The future of the Charity Sector: An underwriter’s perspective

Simon Tresadern, Technical Underwriting Manager for Charity and Faith was joined by New Business Underwriter Joseph Horner to present a webinar on the Future of the Charity Sector. Christian Burton, Head of Sales and Distribution for Q Underwriting hosted the popular event which saw over 150 brokers join us to hear about Simon’s views from his decades of experience working with the charity and faith sectors.

In an extensive and fast-paced presentation, Simon touched on several areas to help brokers develop a deeper understanding of the concerns and needs of their third sector client base.

Simon discussed the sector background followed by several challenges including funding and financial stability, talent and supporter engagement, data protection and cyber security, reputation and trust, political uncertainty, and Brexit and, of course, COVID-19. Also covered was emerging risks, growth areas and, throughout, the insurance and risk management implications.

Simon was joined by Joseph Horner who provided real world examples which related to the topics of conversation, and bought home the challenges faced by the sector, and skill required from both brokers and underwriters to ensure clients are provided appropriate cover and supported.

You can watch and share the Webinar on Demand now

Throughout the webinar we hosted several polls, and Simon has provided a response to some key results:

“We asked our attendees, ‘In general, do you believe Charity/Faith organisations should take out Financial Lines cover?’, and whilst almost all of our brokers believe clients should take it out, about two-thirds said that most policyholders don’t take it out…”

Simon continued, “Trustees Indemnity in my opinion is an essential cover for all organisations. If a trustee is making decisions on behalf of the charity then they have got an exposure, and in most cases, it is the trustee who will be held personally liable for any losses. Trustees are perhaps given a false sense of security if their organisation is incorporated believing that this will protect them in the event of a claim. This however is something of a misconception and a limited company status will only protect the individual trustees in some very specific circumstances.”

Simon also commented on another poll:

“We also asked our attendees, ‘What would your advice be to Charity/Faith clients regarding Cyber cover?’. About half of our brokers advised that they would recommend a comprehensive Cyber insurance policy, with the other half suggesting more limited covers such as the first party losses only, or even just a helpline. It is encouraging that Cyber is becoming more recognised by the industry and that insurers are offering solutions at a more reasonable cost. Some policies can cost more than all the other insurances combined so it is sometimes about finding the best policy to suit the budget. We’re happy to discuss this further with brokers.”

aQmen Underwriting, part of Q Underwriting, provides specialist commercial combined products for three niche sectors: charities and social enterprises, places of worship and Faith based organisations and recruitment and employment agencies.

To find out more or to contact aQmen Underwriting, please visit www.aqmenunderwriting.co.uk