How can we help?
Volunteers play a vital role in the success of charities, not-for-profits and community organisations.
Whether they’re offering their time on a regular basis or helping with one-off events, it’s your responsibility and duty of care to ensure volunteers are protected.
At Access Insurance, we arrange cover tailored to volunteer-run groups as well as organisations with both staff and volunteers.
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Why do you need Public & Employers’ Liability Insurance for volunteers?
Public liability insurance is the most common policy taken out by volunteer-run groups.
It’s not a legal requirement, but it is recommended as the potential cost of claims is high.
Public Liability Insurance will ensure that if a volunteer damages third-party property or accidentally injures someone, your organisation is protected.
Often venues and other local bodies will ask you to have this insurance in place.
Similarly, whilst Employers’ Liability Insurance is only compulsory for organisations with paid staff, it’s also recommended when you have volunteers.
Typically, insurers treat volunteers as ‘unpaid employees’, and therefore, while it might seem unusual to a voluntary group, you should also consider Employers’ Liability cover to defend against claims brought by volunteers that may have injured themselves whilst carrying out duties for the charity.
If a volunteer is injured because you failed to take reasonable steps to ensure their health and safety, the organisation could be held liable in negligence or in breach of your duty of care.
See what they say
…it was critical that we had the right cover. Despite the lead time that was available to get the quote in, reviewed and agreed Access Insurance met this challenge head on.
They were able to provide cover for what we needed & unlike our previous insurer we did not need to buy a policy that covered several aspects we did not need. I would recommend them.
We felt like lost sheep & not sure what we needed. We were very happy to be guided by their expertise. The staff were extremely helpful and very patient. We would highly recommend them. Excellent…
Very responsive and answered questions politely and fully. Also very competitive pricing-important for a voluntary organisation!
Wow! What can I say; absolutely fabulous service from Access where nothing was too much trouble. Courteous, responsive and extremely quick in setting up our non-profit group’s insurance.
What types of cover do we provide
Our expert advisers work with you to create policies that meet your needs. Sometimes insurance can include common cover such as our public liability insurance for charity organisations. We also provide many other policies that will protect your assets, trustees, volunteers, supporters, participants and activities properly against the risks you face.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance for charities, sometimes referred to as charity liability insurance, ensures you are covered for claims as a result of injury or third-party property damage involving members of the public or other third parties, such as volunteers, due to your charity’s activities. We can provide charity public liability insurance for non-profit organisations and charities to cover these risks.
Staff Liability Insurance
It’s a legal requirement to have this policy in place if you have paid staff. You must also consider your volunteers’ safety and well-being. We design insurance that enables you to fulfil your duty of care for staff and volunteers.
Trustee Indemnity Insurance
Another popular cover is trustee indemnity insurance which protects people in positions of trust from claims made against them for mistakes or wrongful acts. This cover can also assist in legal costs associated with defending trustees and actions taken.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
To defend against claims for wrongful advice, errors or breach of care given for free or in exchange for payment.
Property and Contents Insurance
To properly protect your charity’s premises, infrastructure and physical assets in the case of theft or damage.
Cyber Insurance
To defend against the increasing risk of cyber-attacks, breaches and claims made regarding theft or loss of data.
and many more…
As specialist insurance brokers for charities, we can develop comprehensive policies to cover all the risks your organisation faces.
Trusted by 18,000+ not-for-profits across the UK
We’re proud to work with charities, CICs, voluntary groups, and faith-based organisations – large and small.
Our experience means we understand the unique risks you face when managing volunteers, and we’ll make sure your policy reflects that.
Your questions answered.
Not always. Some policies may only cover paid staff by default. At Access Insurance, we ensure your Employers’ Liability cover expressly includes volunteers, so you’re protected should they suffer an injury while volunteering on your behalf.
While the legal requirement applies to paid employees, HSE guidance suggests that if you have volunteers, you should treat them as employees for the purposes of health and safety. The Charities Commission says that you have a duty of care to volunteers. That means taking out Employers’ Liability Insurance is considered best practice and can be required by other bodies or funders.
No, we do not provide personal or individual volunteer insurance. Our policies are arranged to cover your organisation’s liability in case a volunteer is injured while working for you. The cover sits with your organisation, not the volunteer personally.
That would usually fall under your Public Liability Insurance. If a volunteer causes accidental injury or property damage to a third party, this cover protects your organisation against claims.
Yes. Whether your volunteers are helping at home, out in the community, or supporting an event, we can arrange appropriate cover based on the nature of the activities and associated risks.
There’s no fixed limit. We’ll work with you to understand the number of volunteers you have, how frequently they volunteer, and what kind of activities they undertake. This helps us ensure the cover is accurate and appropriate.