If your charity owns, leases or operates from premises such as an office, community building, village hall or charity shop, buildings and contents insurance may be required to help protect the physical assets your organisation relies on every day. Cover can look to include your buildings, office equipment, furniture, IT systems, stock and other essential contents.

It’s equally important to ensure your buildings and contents are insured for the correct value. Donated items should be insured based on the cost of replacing them with a modern equivalent, while buildings should reflect their current rebuild cost rather than market value.

Regularly reviewing your sums insured can help reduce the risk of underinsurance, helping ensure your charity insurance provides the level of protection your organisation expects when making a claim. You can learn more about the importance of accurate valuations in our blog that explains underinsurance and Rebuild Cost Assessments.

A serious incident such as a fire, flood or storm damage can prevent your charity or community group from delivering essential services for weeks or even months. Business Interruption insurance helps protect your organisation by covering lost income, increased operating costs and, where applicable, the additional expense of relocating to temporary premises while repairs are completed. This cover can be particularly valuable for charities that rely on fundraising events, grant funding linked to service delivery or income from charity shops and community facilities.

Legal Expenses insurance can give charities and community groups access to specialist legal advice and financial support when dealing with a wide range of legal matters. Cover can be included for employment disputes, volunteer issues, contract disagreements, compliance investigations, regulatory action and representation at coroner’s inquests. Policies often include access to confidential legal helplines and employment advice to assist before problems escalate into costly disputes.

When arranging your charities insurance, it is extremely important to understand the conditions applicable to a legal expenses policy, such as the ‘prospect of success’ clause and ‘advice precedent’ clauses, which your broker should explain prior to cover being incepted, so your organisation can make full use of the protection available when legal challenges arise.

Medical Malpractice insurance protects charities and not for profit organisations against claims arising from negligent clinical or healthcare services that result in injury to a patient or service user. This could include the incorrect administration of medication, failure to follow a care plan, delayed treatment or other professional errors or omissions made while delivering healthcare or regulated personal care.

This cover is particularly important for organisations providing nursing services, personal care, therapy, healthcare advice or treatment, or supporting vulnerable people. As part of a comprehensive charity insurance programme, Medical Malpractice insurance can help cover legal defence costs, compensation payments and associated claims expenses, providing valuable financial protection when things don’t go to plan.