Charity events and insurance – are you covered?

By Alison Waters, Commercial Placement Manager, ACII > Having taken part in several running events over the years, it’s great to see just how many participants are wearing charity vests and taking part for a cause close to their hearts.  I love to read the messages of support often pinned to the back of competitors t-shirts and seeing pictures of those people that they are running to support.

Indeed, charities rely heavily on these fund-raising challenges and participants to generate income.  The BBC reported that in 2020 some 45,000 people completed the London Marathon, with those running for charitable causes raising over £16.1m between them.

As well as support from individual fund-raisers and large-scale externally run events such as the Marathon, many charities organise their own events and activities throughout the year to generate vital revenue.

The question is, when is this part of your usual business activity and when does it become something more than that?  From an insurance perspective, it is reasonable to expect charities to be undertaking some form of fund-raising, but it’s important to understand what is considered ‘normal’ and what might materially alter your insurer’s perception of your risk.

For example, take a charity who does a lot of fund-raising in their local community by virtue of Afternoon Tea events and Bake-offs; perhaps they have a stall at various village fetes and markets and are involved in cash collections in their local town centre.  If that charity decides to organise a bike-ride which could bring in significant numbers and requires participants to follow a route on the public highway then this could be considered to be beyond the scope of their usual business activities.  

There would potentially be issues to address around safety of both the participants and other road users, adequacy of marshals, attendance of a first-aid organisation and many other considerations.  While it’s likely that, provided all risk assessments have been properly carried out, the insurance company will accept this additional risk, it’s never safe to assume that there will be cover in place.  It may also incur an additional premium to reflect the increased risk.

You have a legal liability to others taking part in the event so it’s critical to ensure you are properly covered and the only way to have certainty around that is to discuss it fully with your Broker. 
 

What can you do to make sure you are properly insured?

Provide a schedule of events.  If you already have a year’s worth of pre-planned fund-raising activities and events, then you should share this with your Broker at your pre-renewal meeting.  Their job is to ensure that the insurance company are provided with your full schedule, and your renewal coverage and premium will include cover for everything you disclose to them.

Have documented Risk Assessments ready for each event.  It’s likely especially if you are doing something you have never organised before, that your insurers will want to have sight of your risk assessments to ensure that all safety measures are in place.  This is particularly important for higher-risk activities, those that utilise public places and the highways, and any involving children.

Come prepared with information about potential numbers of people who might be taking part or attending an event, details about safety measures, security, volunteer numbers and whether there are any other third parties also involved in the organisation of the event.

Have regular conversations with your broker about your activities – if anything changes or you are planning an event you haven’t done before, then engage with your broker as soon as possible.  I have had many a conversation with clients just a few days before an event when it’s occurred to them that their insurance might not cover them.  It can then be very challenging to gather all of the information needed and present the risk to gain agreement from your insurance company to provide cover in time.

Don’t assume it will be covered.  The insurance cover you receive is based on you providing a fair presentation of your risk to your insurance company.  By failing to mention an activity or event that you are organising you run the risk of insurers declining to deal with a claim, leaving you vulnerable financially but also without legal support to defend your business.  

If you are in any doubt as to whether the full extent of your business activities are covered, you should always speak to your insurance broker in the first instance to make sure your insurers have complete clarity about your risks and can provide you with the level of cover that you need.

[1]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london