.
Public liability insurance provides cover if somebody is injured, or property is damaged at the fault of your association. Your insurance policy should cover the cost of legal fees and any compensation for the damage or injury.
Professional Indemnity must be included in your policy if you or your organisation give advice or provide a service, whether paid for or free of charge. This can usually be extended to include Trustee/Director/Officer insurance to protect your association against allegations of professional negligence or misconduct by members of your executive or board.
A less well known insurance is a fidelity guarantee policy which is designed to provide cover for fraud or dishonest acts by employees or volunteers. Whether or not this is relevant to you will depend to some extent on the size of your organisation, the autonomy of individuals (ie, opportunities for dishonesty) and your supervisory structures.
There is a plethora of other types of cover available for associations and it is important that you research what you require and which insurance provider suits your needs best:
- Property damage
- Legal representation and employment disputes
- Cyber and data risks
Renewal
It is always the quickest route to automatically renew your insurance with your existing provider, and at the price they dictate. In reality it is easier, but it’s much more beneficial to shop around insurance providers to see what other companies offer.
The price of insurance isn’t set in stone, it may be the case that your current provider has wiggle room and could apply a discount. This way you can get a better deal without the hassle of changing providers. The money you save could be reinvested to help make improvements within your association.
Cygnul provides a range of services for membership associations and not for profit organisations including finance, administrative, secretarial, support and events. Get in touch us on 01684 252055 or contact@cygnul.co.uk to enquire.
