UK charities who work outside the UK present a host of complex risks: political, geographic, cultural and behavioural.
Employees a long way from home, often with stretched management lines, require built-in support systems, many of which can be offered by insurers, as well as confidence that evacuation can be adequately managed. Many “duty of care” insurance policies now go far beyond travel insurance and can provide both in-country support and confidential counselling. Bespoke covers can be arranged enabling the knowledge and experience of insurers, and their 24 hour multi-lingual crisis centres, to be interwoven into your employee care proposition. Increasingly we are seeing the HR department, rather than Finance, bringing together the previously disparate insurance policies such as Life Cover, Kidnap and Travel under one heading, with appropriate support lines and services.
Compliance with international insurance law can affect continuation of permission to operate. Such permissions are often dependent on suitable insurance, which often needs to be arranged in the local country to comply with local law and custom, and in the local language.
Crime is an inevitability in the stark world of “have” and “have not”, whether emanating outside the organisation with cyber criminals, or inside with employees. Provided you can articulate your controls to insurers, there are a variety of insurance solutions available to mitigate a major or sustained theft or fraud.
Trustees are also increasingly aware that their Trustees Indemnity cover is unlikely to include personal injury following abuse or malpractice, and with claims often brought many years after the allegation, are seeking assurance that the underlying abuse and malpractice cover is robust and sufficient. In particular, trustees are looking for an audit of the prior years to ensure integrity of cover for incidents coming from the past, or other charities previously acquired.
10 considerations for international charities
- A full duty of care support package for those abroad, supported by a 24-hour crisis and advice line
- Crime will happen away from home. How can this be mitigated and insured?
- Making sure insurance is robust in areas of safeguarding, abuse, malpractice and trials
- Duty of care to protect trustees, and explain coverage to them
- Not leaving a back door open into your core systems, and insuring against cyber threat if you do
- Hostile territory training and kidnap insurance
- Covering large amounts of cash moving to disaster zones
- Examining the relevance of War exclusions and Terrorism exclusions on all policies
- Using an insurer unlikely to be prohibited by sanctions where you operate
- Local country insurance compliance
Charities & Care Practice Consultancy
Innovation Broking have been working closely with the Care Practice Consultancy of the insurer, Markel, and can now bring that service to you, whether or not you insure with Markel, and at significant discounts.
Markel Care: for Children, for Elderly, for Vulnerable Adults
Innovation Broking is practised at being part of, or leading, multi-disciplinary teams to bring together the skills required to support international charities. We are highly experienced in the charity sector, with the capacity to deliver optimal risk advice and the ability to work effectively with your internal team and external professionals. Innovation Broking is completely independent and non-aligned to any one insurer. Contact us today for further information or assistance.
