Information about Volunteer Insurance

Volunteer insurance is the best way a ‘not for profit’ Organisation can protect itself, its Volunteers and paid staff, committee and management, clients and customers -against risk.

As a Volunteer:-

To register as a Volunteer with most Organisations you will usually need to have insurance cover for both you as a Volunteer, and the Organisation that you are Volunteering to assist.

In most cases, a Volunteer will require insurance to cover themselves for personal financial loss as a result of an accidental injury received in the course of Voluntary assistance.

An example might include the necessity to take time off work to recover from such an injury, including medical expenses incurred as a result – thus, Volunteer insurance ought to cover a weekly compensation figure at least equivalent to the Volunteer’s usual weekly income. It is also likely that the Organisation for which you Volunteer to assist may require you to take out Public Liability Insurance to protect both you, and the club from negligence claims as a result of something you are responsible for. i.e. sending bushwalkers off in the wrong direction causing them to become lost and possibly injured.

As an Organisation:-

As an Organisation utilizing the assistance of Volunteers, particular attention has to be paid to both their exposure to injury, and claims made for negligence both against the Volunteer personally, and the Organisation.

The Organisation has a duty to ensure Volunteers are trained and suitably able and qualified to act as a Volunteer in respect of the particular activity for which the Volunteer is Volunteering.

For instance, you wouldn’t appoint a Volunteer to act as a swimming pool safety attendant if they couldn’t swim – however, these sorts of things do happen because Volunteers may not have been entirely truthful about their expertise and limits thereof.

Therefore, once the Organisation is satisfied that the Volunteer is suitably able and qualified to carry out Voluntary duties certain insurances need to be put into place, i.e.;

Volunteer and Organisations can assist to minimize risk to staff, clients and customers through proper health and safety practices, documented procedures, training and management practices.

As Australia’s leading Insurance Broker for Volunteers and Community Organisations we have developed a series of Risk Management Check Lists which we make freely available to Organisations in order to assist with their risk management strategies:-

Risk Management Checklists

Who Pays For Volunteer Insurance:-

There is no hard and fast rule here, however common practice is usually for the Organisation to pay for at least the Public Liability Insurance and for the Volunteer to pay for their own Volunteer’s Accident Insurance.

In some cases, a Volunteer might be able to claim a tax refund on the insurance premium for their Volunteer accident insurance.

Technical Insurance Terms Volunteers & Organisations Might Consider:-

Personal Accident Insurance to cover Volunteers for any out-of-pocket expenses following accidental injury, disability or death while carrying out their work on behalf of the Organisation. This type of insurance would normally cover loss of income.

Public Liability Insurance to cover an Organisation for its legal liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage caused by an occurrence in connection with the insured Organisation's business activities.

Directors' and Officers Liability to compensate committee members and office bearers for loss, including legal costs, where they have committed a wrongful act in the running of the Organisation.

Professional Indemnity Insurance to compensate the Organisation for loss incurred through a claim made against the Organisation for breach of professional duty arising from negligence, errors, omissions, defamation, loss of records or documents, dishonest acts etc by Volunteer or paid staff.

Motor Vehicle Comprehensive Insurance to cover Vehicles owned and driven by Volunteer or paid staff for loss or damage to the Vehicle or third party property.

Other types of insurance for Organisations to consider include property/contents, products liability and events insurance.

RGIB Volunteer Insurance Brokers – How We Can Help:-

While it is a primary the responsibility for any Organisation utilizing the services of a Volunteer to be familiar with the types of, and limits of insurance cover required for both a Volunteer and the Organisation, it is common to rely upon the expert advice from an insurance broker specializing in Volunteer insurance such as RGIB.

RGIB Can Help – we can provide the assistance necessary for any Organisation and Volunteer to get the right level of insurance cover to protect them from insurance claims – it’s a simple and affordable process.

To find out more about how RGIB can help you please complete the Form above, or if you prefer email us with your details and the nature of your enquiry and we shall respond immediately. Email us

Or, you can telephone us on 13-7442 (toll free) or if international +612 9466-0000)