{"id":12242,"date":"2024-02-03T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T13:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=12242"},"modified":"2025-10-06T14:09:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T13:09:26","slug":"charities-public-liability-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/charities-public-liability-insurance","title":{"rendered":"Does my charity need public liability insurance?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"Charity<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Thumb through any parish or community newsletter and you’ll find some kind of charity cake sale, coffee morning or book fair going on. Maybe there’s a village Christmas fair or a school summer fete in the offing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s clear, as a nation, we\u2019re a generous bunch. And we enjoy doing what we can to help others and support a good cause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But with everyone up on their feet pitching in, it\u2019s a sad fact that public events don\u2019t always<\/em> go to plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An accident with a tea urn here. A slip on some wet grass* there\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve not done a risk assessment, your fundraising event could actually leave you out of pocket instead. And that’s where charity public liability insurance can help save the day<\/a> by paying to deal with legal claims for compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But I only do the odd small event, so I don’t need charity public liability insurance, do I?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many smaller charities don\u2019t really \u2018get\u2019 the hazards involved in putting on events. It’s tough understanding what insurance they need (not to mention how it really benefits them), or if they even need it at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let’s take an average coffee morning as an example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s likely you need to hire a room in a community centre or village hall to host it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fine. But what happens if someone topples off a wobbly chair? Or scalding coffee gets spilt in someone\u2019s lap? What if someone slips on the wet kitchen floor? Or a large window is shattered?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people wrongly assume the building owner covers any injuries or property damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, this isn\u2019t true. As the event organiser, if something does go wrong, the legal claim will be made against you or your charity. And, as you’re liable, you’ll have to pay a solicitor to help defend you, and write a cheque for any compensation you owe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s not forget, also, that people aren’t shy about claiming in our ‘where there’s blame, there’s a claim’ society. And that goes whether you’re a not-for-profit or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Helping yourself<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Risk assessment doesn’t need to be time-consuming or tricky once you know what to look for. If you can prove you\u2019ve done as much as you can to prevent any mishaps, it\u2019ll help if Joe Public has a fall (or damages something).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few things to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n