A body is a charity if it is:

Charitable purposes include the following:

For a more detail explanation please see CC21 – Registering as a Charity on the Charity Commission website www.charity-commission.gov.uk and equivalent in Scotland with the Office of the Scottish Charity regulator www.oscr.org.uk.

Social enterprises are businesses with a social purpose working both in the UK and internationally to deliver social and environmental change.

The social enterprise sector is incredibly diverse, encompassing co-operatives, development trusts, community enterprises, housing associations, football supporter's trusts, social firms and leisure trusts, among others. As a result, social enterprises use a wide variety of legal forms; some incorporate as companies while others take the form of industrial and provident societies. From July 2005 social enterprises have also been able to register as Community Interest Companies.

For more detailed information please go to www.socialenterprise.org.uk.

In terms of how insurance policies are constructed, the difference is primarily one of terminology – some organisations will have a Board of Trustees, others a Board of Directors. The CaSE policy wording is broadly drafted to apply to trustees, governors, council or committee members, or directors or officers of the Charity or Social Enterprise.

Charities and Social Enterprises have the same liabilities as any other organisations, in that the trustees of a charity or directors of a social enterprise have a duty to safeguard the property of the organisation, not only from direct loss or damage but also from third party liabilities which would otherwise have to be satisfied out of the property of the organisation. Because of this, trustees or directors should ensure that appropriate insurances are in place. If trustees or directors fail to discharge this duty, they may be personally liable to make good the organisation's losses. Because of this, it may be appropriate to take out insurance as a means of covering this liability.

Our “That wont happen to us” provides further information on the types of claims being made.

You need to follow certain guiding principles:

For a more detail explanation please see CC21 - Registering as a Charity on the Charity Commission website www.charity-commission.gov.uk or charity trustee duties on the office of the Scottish Charity Regulator www.oscr.org.uk.

If there is an indemnity clause in the constitution, a charity or social enterprise can indemnify its trustee, officer or director for liabilities incurred as a result of discharging their duties. In the case of a company, a director has a right to be indemnified by the company for all payments made in the proper execution of their powers. In the case of a Trust if there is no indemnity a trustee can apply to the court under the Trustee Act for the court to order the Trust to relieve them from liability if he or she has acted honestly and reasonably.

This, of course, depends on the organisation having sufficient assets to meet the liability.

Any indemnity given is only as good as:

If a charity or social enterprise does not or cannot meet its liabilities, then the trustee, officer or director will remain personally liable. The CaSE Trustees Indemnity Insurance policy is specifically designed to indemnify both the organisation and the individual, so that either the organisation is indemnified for the liability which it has to its trustee, officer or director, or the individual is indemnified in the event that the organisation fails to meet its liabilities. Thus the policy protects both the assets and liabilities of the organisation, and the personal liability of its trustees, directors or officers.

In this litigious environment the number of liability claims being made is increasing and the awards on successful claims are rising.

Our “Examples of Claims” provides further information on the types of claims being made.

There have not been a vast number of claims, which is reflected in the premiums being charged. However incidents do occur and at the very least, will require defending. The cost of legal advice is increasingly expensive and the legal and regulatory environment in today’s world means that the frequency of incidents leading to a claim are likely to increase.

An easy way is to buy it online through this website (www.caseinsurance.co.uk), or through your broker who can access this website on your behalf. If you need help with your application, or if you need products or services which are not available on-line through www.caseinsurance.co.uk, you can contact aQmen Limited (enquiries@aQmen.ltd.uk or 0845 225 22 88) who will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

No, there are a few simple questions and providing the answers are in order and you do not have to be referred, you will receive a quote immediately.

Even if your application does need to be referred to Underwriters, this website will still allow you to complete a provisional quotation. Once we have completed the referral process, we will then either confirm that quotation to you or advise you of any changes imposed by Underwriters.

If for any reason your application is in fact rejected, if you need help with your application, or if you need products or services which are not available or are rejected through www.caseinsurance.co.uk, you can contact aQmen Limited (enquiries@aQmen.ltd.uk or 0845 225 22 88) who will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

Yes. The CaSE website offers an application and purchasing process for charities and social enterprises whereby either:

Charities and social enterprises operate under a variety of legal forms. The insurance products which you can access through CaSE are available to you if you are legally constituted as a trust, unincorporated organisation, limited liability company, community interest company, industrial and provident society or organisation established by statute or Royal Charter.

You can insure against a broad range of risks. Some risks remain uninsurable because of market conditions and some are uninsurable because of public policy and legal reasons – for example, you cannot insure against criminal liabilities.

The CaSE Trustees Indemnity Insurance policy covers you for actual or alleged acts or omissions in the discharge of your duties, both for your own Charity or Social Enterprise and for another entity where you are acting at the request of your Charity or Social Enterprise.

You can extend the Trustee Indemnity insurance to also protect you against fidelity claims, as well as claims which arise out of professional services and employment practice.

CaSe also offers you access to a range of other insurances which your organisation needs in order to fulfill your duties to safeguard the property of the organisation and to protect it from third party liabilities.

If you would like quotations for other insurances not currently offered on-line by CaSE, you can contact aQmen Limited (enquiries@aQmen.ltd.uk or 0845 225 22 88) who will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

The extensions to the Trustee’s Indemnity or Directors and Officers Liability Insurance cover each offer valuable protection if the organisation perceives there to be potential exposure. Unfortunately, employee theft is prevalent in today’s society and the Fidelity extension covers this eventuality. Again, disputes with employees are becoming more regular and the cost of investigations and potential awards are increasing; the Employment Practices Liability extension protects against this. If the charity or social enterprise and/or its trustees provide professional services or advice to others, they leave themselves open to potential claims for errors or omissions when providing those services. Professional Indemnity cover gives protection against this eventuality.

There is no fixed formula for deciding how much cover to buy – it is a balance of assessing what you feel is appropriate and affordable. In these times of increased awareness, the cost of defending claims and damages payable can be considerable. Being under-insured can be almost as financially distressing as being without insurance at all. For Trustee Indemnity, Fidelity, Employment Practices and Professional Indemnity, www.caseinsurance.co.uk allows you to automatically get quotes within a range of cover from £100,000 to £2,000,000. If for any reason you feel you would like alternatives for higher amounts, you can contact aQmen Limited (enquiries@aQmen.ltd.uk or 0845 225 22 88) who will be happy to assist with your enquiry.

No, the number of trustees has no bearing on the coverage or the price. This applies equally to directors and officers.

Given that the perceived risks are likely to be the same for all trustees, it makes little sense to differentiate between them when assessing the cover to be purchased. This applies equally to directors and officers.

There is no policy excess on this policy. For standard applications which do not need to be referred to Underwriters, the excess will be Nil. However, in certain circumstances where an application needs to be referred to Underwriters, it may be necessary for a policy excess to be introduced either for the insurance as a whole or for certain aspects of the risk.

If the policy is not renewed for whatever reason (other than for non payment of premium or non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the policy), you have the option to buy an additional 365 days cover for a 100% additional premium. Cover during the optional extension period is only in respect of wrongful acts and/or investigation costs initiated prior to the start date of the optional extension period.

This provision is typically purchased by organisations which are winding down, or opting to go uninsured, and where they are concerned to ensure that some element of ‘run-off’ cover is available in case a claims materialises after the policy lapses.

In certain circumstances, insurers will consider providing a longer optional extension period.

Should an individual cease to be a trustee, director or officer, any liabilities that he or she may have incurred during his tenure do not go away – they stay with him or her. Should any incident subsequently escalate into a claim, the trustee, director or officer or their estate may still be liable and may have to pay costs and damages out of their own funds.

CaSE The Trustees Indemnity Insurance is specifically designed to automatically protect a trustee, director or officer (at no additional cost) for 6 years after death, retirement, voluntary departure or redundancy.

The charges for The Trustees Indemnity Insurance are made up as follows:

In terms of cover being offered, ease of sign up and price, we feel that CaSE Charities and Social Enterprise insurance offers excellent value.

In the event of a claim you will need to complete a Claims Notification Form which will be provided with your policy documentation. If for any reason you feel you would like guidance, you can contact aQmen Limited (enquiries@aQmen.ltd.uk or 0845 225 22 88) who will be happy to assist you.

All too often the right insurance cover is not put in place because people believe that their risks are not real. The following scenarios should help us understand the daily risks faced in being involved in any charitable organisation.

An employee was killed during the course of their normal work. The subsequent Health and Safety investigation uncovered poor working practices and two directors were personally prosecuted for failings in their risk management. Cover included both the initial investigation and the court case.

Upon liquidation of a charity it was alleged that the Trustees mishandled the winding up and distribution of the remaining assets. Although the Charity was Limited by Guarantee, and the liabilities of the Trustees and Directors were negligible, claims were made alleging Trustee incompetence.

A company was required to attend an investigation by the Charity Commission. Although no wrongful act was alleged, several people were required to attend the investigation, each being supported by legal counsel. Although the company was exonerated and no court case followed, the legal costs in attending the hearing were significant.

Following publication of an article, a charity was sued for defamation by another charitable organisation which held similar objectives. The claimant stated that certain elements of the article were untrue and gave a false impression of the charity. Although no settlement was made, defence costs and fees were considerable.

A claim was made by a customer of a charity that provided financial and legal advice to third parties. The claim alleged that incorrect advice had led to a delay in the purchase of a house, which meant additional costs to the purchaser. Legal defence costs and damages were settled.

A charity employed a new executive chairman. He immediately cut back the number of trustees and two female trustees employment was terminated. The charity settled a claim made by these employees for Sex Discrimination. The legal costs and damages awarded were substantial.

Whether the situation is a criminal, civil or a regulatory investigation, the need for adequate insurance cover is vital. You need insurance that is going to pay for appropriate expert legal defence as well as the resultant awards and damages. Very often, a regulatory investigation will not progress into a civil or criminal action, yet the legal costs associated with such circumstances can be prohibitive.