Liability insurance for a charity
A charity raises money in public places and often spends it far from the office. Those two ends of the work call for different provisions in the policy.
- Several insurers compared objectively
- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
- Independent advice
- Several insurers
- Switching arranged
- Help with claims
In brief
Public and employers' liability insurance (AVB) pays for injury and damaged property suffered by others for which your organisation is liable. At a charity that starts with fundraising: teams with poseur tables, banners and tablets stand in shopping streets, at stations and at people's doors. A banner blown against a shop window, a stand a passer-by falls over, a facade damaged after a banner was fixed to it. See the hub page on public and employers' liability for the body.
Complaints about the way funds are raised fall outside it. A donor who says he was pressured on the doorstep and demands his direct debit mandate back, or a complaint that a campaign contained incorrect information, is a claim in money with no damaged property. This pure financial loss is left aside by the AVB; there is professional indemnity insurance.
The third track is the the board. Complaints about how funds were spent, about failure to comply with the articles of association or about inadequate supervision are directed at board members personally. The AVB does nothing there; there is directors' and officers' liability insurancefor that. Unpaid board members of a foundation can be held jointly and severally liable as well.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
Independent, personal, sorted quickly
We compare your business liability insurance (AVB) across dozens of insurers, explain where the real differences lie, and arrange the switch from start to finish — without you having to chase it yourself.
Business liability insurance (AVB)
Compare
Get coveredWhy arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
What to look out for
Four points that are decisive at fundraising organisations.
Fundraising in public places
Street and door-to-door fundraising brings your people into contact with third parties' property every day. Damage to facades, shop windows, parked cars or paving is classic property damage and fits within the AVB, but only if fundraising with stands and equipment is in the description of your activities. If you work with an external fundraising agency, check that agency's insurance.
Projects and staff abroad
The area of cover on the policy schedule determines whether damage in a project country is covered. Many policies are limited to Europe or exclude claims under American or Canadian law. State project countries, staff posted abroad and local partners when you apply. Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code calls for a complete picture; Article 7:930 DCC governs how an insurer may respond if that picture was incomplete.
Your own office and the people in it
In the office the rules of Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code on a safe workplace apply as usual, and subsection 4 of that article brings volunteers, work placement students and seconded staff within them. Include them as insured persons on the policy schedule. Without that entry, a volunteer's claim can fall outside cover.
Equipment, transport and fines
A hired sound system, a borrowed trailer or a market stall lent to you is in your in your care: damage to it is excluded. If a member of staff drives a van, the compulsory insurance of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) applies and not the AVB. And sanctions from a regulator are a punishment and therefore not insurable under any policy.
What does your premium depend on?
- Number of paid staff and volunteers: the basis for the employers' liability section
- Method of fundraising: street and door-to-door fundraising weighs differently from online campaigns
- Carried out in-house or contracted out: an external fundraising agency moves part of the risk
- Project countries: decisive for the territorial scope you need
- Office premises owned or rented: this counts towards liability as possessor of the building and tenants' liability
- Sum insured and excess: per claim and per insurance year
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | AVB | BAV |
|---|---|---|
| A volunteer spills hot coffee over a visitor at your fundraising evening | Yes | No |
| A stall belonging to your organisation blows over and damages the car beside it | Yes | No |
| A participant in your sponsored run sprains an ankle on the course you set out | Provided that | No |
| A donor demands his mandate back because he felt pressured on the doorstep | No | Yes |
| A campaign contains incorrect figures and a partner organisation claims the cost of putting matters right | No | Yes |
| A board member is held personally to account for how donations were spent | No | No |
Complaints against the board itself belong on directors' and officers' liability insurance and on neither of these two policies.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
A fundraising team damages a shopfront. Is that covered?
Yes, that is damage to a third party's property and that is what the AVB exists for. The condition is that fundraising on location is included in your insured business activity. If you work with a fundraising agency you have engaged, the injured party can also hold you liable under Article 6:171 of the Dutch Civil Code for the mistakes of independent contractors.
A donor demands his donations back after a complaint about the fundraising.
That is a claim in money with no injury or damaged property and therefore pure financial loss. The AVB does not cover it. Depending on the complaint, professional indemnity or directors' and officers' liability insurance can play a part. Recovery of grants and administrative fines remain uninsurable in all cases, because they are not compensation for loss.
We are starting a project in Africa. Does that change our policy?
Probably yes. The territorial scope is a core provision and many Dutch policies are issued for the Netherlands or Europe. Discuss for each country which activities you carry out, who works on your behalf and whether you contract with local partners. Without an amendment you run the risk that a claim from that country falls outside cover.
Are our board members covered under the AVB?
No. The AVB covers the organisation's liability for injury and property damage, not board members' personal liability for improper management. That is pure financial loss and calls for directors' and officers' liability insurance. This applies to unpaid board members as well, who can be held jointly and severally liable.
Every situation is different. For these situations we have a separate page.
- Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB)The main page
- Liability insurance for charity workHelp in kind, collection drives, volunteers
- Liability insurance for an associationMembers among themselves, clubhouse, bar
- Liability insurance for a volunteer organisationHandyman services, client transport, changing roster
- Liability insurance for a copywriting agencyHired-in writers, office, customer files
- Liability insurance for a call centreScreen work, duty of care, rented space
- Liability insurance for a software companyOn-site implementation, product liability, territorial scope
- Liability insurance for a self-employed online marketerAdvertising budgets, account access, tracking