Types of insurance for your group to consider

Volunteer Workers Personal Accident Insurance (offered by QWaLC)

Personal Accident Cover for volunteers (which is similar to the State Government’s compulsory work cover for paid employees) covers volunteers for certain out-of-pocket expenses following accidental injury, disability or death while carrying out their work on behalf of the organisation.

Depending on the policy, this type of insurance should normally cover loss of income. It is important to remember that this cover is rarely included in Public Liability Insurance, and therefore a separate policy needs to be taken out with the insurance broker or underwriter. Personal Accident Insurance is usually reasonably priced and easy to obtain. It is important to be aware of any age limit or any activities that might be excluded from this insurance cover. There is usually an excess for non-Medicare medical expenses. These details are spelt out in the policy wording. Students or work-placements may not be included in this insurance policy. It is therefore important to check the policy before engaging students or work-placements.

Public Liability Insurance (offered by QWaLC)

This insurance covers the organisation’s legal liability to pay damages to a third party (e.g. member of the public or clients of the organisation) for personal injury or property damage accidentally caused by a member of the organisation including its volunteers.

A separate or extended cover can be taken out to include legal costs in relation to a claim being made against the organisation. Some insurance brokers will include Product Liability as an extension of their Public Liability Policy.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance (offered by QWaLC)

This insurance is specifically designed to indemnify committee members and office bearers for loss, including legal costs where they have been proven to be negligent in the course of performing their role in the organisation.

It is important to be familiar and understand the wording of this policy particularly the extent of cover and specific exclusions under the policy.

Professional Indemnity Insurance (included)

Brokers and insurance companies can combine Professional Indemnity and Directors and Officers Liability Insurance into one policy. Professional Indemnity Insurance is expensive and may not be necessary for all organisations.

It is therefore important to seek professional advice before taking out this insurance cover. This cover can be designed to compensate organisations for loss incurred through a claim made against the organisation for breach of professional duty or advice arising from negligence, error, omission, defamation, loss of records or documents, dishonest acts, etc. by volunteers (including management committee members) and paid staff. It is important to be familiar with and understand the wording of this policy as it often has a number of inclusions and exclusions.

Workcover for Employees

If you are a QWaLC member group operating  in Queensland and employ workers, you must insure them against work-related injuries. It’s compulsory to insure your workers against work-related injury or illness (unless you’re a self-insurer). Accident insurance covers you for all statutory and damages claim costs if one of your workers is injured. https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/claims-and-insurance/workcover-insurance

Motor Vehicle Comprehensive Insurance (not offered by QWaLC)

This insurance covers vehicles owned and driven by volunteers or paid staff for loss or damage to the vehicle or third party property.

It is important for your organisation to have a motor vehicle policy (in addition to insurance) if volunteers or paid staff are using their own motor vehicle or the organisation’s vehicle in the course of their work requirements. It is advisable for volunteers to inform their motor vehicle insurer, if they are using their own vehicle in the course of their voluntary work.

If you have agency vehicles, it is important to check whether your insurance policy has any age or license restrictions for paid or volunteer staff use. For example, some policies may exclude or have an excess for drivers under the age of 25 or who are on their Probationary license.

Property & Contents Insurance (not offered by QWaLC)

This insurance includes damage or theft to the organisation’s property or contents. It is similar to Household Contents Insurance. This does not usually cover a volunteer or paid staff member’s personal belongings unless explicitly negotiated.

Cyber Security (not offered by QWaLC)

This is a new and growing area of risk for all organisations, especially in relation to strengthened privacy and data protection responsibilities to organisations under the Notifiable Data Breaches amendment to The Privacy Act 1988, which commenced on 22 February 2018. The issue of cyber security becomes particularly important given the possibilities for remote and virtual volunteering.

If you need to report an incident please use the form found at:

QWaLC Accident Incident Report Form

_____________________________________________________

Reminder re Member Group expectations re insurance coverage

General Expectations of member groups

1) be members of QWaLC at the time of any incident

• member numbers must be reported to QWaLC in the annual membership and insurance renewal
• regular volunteers should be included on the membership list kept by the member group
• provide income, expenditure, assets and liabilities information to QWaLC in the annual membership and insurance renewal
• provide information on unincorporated or other auspiced groups in the annual membership and insurance renewal

2) ensure health and safety obligations are met when conducting activities

3) undertake appropriate risk assessments and mitigation actions

4) make all reasonable efforts to record participant details when undertaking events/activities for 7 years

5) ensure all independent contractors hold separate appropriate insurances

6) avoid entering into contracts with “hold harmless” or “indemnification” clauses

7) complete the online annual membership and insurance renewal

8) inform QWaLC of potential risks and new activities as soon as possible

9) inform QWaLC of any actual or alleged facts that should have reasonably been known that might give rise to a claim or an investigation and to provide all relevant information if a claim arises.

10) in the case of an incident, not admit liability or fault, and inform QWaLC as soon as possible and complete the online form

If your group engages in or intends to engage in activities involving drones, bike riding, snorkelling or reef diving please contact Darryl.