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With the UK credit crunch already upon us, everyone is feeling the pinch, both personally and in business. Tightening belts means many organisations are now looking at ways to save money, so what better time to review your insurance?

In the current economic climate the last thing you may be thinking about is your organisation’s insurance. But the credit crunch should not been seen by charities as a way of cutting corners, by avoiding insurance altogether. Insurance is an important part of protection for charities and the overall management of risk.

The approach that should be taken, is to carefully review your insurance requirements against the cover you have under your current policy.

You could find that savings could be made — an attractive proposition in the current climate. Insurance needn’t cost the earth, and reviewing things will help you to ensure that you have the right cover at the right price.

Charitable organisations can often be sold insurance cover that is either not needed or is inadequate. The insurance industry has expanded its insurance offering to the charity sector over the years after latching on to greater professionalism and a better management of risk, as the sector has become more risk aware. Thus, insurance policies now vary greatly from insurer to insurer, and you need to make sure that you’re covered for what you actually need.

Historically, insurance companies have not always considered it attractive to provide cover for charities, but that has since changed dramatically and the range of products is now very varied.

Charities therefore, need the expertise to ensure they are getting what they need at the price they can afford.

Moreover, in the insurance market there can be a lot of jargon used, so finding a provider that can cut through this and tell you how it is, can make a real difference. This helps you know exactly what you’re buying, why you’re buying it, what it covers and at what cost.

Charities should ask some questions to themselves and their brokers, to make sure they are getting the best insurance deal.

One question you should ask is: does your current broker continually benchmark your needs and challenge the market to get you the best deals?

In current market conditions brokers may be able to offer a premium reduction with little effort. However there still may be greater savings and cover enhancements available that your existing broker is not pursuing.

Also ask your broker to regularly benchmark your insurance against the market, that way you will be safe in the knowledge that you are getting the best deal available to you.

Also developments in the sector have had an impact on charity insurance coverage. For example, charities that employ staff need employers’ liability insurance and, it is now far easier to purchase trustee indemnity cover.

The Charity Commission offers an insight into the latest insurance developments and requirements on its website.

But this should be only a starting point. To make sure that the insurance policy cover matches your needs, charities ultimately need a strategic advisor who is responsible for the overall design, structuring and placing of their insurance cover. This requires up-to-date knowledge of the insurance marketplace and the daily experience of placing business in wide-ranging markets.

We only use insurers who pass our stringent credit rating criteria, ensuring that the policy wording will stand up in the event of a claim; and we take steps to make sure insurers pay quickly to alleviate costs of a claim. In these tough economic times it is important to make sure you are covered for every eventuality.

Ed Huston is client relationship manager of Aon Charity Assured

If you’re not confident that your current broker is providing you the experience and expertise your organisation requires or you wish to have a free no obligation quote, contact Aon Charity Assured at www.charities.aon.co.uk

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