General liability is the most basic of all insurance coverage. It protects your nonprofit organization against financial risk:

• Pays damages when the organization is liable
• Defends the organization if sued

It’s important that your nonprofit has the best insurance at the lowest cost to cover claims that may occur. Funders and other contracts usually require liability insurance. You want to protect the assets of your nonprofit as well as your staff and board. If a nonprofit is named in a lawsuit – even if the facts provide it with a good defense – legal costs could force it into financial hardship or even bankruptcy.

When should I shop?

Liability policies are written for one year. The best time to shop is 90 days prior to the anniversary date. It’s important to allow enough time for your insurance agent to talk to the carrier about your policy and secure a quote. If you cancel your current policy any other time during the year, you may be charged 10% of the premium as a cancellation penalty.

When you are ready to investigate purchasing insurance an independent insurance agent, such as Nonprofit Resources, is your advocate to the carrier. They represent several different insurance carriers and therefore find the best policies for the best price. It doesn’t cost you any money to use an agent. Because insurance companies are not staffed to provide customer support, they pay a fee to agents to provide these services. Some insurance companies, such as State Farm, use their own in-house agents to provide these services. However, in-house agents will not provide you with comparison quotes from other companies. You will be best served by working with an agent that specializes in nonprofit insurance.

What is the shopping process?

Nonprofit Resources insures hundreds of nonprofit organizations and has developed the following process:

1. We gather information pertaining to your particular operation so that a tailored insurance package can be created.
2. Application forms will be completed and submitted to several insurance companies to begin the quote process. An underwriter at the insurance company will review the application and determine a premium.
3. A quote is sent to Nonprofit Resources to review. Changes in coverage and/or premium are negotiated with the underwriter.
4. The agent will review the quotes with you to help you make a selection.
5. Once your policy is issued, it is assigned to an account manager. This person will issue certificates of insurance, auto ID cards and any other necessary paperwork. You may contact this person at any time for questions about coverage or changes to your policy.
6. As your policy anniversary approaches, the account manager will contact you to talk about possible changes, secure quotes from other carriers and renew the policy for you.

Protecting your business from risks is one of the foundations of success and having the right business liability insurance and additional coverage can save you money in the long run. Protect your investment by making sure you are properly covered.

At Nonprofit Resources, our insurance programs offer a wide range of competitively priced liability packages. Remember, profits earned by Nonprofit Resources are used to support Colorado Nonprofit Association programs. Please contact us when you are purchasing insurance for your organization. You can reach us via phone at 303-894-0298 or toll-free at 866-537-1142.