Participating in a community group can be one of life’s more rewarding activities, whether it’s a sporting club, social club, educational group, migrant help group or another that represents people’s desire to support their communities. While these groups are generally not for profit, sound risk management practices should still be applied to protect both group participants and members of the public that they deal with.

Public liability insurance for a community group is a prudent way to ensure that when things go wrong and property is damaged or a person is injured, the community group may be covered for legal expenses and financial losses it is liable for when negligence on its part is proved in a court of law.

Even if you run the most well-managed community group you cannot foresee all possible scenarios and even the most prudent among us cannot prevent accidents from occurring. Public liability insurance for your community group means that you may be able to  protect office bearers and members of the group from the  liability they might face for physical injury or damage to property that stems from the group’s activities.

Public liability insurance is particularly important because community groups regularly deal with members of the public and because accidents can always occur. It is not difficult to imagine a member of the public slipping on a wet floor and suffering injury, or a member of the group performing a task that involves significant risk without due attention to safety. While community groups are often incorporated (which may offer some legal protections) it is not outside the realms of possibility that board, or committee members could have their assets seized in order to meet large damages claims.

Some public liability insurance also covers products that are sold as part of a community group’s fundraising efforts. This can be particularly important for groups that sell food or other products that have the risk of causing injury to the public and which are part of their day-to-day fundraising activities.

People that volunteer in community groups may also be at risk of public liability claims.  Your group should consider keeping records of policies and guidelines that set out the roles and activities of volunteers and ensure they are covered by your public liability policy.