Charity Insurance - What Do I Need?

A charity or voluntary organisation has different needs to a traditional business or commercial venture, and therefore you would expect that the needs from an insurance perspective are much different. Here is a brief list of important points to make sure you have considered when arranging insurance coverage for your charity or voluntary organisation.

What you need to consider: -

What is the Charity / Voluntary organisation responsible for?

• Are you responsible for the building that you occupy; do you have contents in the building; do you have employee’s or volunteers that you are responsible for; do you have a membership that you provide a service to; do you sell items that you make? This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you a small idea of the factors involved in charity / voluntary organisation insurance.

• Each of these responsibilities or ‘risks’ can be insured. As an organisation you will need to consider which ‘risks’ you wish to carry yourself and which ‘risks’ you wish to transfer to an insurance company.

Who will help you to make those decisions and how do you find an insurance company?

• Insurance is a complicated subject. You should work with a reputable professional insurance broker who can advise you on the covers that you are legally required to have; on the covers that are vital in protecting your organisation and the covers that you should seriously consider.

• Your broker will be able to find a policy or policies that meet all of those requirements underwritten by a financially stable insurance company or companies depending upon expertise.

How do you choose an Insurance Broker?

• It is tempting to select the broker that produces the cheapest quotation, or the company that delivers the most professional presentation. Sometimes using these criteria proves to be successful, but all too often there is disappointment with the actual results delivered by the appointed broker. Look for a broker who has expertise of working with Charities and ask to see some testimonials.

What should you expect an Insurance Broker to do?

• To develop a thorough understanding of your organisation

• Present your organisation to insurers in the most professional way to ensure a favourable response from underwriters.

• Secure appropriate cover for your organisation at sustainable best value premiums with a reputable insurance company.

• Provide first class personal professional support to your organisation whether responding to day-to-day queries or advising on risk management issues.

• In the event of a loss, your broker should track the progress of your claim to ensure that it is resolved with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption to you and your organisation.

BJK Insurance, part of the Giles Insurance Brokers group, are specialist charity, voluntary group and minibus insurance providers and have built an excellent reputation over the past twenty-five years.