By Scott Konrad, Senior VP & Nonprofit Practice Leader
No matter their size or mission, nonprofit organizations need insurance protection against risks seen and unseen.
A nonprofit’s insurance portfolio is just one part of a larger risk management program that includes risk avoidance and reduction through corporate safety programs, human resource policies and similar initiatives, risk transfer via contracts, and risk retention through deductibles and self-insured retentions.
Protect your nonprofit against catastrophic events that could threaten its viability — understand your coverage options:
Property coverage insures against direct physical loss or damage to property and covers related expenses or loss of income. Example: A hurricane damages a nonprofit’s office and contents, and the organization incurs additional expenses to rent and equip a temporary office.
General Liability coverage insures an organization against claims of bodily injury, property damage and personal/advertising injury liability arising from premises, operations or products. Example: An exhibit at a fundraiser collapses and sends patrons to the emergency room.
Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) coverage insures against mistakes in the rendering of, or failure to render, professional services in healthcare, consulting, legal, counseling, and in other services. Example: Parents claim a residential human services facility failed to provide appropriate healthcare to their developmentally-disabled child.
Sexual Misconduct Liability coverage protects against civil liability for bodily or personal injury arising from sexual abuse, molestation or exploitation. Example: A participant in a museum’s children’s program claims a custodian accosted and touched him inappropriately while using the bathroom.
Automobile Liability insures against bodily injury and property damage arising from the ownership, operation and use of owned, leased, rented or borrowed motor vehicles. Example: An executive director driving her personal car during agency business hits a pedestrian and the victim’s family sues the executive director and the entity.
Worker’s Compensation (Employer’s Liability) coverage provides state-mandated wage loss, medical and other benefits associated with workplace injuries. Example: A nonprofit’s receptionist develops carpal tunnel syndrome after years of repetitive motion while working on her computer, claiming the condition was work-induced.
An International Package policy insures against multiple exposures including overseas occupational injury; liability for bodily; injury; property damage and personal/advertising injury arising from premises operations or products; vehicular liability; and direct physical loss or damage to property abroad. Example: An aid worker contracts malaria during a mission trip abroad, requiring local treatment.
Umbrella/Excess Liability insurance covers a nonprofit against catastrophic liability beyond the limits of its basic liability policies. Example: A van driver transporting handicapped clients skids on a wet road, causing several fatalities and catastrophic injuries.
Management Liability coverage protects a nonprofit and its decision-makers against liability arising from the general management of the business, including employment-related offenses and wrongful acts as fiduciaries of group health and welfare plans. Example: A regulator launches an investigation into alleged financial irregularities.
Commercial Crime coverage insures against loss of assets through criminal acts. Nonprofits are highly vulnerable to employee dishonesty, and threats include computer fraud, funds transfer fraud, and fraudulent impersonation. Example: A nonprofit employee complies with an executive’s e-mail directive to make a wire transfer to an external payee, only to later realize the email was fraudulent.
Multimedia Liability coverage insures against claims of personal injury and intellectual property infringement arising from oral, printed, broadcast, electronic and internet content, including social media. Example: A photographer alleges that a nonprofit used her work on its website without licensure or attribution.
Network Security & Privacy Liability coverage insures data breach response costs, including legal, forensic, notification, credit monitoring, and public relations/crisis management expenses; civil or regulatory liability for unauthorized release of private information or network security events; and damage to the policyholder’s own IT network and digital assets. Example: Hackers gain control of an organization’s donor database through a remote employee’s laptop and demand ransom to prevent release of the information online.
Environmental Liability coverage insures against bodily injury or property damage arising from pollution, mold or bacteria, including remedial costs. Example: Toxic mold causes residents of a supportive housing project to become ill.
Business Travel Accident & Sickness coverage insures against accidental death and dismemberment and emergency medical expenses, including medical evacuation/repatriation during business travel. Example: A train derailment kills several board members en route to a meeting.
Kidnap Ransom & Extortion coverage insures against kidnap, extortion, hijack and detention, among other security risks. Example: An organization’s personnel suddenly need to evacuate to a neighboring country during civil unrest in the country where they have been working.
Political Risk coverage insures against confiscation, expropriation or nationalization of assets by foreign governments, political violence, currency inconvertibility and revocation of licensure. Example: After a sudden shift in country leadership, a foreign nation revokes the operating licenses of all foreign NGOs, expelling their personnel and seizing their local bank accounts.
Contact your HUB Nonprofit expert for more information on securing the right coverages for your nonprofit insurance program.