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Insurance for Talking Newspapers
Why should a TN have insurance cover?
No matter how careful and well-trained your volunteers are, accidents can happen. Even although you have done your best to store your equipment securely, it might still be stolen or damaged.
A TN may also be held legally responsible for the death, injury or loss caused by incorrect advice or information given.
While steps can be taken to reduce all possible risks to a minimum (see Health & Safety), every TN should consider protecting the welfare of their volunteers and the future financial stability of their organisation by having adequate and appropriate insurance.
It is advisable to check insurance cover annually, to ensure that you still have adequate cover.
Your situation may be different if:
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Your TN Organiser/Co-ordinator is employed by another organisation, e.g. library and
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Your TN meets/works in premises owned by your Organiser's employer
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If this describes you and your TN, check that you are still insured when carrying out TN duties at your place of work outside normal working hours and that your TN volunteers are insured whilst on the premises.
Regardless of where, when and how many of you run your TN, never assume that you are insured, always check.
Inform Your Volunteers/Employees
Make your volunteers aware of the type/s of insurance in place and the amount of cover provided. Also, inform volunteers if any restrictions to the insurance cover apply.
Financial Services Authority (FSA)
The FSA is the independent regulator set up by Government to look after the financial services industry and protect consumers.
The FSA Register is a public record of financial services firms, individuals and other bodies which fall under its regulatory jurisdiction, as defined in the Financial Services & Markets Act 2000. Following extensions to the scope of the FSA's regulation, firms arranging and giving advice about general insurance (e.g. insurance brokers) should be authorised by the FSA. You can ensure that a firm is authorised to provide the service you require, by checking the online FSA Register, or contacting the FSA by telephone or post.
Only if you use an authorised firm, will you have access to available complaints procedures and compensation schemes if something goes wrong.
Motor Insurance
A volunteer carrying TN property in their car, e.g. wallets and tapes in mail bags, should advise their insurer, in writing, that they are using their car on TN business and ensure that their policy covers both other volunteers in the car while on TN business and TN property, in the event of accident or theft. They should also state, in writing, that they will not be in receipt of any profit for their voluntary work, only expenses at or below the mileage rate set by the Inland Revenue. There is often no charge for this cover. It is advisable to remind your volunteers of these facts periodically.
Contents Insurance
Equipment, furniture etc. may be covered against loss or damage under Contents Insurance. You will be asked for a valuation of contents and the premium will be dependant on this figure.
Some insurers will include temporary cover for contents removed by an authorised TN worker e.g. equipment being used in a TN worker's house.
If the equipment used to record and duplicate your TN is always stored in your house, seek advice from your insurer. You may be able to arrange cover under your home contents insurance.
If you use premises owned by someone else, e.g. library or Church, the owner may be willing to include your equipment on their policy. Don't assume this, check!
Employers Liability Insurance
All employers are required by law to take out this insurance to cover employees in the event of death, injury or disease.
The law requires that you exhibit a certificate of employers´ liability insurance at each place of work. Failure to meet this requirement could constitute a criminal offence.
While it may not be a legal requirement to insure volunteers, it is to be recommended. Ensure that your policy makes explicit reference to volunteers.
Personal Accident Insurance
If you wish to provide your volunteers with compensation in the event of injury to themselves, regardless of whether you have a legal liability to do so, you may wish to consider Personal Accident Insurance.
Public Liability Insurance
(Sometimes referred to as "Third Party insurance")
Public Liability Insurance covers your legal liability to pay damages to members of the public, not employees/volunteers, for injury, death and loss/damage to property that may occur during the normal operation of your business. Check that policy names volunteers, not just employees.
Trustee Liability (or Indemnity) Insurance
A charity board member concerned in the management or administration of a charity (called a "Trustee" in England and Wales - may be called a "Steward" in Scotland) can be held liable to make good any losses suffered as a result of his/her own act or omission, such as breach of duty or breach of trust, and those of his/her fellow stewards. This insurance covers the management risks incurred by charities and their stewards.
Some insurers will extend cover to include Fidelity Guarantee Insurance. This is cover against loss of money or stock arising from fraud or dishonesty by your employees or volunteers where they are handling cash. Before this cover is provided, the insurer may insist on background checks on staff, i.e. checks being made with the police etc.
However, please be aware that Section 67 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, clearly sets out the circumstances under which Trustees may be remunerated. Section 68 of the Act defines remuneration as including "benefit in kind", which can include both direct and indirect benefit.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) released a statement on Wednesday 24 May 2006, stating that "Trustee Indemnity Insurance will fall within the definition of remuneration in section 68 of the Act and accordingly be subject to the same conditions and restrictions as any other type of remuneration. Because most policies benefit all Trustees they will fall foul of the rule that only a minority of Trustees can benefit."
The Charity Commission, operating in England and Wales under different legislation, also considers Trustee Indemnity Insurance to be a personal benefit to the charity trustees. However, unlike OSCR, the Charity Commission has the statutory power to consent to the taking out of Trustee Indemnity Insurance.
OSCR raised the issue of Trustee Indemnity Insurance with the Scottish Executive and consequently welcomed an announcement from Deputy Minister for Communities, Johann Lamont, on 14 November 2006. The Minister gave a commitment to remove restrictions on the provision of Trustee Indemnity Insurance, through amendment of the relevant provisions in the Charity and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. In the light of this statement and the commitment made by the Deputy Minister, OSCR will not take action against charities because Trustee Indemnity Insurance is in place.
Read OSCR´s full statement here.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Professional Indemnity Insurance provides cover in respect of legal liabilities for injury, damage or financial loss resulting from giving incorrect advice or information, either written or oral. These liabilities may apply even when advice is given free of charge.
Broadcaster Insurance / Multimedia Protection
The cover provided by this type of insurance varies greatly, depending on the policy. Generally, you could expect cover for the following:
Professional indemnity, wider than standard libel cover
Defamation (known as Slander/Libel in England)
Infringement of copyright
Breach of confidentiality
Plagiarism
Misappropriation or piracy of intellectual property
Scottish/English Law
Since most insurance companies in the UK are based in England, your policies are likely to say that English Law applies. To save complications in the future, it is worth asking your insurer if they will amend this to read Scots Law. If you were to be sued in Scotland, your insurer could not refuse cover just because the action was taking place in Scotland. They could refuse if you were in breach of the policy conditions. It is always advisable to read the small print!
Disclaimer
ASTN is neither qualified nor authorised to give specific advice on insurance or to recommend any particular broker or company. While we hope that you find these notes useful, we recommend that you address any specific queries to an FSA registered insurance broker.
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