Volunteers Insurance Service was established nearly 40 years ago to address the liability concerns that are shared by many volunteers, would-be volunteers and the nonprofit organizations that use their help. After reading about our volunteer coverage, you can complete an application right here at the Web site, and either submit it online or print it out to send us later.

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection:

Sometimes, volunteers have accidents - injure someone, get hurt themselves, or have an auto accident. Usually, their own insurance is not enough to take care of the damage.

The nonprofit organization has the option of adding volunteers as additional insureds on the commercial general liability (CGL) policy. However, such an endorsement would exclude volunteers' travel between home and the place of volunteer service (the program offered by Volunteers Insurance Service has no such exclusion). Also, a CGL endorsement excludes coverage for claims made by co-volunteers. Finally, by providing the volunteer with coverage under the separate VIS policy, the organization avoids the possibility of sharing its own limits of insurance, under the CGL policy, with the volunteer.

Protecting volunteers with specialized coverage - the VIS program:

To protect your volunteers, CIMA's Volunteers Insurance Service program offers the following three coverages separately or combined:

• Up to $25,000 in medical expense reimbursement as a result of a covered accident - at a cost of $3.75 per volunteer per year;
  • VIS accident policy Adobe PDF
  • Corporation For National Service accident policy Adobe PDF

• Up to $1,000,000 in personal liability insurance - $1.72 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100;
• For those volunteers who drive, up to $500,000 in excess automobile liability insurance above the volunteer's own insurance - $6.04 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100.

Total cost per volunteer if all coverages are elected: $11.51 per year.

The only other cost involved is the required annual $135 fee that the organization pays for membership in VIS.

When you begin insuring your volunteers with programs available through VIS, you will receive an email link to each issue of VIS Connections, published in-house by VIS as a means of helping nonprofit organizations understand their exposures to various risks, and take appropriate action to minimize those risks.

We make insurance coverage available to some 2.5 million volunteers every year through 5,000 participating organizations. Those include the Corporation For National and Community Service programs (Retired Senior Volunteer, Foster Grandparent, Senior Companion); social service nonprofits of every description; local governments; work-release and alternative sentencing programs; and many others.

• Coverage details Adobe PDF
• Printable brochure Adobe PDF

Go directly to a traditional Volunteer Insurance application.

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Court-appointed special advocates, and participants in work-release and alternative-sentencing programs:

Our volunteer insurance also is available to court-appointed special advocates, who provide care and counseling for children whose families are involved in court proceedings. The accident portion of our volunteer insurance is available to participants in work-release and alternative-sentencing programs.

• Court-appointed special advocates application.
• Alternative-sentencing application.
  • Coverage details Adobe PDF
  • Copy of the policy Adobe PDF
• Work-release application
  • Coverage details  Adobe PDF
  • Copy of the policy  Adobe PDF

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Every organization has a risk exposure that no one likes to think about... the situation in which a volunteer or employee embezzles funds, pilfers supplies or in some other way steals from the organization. Insurance company claim reports on these situations show that, quite often, the dishonest volunteer or employee was never suspected, got away with the deception for years, and was caught only by accident.

Volunteers Insurance Service now offers insurance coverage for this risk exposure. The minimum annual premium of $203 covers up to ten volunteers or employees. Additional volunteers or employees can be covered for a minimal additional premium.Go directly to an application.

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Membership in Volunteers Insurance Service:

The VIS insurance programs are available exclusively to members, who pay an annual $135 membership fee. VIS provides the following services to members:

• Publishing VIS Connections as one of our information resources for members;
• Maintaining for members' use a library of information relating to management of risks in the nonprofit organization;
• Researching available and appropriate insurance relating to volunteer activities;
• Designing and administering insurance programs, and compiling underwriting information;
• Providing consultation on risk management issues at no charge to our members, via a toll-free line (1-800-468-4200);
• Assisting members, on request, with matters relating to insurance.

Frequently asked questions about our volunteer insurance program.