Volunteers; Accidents & General Liability Policies

The purpose of the general liability policy is to protect the non-profit entity should property damage or bodily injury occur to someone else due to negligence.

The concern is not all liability policies extend coverage to volunteers; for both injuries to themselves and for their acts on behalf of the organization.

General liability policies often provide a $5,000 to $10,000 medical payment sub-limit as part of the policy. This protects you from that “unknown third party” person who comes onto the premises and slips without having to establish negligence (often referred to “Slip and Fall”).  Medical payment benefit is general NOT for either employees or volunteers.

If an employee is hurt on the job the policy addressing that incident would be workers’ compensation. However, in most States worker’s compensation does not extend to include volunteers without specifically endorsing the policy to include volunteers. However, this endorsement is not always easy to obtain.

Non-profits utilizing the service of volunteers should:

1. Be absolutely certain of the coverage that is and is not extended to volunteers by reviewing your policy and consulting with your agent at each renewal or substantial change in coverage.

2. Decide to include or not include volunteers for both injuries to themselves and separately for their acts on behalf of the organization. It is common to include volunteers under your general liability policy but not to extend medical coverage for their injuries. An often used alternative is purchasing a separate accident policy.

3. The volunteer must have unambiguous understanding of what coverage is or is not extended to them by your insurance. A written and signed release should be obtained from all volunteers that expressly address that certain coverage is not provided.

Knowing your coverage is the most important issue.

After an accident is not the time to learn about your coverage.