Are you a non-profit and unsure of what types of insurance you need? Non-profits may be charitable organizations, churches or religious institutions, social welfare organizations, homeowners associations, labor unions, and volunteer fire departments. Your non-profit may rescue and rehabilitate lost pets, or you might provide help to the disadvantaged. Regardless of your non-profit’s mission, you’ll want to have the appropriate insurance policies in place. Let’s take a look at the types of insurance that non-profits need.

Why do non-profits need insurance?

Non-profits need insurance to financially protect themselves against certain types of risks. It’s important to note that insurance does not decrease the likelihood of the hazard, but it can help you pay for damages.

For example, let’s say a visitor to your non-profit’s physical location has an accident. They slip on a wet floor or fall down a flight of stairs. Your non-profit would be responsible for paying the individual’s medical bills. Without a general liability policy, your non-profit would have to pay those expenses from its operational or maintenance budget. For most non-profits, just one high-dollar accident could force them to close their doors and end all of the work they’re doing in the community.

Types of Insurance Non-Profits in Florida Should Consider

Non-profits should consider a variety of insurance policies. These include general liability, abuse liability, commercial property insurance, commercial car insurance, directors and officers liability, employment related practices liability, cyber liability, professional liability and workers compensation.

• General Liability – General liability is the first type of insurance policy a non-profit should consider. This financially protects you against claims of third-party injuries and property damage as well as claims of advertising damage.
• Commercial Car Insurance – If your non-profit regularly operates vehicles during the course of performing business, you’ll need a commercial car insurance policy. These policies help pay for any accidents you might incur while conducting business. These policies typically include liability, comprehensive and collision insurance.
• Hired and Non-Owned Car Insurance – If your non-profit regularly rents vehicles or has employees or volunteers drive their own vehicles for the non-profit, you’ll need hired and non-owned car insurance. This covers vehicles that your organization uses but doesn’t own.
• Commercial Property Insurance – Commercial property insurance financially protects you if your physical location is damaged. This coverage typically pays for the repairs or replacement of the physical structures and the items inside the building if they are damaged or destroyed by a covered event.
• Cyber Liability – If you have any information on a computer, server or use digital payment methods that are accessible off-site, you’ll want a robust cyber liability policy. Cyber liability policies help pay for data breaches and other cybercrimes that could impact your non-profit.
• Directors And Officers Liability – Directors and officers liability is often abbreviated to D&O insurance. It’s a policy that protects your non-profit’s directors against claims of fraud and monetary mismanagement. It’s important to note that this policy doesn’t cover criminal behavior, and the most common type of claim usually revolves around employment.
• Employment Related Practices Liability – this type of insurance can help protect your non-profit from employment related suits that get brought against your organization. This type of policy can also include third party liability suits (volunteers) and wage and hour claims. 
• Kidnap and Ransom Insurance – If your non-profit regularly goes to countries where kidnapping takes place, you’ll want to have a kidnapping and ransom insurance policy. This can help pay the kidnappers so that they release your employee or volunteer.
• Professional Liability – This insurance type can also be referred to as errors and omissions or malpractice. This coverage is designed to protect the organization from professional services or advice that is given. 
• ERISA Fidelity Bonds and Crime Policies – If you have investments as part of your employee benefits packages, you’ll want to get an ERISA Fidelity Bond. This helps protect your employees’ benefits plans from fraud. A crime policy can help protect your non-profit from money and securities being stolen, employee dishonesty and other types of crime related offenses. 
• Workers Compensation – If your non-profit has employees, you’ll need a workers compensation claim. This type of insurance policy pays for any injuries or illnesses that are directly related to working for the non-profit. For example, if you run a food bank and someone hurts their back when moving a case of canned goods, this insurance would help pay for their medical bills and some of their wages.

How to get affordable non-profit insurance policies?

Many non-profits worry about the affordability of their insurance policies because most non-profits operate on a very limited budget. The truth is that a claim against your non-profit could be more costly than the insurance policies, but if you’re worried about the cost, there are things to can do to make the policies more affordable. The first step is to find an insurance agent, like those at Fearnow, who can look through lots of policies from different carriers. These agents can save you time by searching and pulling up multiple similar policies and describing them to you and explaining the premiums. Then, all you have to do is determine your deductibles. Choosing a higher deductible can often lead to a lower premium, but you’ll want to make sure that your non-profit can always afford the deductible amount. You should also ask about discounts to determine if you’d be eligible for further reductions in your monthly costs.

Getting Non-Profit Insurance from Fearnow in Florida

If you need insurance for your Florida non-profit, our agents at Fearnow can help. We have access to many business insurance policies for non-profits from more than 100 carriers, and on average, we can save you up to 37 percent over the competition.

To learn more about non-profit insurance and to get a quote, give us a call at 813-689-8878.