Legal Responsibilities of Voluntary Organisations in New Zealand

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This information also appears as Brochure 4. Download a PDF copy (244kb).

Understanding your insurance

Insurance safeguards your organisation against the financial costs of breaches of legal obligations. Various types of insurance are available from different insurers. However, while insurance is a valuable risk-management tool, it must be seen as a safety net rather than the first line of protection.

Insurance protection is available for many of the issues covered on this website, such as:

  • damage to the person or property of others (Public liability policy)
  • wrongful acts in operating an organisation (Directors, officers and trustees liability policy)
  • negligent advice or service (Professional indemnity policy)
  • employment disputes (Employment practices policy)
  • products supplied by your organisation causing loss (Products liability policy)
  • employee injury (Employers liability policy)
  • breach of statutory liabilities (Statutory liability policy).

Insurance policies normally include a condition requiring the insured person or organisation to act responsibly in the conduct of their business. A policy may specifically state that claims will not be accepted if the insured has deliberately disregarded the law.

In arranging insurance you should:

  • check with a reputable insurance broker about available cover
  • obtain other quotes for the same products
  • ensure that you clearly understand a policy before you take it out.

Answer the following questions to check your understanding of your organisation’s current insurance cover. If you answer any of the questions with “No” or “Unsure”, make it a priority to find out more or take the necessary action as soon as possible.

Yes Unsure
/No
Do you know what types of insurance do you have?

Learn more: Insurance as a risk management tool

Have you recently reviewed if this still meets your needs?

Learn more: Insurance as a risk management tool

Have you had independent advice on what is available?

Learn more: Insurance as a risk management tool

Is the organisation aware of any relevant exclusion clauses in their insurance policies?

Learn more: Insurance as a risk management tool

Remember to print this checklist out once you’ve completed it.