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Whisper Wiki

Insurance

Insurance in the UK

Section titled “Insurance in the UK”

Whisper needs the following insurance cover:

  • Volunteer insurance (mainly for volunteers working overseas but in principle for UK fundraisers too; employer’s liability doesn’t seem to be a strict legal requirement for volunteers but the Charity Commission advises charities to cover volunteers as they would employees, who in the UK must by law be covered for a minimum of £5m) Should cover medical costs, accidental death or injury?, public liability? Would this only cover volunteers when at work? Is there low-cost travel insurance that the volunteers could optionally take out that complements this?
  • Public liability for fundraising events in the UK. Currently these happen less than once a year. Some venues may provide this. Participants in events such as the London Marathon are covered by the organiser’s insurance, although a Whisper stall at a event like that would not be covered.

Markel, a big UK broker, quoted the following rates in October 2024 for insurance for Whisper’s UK activities (no coverage for travel or Uganda):

  • Trustee liability (UK issues only) and professional indemnity (I don’t think this is relevant to us) £250K cover for a premium of £56 per year
  • Employer liability (£10m cover, this covers UK volunteers) and public liability (£5m cover, fundraising events up to 500 people, challenge events etc) for a premium of £269 per year

PolicyBee https://policybee.co.uk wouldn’t give a quote from their web form because of Whisper’s overseas activities. Perhaps they would quote by phone for UK coverage only?

Also check Access Insurance https://www.accessinsurance.co.uk

Insurance in Uganda

Section titled “Insurance in Uganda”

Whisper needs the following insurance cover:

  • Buildings (if landlord doesn’t cover)
  • Contents (maybe, depends on premium)
  • Death in service for staff (4 times salary? This is a tax free benefit for employees)
  • Employer’s liability?
  • Public liability?
  • Motor insurance?

Volunteers may want to take out travel insurance to cover their personal possessions and possibly to give them cover outside their work, depending on the nature of the cover that Whisper provides. Salt Insurance https://saltinsurance.com and Banner Group https://bannergroup.com provide insurance for international charity volunteers who are normally resident in the UK.