• What would happen to your organisation if it suffered a serious loss, which you found out wasn't insured?
• Would your funds be able to cover the loss?
• Would your trustees be personally liable for loss?
As a specialist insurance broker, Unity Insurance Services knows this could have a devastating effect on your youth group or children's charity In the worst cases, you may have to close, or cut back or stop your core activities.
The loss may not only be the cost of replacing physical assets such as buildings and equipment, but also the loss of income while these are replaced. It could also be the cost of medical expenses following an accident.
The costs of claims made against your organisation could be damaging, both in terms of finance and reputation.
Your risks can be reduced but not removed
Always start with risk management, identifying the risks associated with your operation, and how they can be managed. But risk assessment alone only goes so far. You can minimise the risks, but in some cases you do not want to or cannot eliminate the risk completely, e.g. outdoor residential courses to develop young people's skills and con dence or family hosting schemes.
Also, some risks are outside your control. Insurance can mitigate those risks you cannot completely control or remove. Insurance safeguards individuals, organisations and/or their property against the risk of loss, damage or theft, accidents or liability claims.
Your legal requirements
Some types of insurance cover are required by law. If you employ people or own motor vehicles, you must take out the necessary insurance. Anyone who is an employer must have Employers' Liability to cover a claim for injury to an employee. Just like running your own car, motor insurance for youth groups and children's charities is a legal necessity. Every organisation that owns, leases or uses vehicles must have a minimum of third party cover.
Your liabilities and claims made against your organisation
If you interact with the public, you would need to cover the cost of compensation if they suffered a death, injury or damage to property caused by the negligence of your staff, volunteers or members. Also, if you provide advice or guidance, people could claim compensation if they consider your advice caused them to lose money. Even if the claim is unfounded you may have to defend the allegations made against you in court. Without liability insurance you would have to nd this money from your funds.
Examples where youth charities may face negligence claims:
If you take children on an outing and they damage someone's property.
You may be training children in sports and instruct them incorrectly, causing them an injury.
You may be advising on training or bene ts young people are entitled to and advise them incorrectly causing them to lose out nancially directly or indirectly.
How essential is liability cover?
While public liability insurance is not a legal requirement, in an increasingly litigious society people are encouraged to seek compensation. A lawsuit can be stressful and expensive even if you are found not to have been negligent. The cost of defence and subsequent damages awarded could seriously hamper your nances. We therefore recommend every organisation - whether a charity, social enterprise or community interest group - has this cover.
In many situations you may be required to have public liability insurance to qualify for grants, funding or where you are providing public services, or even just wanting to lease, hire or use the premises of another organisation for your charity work.
If you give advice or provide training, you should consider professional indemnity cover, to protect against someone alleging that you have advised them incorrectly causing them a financial loss. If your activities involve any sort of rst aid you can include a treatment extension in the policy to cover physical harm caused from your professional negligence.
A visitor to a charity's offices slipped in the car park. The charity is sued for injury and broken glasses. The charity's insurance provider handled the claim from start to finish, interacting with the claimant and financing legal advice so that the charity could carry on providing its service without having to spend time and money defending the claim.
Looking after your people
If an employee or volunteer becomes injured while working for you and no one is to blame, you may feel a moral duty to compensate them even when you do not have a legal duty.Personal accident insurance can help to look after your people, by paying a regular bene t in cash if they cannot work because they have had an accident.
Protecting your trustees
Your trustees are ultimately responsible for your charity's management and decisions. Therefore they may be personally liable to make good the charity's losses. Trustees Indemnity cover can provide protection to trustees where they may be held personally liable. It is also worth noting that if the trustees acted improperly or fraudulently, the policy would not cover them.
Getting the right insurance cover for your organisation
Not all insurance policies are the same. You should arrange insurance that covers your own particular circumstances and specific risks. You should regularly review your insurance cover as your circumstances may change.
We recommend that you speak to a specialist insurance broker who understands how children's charities and organisations operate and the risks you face, so that you get the right protection for your needs.
Unity Insurance Services is a charity owned, specialist insurance broker with particular expertise in children's and young people's charities and youth organisations. For more information on how Unity can help with your insurance needs, visit the Unity Insurance Services website or call us on 0345 040 7702.
