Small charity insurance

Your small charity insurance cost will depend on various factors. Markel Direct will need some information about your organisation and activities to provide a quote. Examples include:

• What’s your charity’s annual turnover?
• What services does your charity provide?
• How many volunteers and employees does your charity have?
• Does your charity have any assets, such as property?
• Does your charity carry out regular risk assessments*, training programmes and inspections?
• Do your staff or volunteers have contact with vulnerable children or vulnerable adults?

*Remember, you’ll need to retain your risk assessments for evidence in the event of a claim

Insurance for small charities and nonprofit groups with Markel Direct can include the following covers:

• Public liability insurance and employers' liability insurance
• Trustee indemnity insurance and professional indemnity insurance
• Property damage insurance (with the option to include business interruption insurance)
• Legal representation and employment disputes insurance
• Money and personal assault cover
• Cyber and data risks insurance
• Occupational personal accident insurance
• Fidelity insurance

Sadly, it’s not uncommon for people to injure themselves or cause damage to third party property.

If your charity plans to interact with the public or hold events, it may be wise to have public liability insurance. This will protect your organisation from any potential compensation claims filed by third parties.

All organisations have a responsibility to take care of their staff, volunteers and clients. They must also make sure all activities are conducted in a safe and responsible manner. This helps to prevent accidents from happening.

If this duty of care is broken, someone may end up getting hurt or having their property damaged as a result. That person can then make a claim against your organisation for the damages.

Employers' liability insurance protects charities from financial losses in a number of situations.

For example, imagine an employee slips and injures themself in the workplace, but there were no ‘wet floor’ signs displayed. Or maybe someone develops repetitive strain injury (RSI) due to not having the right computer safety equipment. If an employee gets hurt or damages their property at work, they could file a compensation claim against the organisation.

If your organisation has employees, you are legally required to have employers' liability insurance. If you don't, you could be fined up to £2,500 per day.

This applies to anyone where there is a contract of employment in place, whether it is spoken, written or implied, including:

• Full-time staff
• Temporary and part-time staff
• Work experience and apprentices
• In some instances, volunteers (sometimes volunteers are covered by your public liability insurance)

Employers’ liability insurance also provides cover for related legal fees and costs.

Trustees have a legal ‘duty of care’ to act in a charity’s best interests. Especially when it comes to its assets, resources, service users, staff and volunteers.

There is no legal requirement for small charity insurance. However, there may be some types of coverage that your charity is legally required to have, such as employers' liability insurance.

It's important to assess the risks associated with your charity. This will help make sure you’re meeting your ‘duty of care’ and legal obligations.

If your charity's turnover is over £250K per year, we can still help. Find out more on our charity insurance page.