On
the back of a new guide to identifying and dealing with risk published by
the Association of British Insurers (ABI), research from accountants and
business advisers PKF has found that two-thirds of charities which believe
they are facing risk from terrorism or political action have no contingency
plan in place to deal with such events.
PKF’s annual charity survey is due out on 27 September, but initial
feedback from nearly 300 UK charities surveyed by PKF and the Charity Finance
Directors Group (CFDG) found that 45% of all respondents had no contingency
plan in place to deal with fire, flood or a major incident. In addition,
6% had no insurance cover for any of these situations.
Charles Cox, head of charities at PKF, said: "Unfortunately, in the
current political environment there is a heightened risk of events related
to terrorism and political action. These can cause immense disruption to
activities and operations, yet with advance planning the effects can be
minimised. It is therefore worrying that initial results suggest so few
charities appear to have considered the full range of risks and implemented
plans to address these."
It is in light of this need for a greater focus on risk that the ABI has
produced a free guide for voluntary and community groups which the organisation
says will help to develop a good risk management policy, plan activities
more effectively, and identify the types of insurance they may need to cover
their potential legal liabilities.
Nick Starling, the ABI’s director of general insurance,
said: “In the voluntary and community sector, managing risk is especially
important because of the wide range of activities and often limited resources
to deal with the financial implications if things go wrong. Effective
risk management should be straightforward and common sense, being an integral
part of planning for any event.”
The guide, Living
with Risk, can be downloaded from the ABI’s website
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