A charity, a club or a community group buys most of the same covers a small business does, and two that a business does not think about: liability for the people who volunteer, and protection for the individuals who agreed to be trustees. Those two are where not for profit insurance genuinely differs, and both are commonly missing from a policy assembled by analogy with a commercial one.
Volunteers, and the employers' liability question
Employers' liability is compulsory for employees, and most charities also want it to reach volunteers, because a volunteer injured while doing the organisation's work has the same claim an employee would. Insurers treat volunteers explicitly rather than by implication: the policy either names them or it does not. Any organisation running on unpaid help should check that wording specifically rather than assume it follows from the word charity.
Trustee indemnity is about individuals, not the charity
Trustees can be personally liable for decisions they take, and trustee indemnity insurance answers for that, paying the individual's defence and liability rather than the charity's. The Charity Commission's own guidance on the essential trustee sets out the duties those decisions are judged against, and its risk guidance covers when insurance is an appropriate response. Buying it is a decision for the trustees, and in many governing documents an express power is needed.
The ordinary covers, on charity terms
Public liability for the public at events and premises, contents and equipment, money, and business interruption where the organisation has premises it depends on. Events bring their own questions: numbers, activities, whether contractors or inflatables are involved, and whether the organisation or a hirer is responsible. Most not for profit policies are packages that assume a hall, a committee and an occasional fete, and anything beyond that is a declaration.
Where the money is, and who handles it
Small organisations handling cash, subscriptions and donations carry a real risk of loss and of fidelity claims, and it is one nobody enjoys raising. Money cover answers for the first, and fidelity or employee dishonesty cover for the second. Both are cheap, and a committee that has never discussed them is a committee that will discover them in the worst possible week.
Questions people ask about not for profit insurance
What insurance does a charity need in the UK?
Public liability for the public and for events, employers' liability that names volunteers as well as employees, contents and equipment, money and fidelity cover where cash is handled, and trustee indemnity for the individuals on the board.
Are volunteers covered by employers' liability?
Only where the policy says so. Employers' liability is compulsory for employees, and volunteers are covered by extension or by explicit wording rather than by implication. Check the wording rather than assuming a charity policy includes them.
What is trustee indemnity insurance?
Cover for the personal liability of trustees for decisions taken in that role, paying their defence and liability rather than the charity's. The Charity Commission publishes guidance on trustee duties and on when insurance is an appropriate response to risk.
Do small clubs need insurance?
If members or the public are on the premises, if the club hires a hall, or if it handles subscriptions and cash, then yes in practice. Hall hire agreements and local authority bookings frequently require a public liability certificate before a booking is confirmed.