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What is Volunteer Insurance?

Not for Profits Insurance Charities and Not-For-Profits Insurance Volunteer Organisations Insurance Associations Insurance

Whether you run a charity, a not-for-profit, or regular live events, volunteer insurance exists to protect both you and the volunteers that work for you. From music festival ticket collectors to ongoing charity work, volunteers are often the most important part of your organisation, and they need to be protected from accidents. Volunteer Insurance will cover them for personal accidents, and they and your organisation will be at a serious disadvantage if you do not have the right coverage in place. If you want to attract the right volunteers and keep your vital volunteers safe and confident, this specific insurance is going to be an essential requirement.

Who Needs It

Many types of organisations will need to have the right volunteer insurance policy in place. Community groups, charities that provide healthcare for the elderly or disadvantaged, religious organisations, recreation clubs, and any charity or organisation that runs events, all make use of volunteers. These workers will not be covered by a standard business insurance policy, as they are distinctly different from salaried employees. Volunteer insurance policies protect the volunteer, but they also protect the organisation from public liability claims caused by the volunteers.

Did you know?

There are an estimated one billion volunteer workers worldwide, and Australia has just under six million of them. (Volunteering Australia)
The Australian economy receives approximately $290 billion from the work carried out by volunteers. (Pro Bono Australia)
According to the 2016 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the largest volunteering demographic for men is those aged between 45-54. Women make up the largest numbers, with females aged 35-44 amounting to just under 400,000 volunteers. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)

What does it cover?

Employee insurance is very different from volunteer insurance, and you need to be aware of the protection that you are missing out on if your community group, non-profit, church, or charity makes use of volunteers. Volunteer insurance coverage means that you will get protection for:

Personal accidents: If a volunteer is injured while being involved in authorised volunteer activity, they will get protection and may receive weekly payments until they have recovered. This protects volunteers who are engaged in other work, as they may lose out on regular wages if they are injured while volunteering. It can even cover expenses caused by the accident and medical expenses.

Public liability: A well-tailored volunteer policy will also cover public liability. This type of policy will have a broader goal, and will offer protection for the organisation, any paid employees, and volunteers in cases of third-party personal injury or property damage. Not all volunteer policies will include public liability, so you need to confirm your coverage with your provider.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Cyber Liability Insurance is designed to help protect you from claims and support your profitability in the event of a cyber breach or attack.

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Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability insurance is there to provide protection if someone makes a claim against the insured, the business or its employees.

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Business Insurance

A business insurance pack can provide cover for your business premises and contents, against loss, damage, theft or financial loss from an insured interruption to the business.

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Voluntary Boards: If you have directors and board members that are categorised as volunteers, then you may want to include Professional Indemnity Liability. This will protect directors and officers from negligence by volunteers, defamation, slander, and sexual harassment. This is not usually included with a standard volunteer insurance policy, but maybe a valuable addition if you make use of high-ranking professional volunteers.

Public Liability Insurance professional indemnity professionalindemnity

General Advice Warning: This advice is general and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate for you and your personal circumstances. Before you make any decision about whether to acquire a certain product, you should obtain and read the relevant product disclosure statement.

All information above has been provided by the author.

Tudor Insurance Australia, ABN 19 876 513 568, AFSL 243299

This article originally appeared on Tudor Insurance Blog and has been published here with permission.