The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

Sometimes, volunteers have accidents - injure someone, get hurt themselves, or have an auto accident. Usually, their own insurance is not enough to take care of the damage. And the nonprofit organization's insurance does not protect the volunteer in some critical areas of risk.

Your nonprofit organization has the option of adding volunteers as additional insureds on the commercial general liability (CGL) policy. However, such an endorsement usually excludes volunteers' travel between home and the place of volunteer duty. Also, a CGL endorsement excludes coverage for claims made by one volunteer against another. Finally, the organization risks sharing its own limits of insurance - under the CGL policy - with the volunteer.

Covering volunteers under workers' compensation usually is not the wisest approach. First, a volunteer's injury would affect the claims experience of the nonprofit, which could increase workers' compensation insurance costs. Second, workers' compensation does not protect the volunteer during travel to and from their volunteer duty. 

However, there is an inexpensive solution to the problem...

  

To protect volunteers, the Volunteers Insurance Service (VIS®) program offers the following three coverages separately or combined:

• Up to $50,000 in accident medical reimbursement as a result of covered accident - at a cost of $3.94 per volunteer per year;
• Up to $1,000,000 in personal liability insurance - $1.72 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100;
• For those volunteers who drive, up to $500,000 in excess automobile liability insurance above the volunteer's own insurance -$6.34 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100.  

Total cost per volunteer, if all coverages are selected: $12.00 per year. The organization simply insures the greatest number of volunteers it expects to have at any given time.

VIS® Membership is required in order to sign up for any of the above programs; which an annual membership fee of $135 (July-June fiscal year).

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