What to consider when buying insurance for your Village Hall?
10/19/2023
As a trustee or volunteer at the Village Hall, your role includes safeguarding the hall, its assets, and resources. One method to uphold this duty efficiently is by arranging insurance. This article includes answers to the most common queries of insurance for Village Halls.
What should I consider before buying insurance?
It's crucial that the individual responsible for buying your Village Hall's insurance has comprehensive knowledge of the coverage you require. This not only simplifies the process for both parties but also ensures the insurance you get is tailored to your needs. Here are some steps to guide you:
- Gather detailed information: Allocate time to collect all necessary details about your Village Hall. This will aid the insurer in understanding your specific needs.
- Include specifics: If you're tasked with managing playground equipment, be ready with specifics such as the total number of play items to be insured, the date of your latest ROSPA inspection, and its frequency.
- Expect Questions: When obtaining a quote, be prepared to provide information about your Village Hall, like your annual income, whether you have paid employees, and the usual weekly hours your volunteers commit.
- This meticulous approach ensures that the insurance cover you receive is ideally suited to your Village Hall’s requirements.
Assessing the necessary level of coverage for your organisation is a crucial step. If you're managing a community building, ensure you have a recent rebuild valuation readily accessible. Keeping your existing or renewal documents within reach can assist in determining the required levels of cover.
What are your legal responsibilities regarding Insurance for Community Buildings?
Two types of insurance coverage are legally mandatory depending upon your situation. Firstly, if you have employees, it is a legal requirement to have a minimum £5,000,000 Employers’ Liability cover. Secondly, Motor Insurance is also compulsory if your organisation owns or leases a motor vehicle.
Does my Village Hall need Public Liability cover?
It is not a legal requirement, but if you are often engaged with the public or own buildings, it's always a good idea to have Public Liability insurance. Your organisation has a duty of care to third parties, such as the public, under various legislation acts. This type of insurance provides cover for your Village Hall if found to be legally liable for accidental injury to a third party or damage to their property.
What additional types of insurance should I contemplate?
When you're purchasing insurance, it's essential to think over the actions you're accountable for and the assets you own. These considerations will guide you in determining the variety of insurance covers you require. Here are some questions that might assist you in determining your necessary coverage:
- Do you have volunteers or interact with the public?
- Do you have employees?
- Do you own or use motor vehicles?
- Do you have buildings that you own or are responsible for?
- Could your Village Hall continue to operate if your buildings were damaged?
- What contents do you need to insure?
- Are you responsible for a premises that you hire out?
- Do you handle money?
- Is it possible you might need legal help?
- Do you give out advice?
- Do any of your volunteers travel outside of the UK?
- Could you be held responsible for libel or slander?
Insurance can be a difficult topic to get to grips with; we’ve created an easy-to-follow guide to help you select the cover you need, if you answered yes to any of the questions above:
Are third-party instructors and businesses covered under your insurance?
Many village halls offer spaces for third-party instructors and small businesses to conduct activities. They are a valuable community resource, but it's crucial to ensure the security of the premises and people.
The village hall's public liability insurance includes property owner’s liability which protects your village hall against third party injury or property claims relating to your hall's property and maintenance.
However, it's important to note that cover is not extended to cover the legal liabilities of organisations providing services or classes in the hall. Therefore, these third-party instructors or businesses may need to secure their own public liability insurance. Before granting these third-party entities access to the common space, it's recommended to check their public liability insurance documentation to ensure they have adequate cover in place.
What's the difference between a rebuild valuation and property valuation?
The overall expense of restoring a property, encompassing materials, labour, demolition, site clean-up, planning, and professional fees, in case of a total loss scenario like a building fire, is referred to as a rebuild cost. Conversely, the market value is simply the cost at which the property can be resold, which may not accurately represent the rebuild cost in case of a significant incident.
The importance of risk assessments.
Your Village Hall has a legal duty to take reasonable care to protect your employees, volunteers and service users. A risk assessment is instrumental in demonstrating that you have identified potential risks and have taken appropriate steps to mitigate these risks from manifesting.
Implementing a risk assessment, followed by proper documentation, is vital as it cultivates awareness of potential risks and hazards, lessening the chances of causing harm, damage, or tarnishing your reputation.
It also provides key evidence when defending a claim. If additional assistance is required, we have a short video offering a guide to risk assessments for non-profit organisations.
