I often hear myself say that there aren’t enough hours in the day! When juggling work and busy home lives, we’re constantly juggling a multitude of priorities and it can be difficult to find the time to address matters which often seem less pressing. However, a little time spent on these seemingly “less pressing” matters may save you and your organisation a great deal more time further down the line.
1. Ensure that your organisation has appropriate insurance cover.
This might sound obvious, but it is fundamental to your organisation’s survival. As well as insuring its assets and activities, your organisation may have contractual responsibilities with local authorities or health boards for which appropriate insurance may be required.
2. Seek advice from a specialist Insurance Broker.
An insurance broker with specialist knowledge of the third sector can be invaluable to your organisation. They can: advise you on the insurance cover your organisation needs; put in place an appropriate insurance policy; advise on and assist with any adjustments you need to make to your insurance cover during the policy term; provide advice and assistance with claims; visit your premises to advise on improvements that can be made to reduce risk to your organisation. As a broker we have access to a range of specialist insurers as well as our own Encompass policy, which has been specifically designed to meet the insurance needs of the third sector. To find out more about Encompass and our involvement with the sector visit www.keegan-pennykid.com/charity-insurance/
3. Cheapest doesn’t necessarily mean best.
Whilst the cost of an insurance policy is important, it is far more important that your organisation has the right insurance cover in place. If you are looking at alternative quotes, always take time to establish that you are comparing eggs with eggs – because frequently you’ll find that you aren’t and the policies differ from one another. If you are ever unsure, do ask your insurance broker.
4. Take appropriate steps to protect your IT infrastructure from Cyber Threats and seek advice from a specialist insurance broker who can arrange an appropriate cyber insurance policy for your organisation.
Across all organisations, large and small, there is a daily threat of cyber-attack which could compromise the integrity of your IT systems and expose your organisation to cyber-crime including data theft. This puts an organisation at risk of reputational damage, interruption to its core services and activities, regulatory sanctions, and potentially significant unplanned financial costs. In today’s digital world, an effective cyber insurance policy is an invaluable inclusion in your suite of insurance protection.
5. Write, test, and review your Business Continuity Plan.
No matter how small your organisation is, It is vital that you have a business continuity plan in place to ensure that your organisation can get back up and running as quickly as possible following an incident. The plan should be reviewed and tested once a year at least, which can be simply by way of a “walk and talk through” with the people who are key to the resilience of the plan.
6. Keep good records including an up-to-date asset register. This will prove invaluable in the event of damage to your organisation’s property or theft of any of its contents.
Keep your insurance documents close to hand, along with contact details for your insurance broker and insurer (including any out of hours emergency contact telephone numbers). In the event of damage to your organisation’s property: take photos; do not throw anything away until the Insurer has inspected or authorised its disposal; retain all original receipts and try and list what’s damaged. If no evidence of purchase is available, the presentation of instruction manuals and original boxes can prove that you actually owned the item. In the event of a break-in, theft or malicious damage always contact the Police to obtain an incident number and take necessary steps to secure the building. And always contact your insurance broker or insurer at the earliest opportunity.
8. Should you receive a solicitor’s letter or grievance from a member of the public, employee or volunteer of any notifiable event which may give rise to a claim act promptly, don’t respond, but instead contact your insurance broker or insurer.
You may have Legal Protection Cover and not need to incur costly solicitor’s fees when defending an action or tribunal case. Never correspond directly with the third party/representative or release any requested documents without checking with your Broker or Insurer first.
For Employers & Public Liability Claims take clear notes of the circumstances, make sure you know times and dates of exactly what’s happened and details of everyone involved.
Do you know the regulations and duties as an organisation in the event of a RIDDOR reportable accident? These require employers, the self-employed and those in control of premises to report specified workplace incidents. Report without delay as early intervention can reduce overall claims cost when attempting to defend a claim or if it’s proved you’re liable.
As you would expect, in 55 years Keegan and Pennykid have amassed a great deal of experience within the Third Sector and very little within the insurance world is new to us. If you would like to have a no-obligation chat about any aspects of your policy, whether you are an existing client or not – please pick up the phone and call our office. Our team would be delighted to help.
