Most nonprofit leaders believe their volunteers are "covered" by the organization's insurance. It's a reasonable assumption — and it's wrong in at least three important ways.
Gap #1: Workers' compensation doesn't cover volunteers. In most states, workers' compensation insurance applies only to employees — people who receive monetary compensation for their labor. Volunteers, by definition, are not employees. If a volunteer is injured while serving your organization — a slip in the kitchen, a fall while building a Habitat house, a back injury moving furniture for an event — your workers' compensation policy doesn't respond. The volunteer has no wage replacement benefits, no medical coverage through your policy, and no clear path to recovery beyond suing your organization under general liability.
Volunteer accident medical insurance fills this gap. It provides medical expense coverage for volunteer injuries regardless of fault — typically with limits of $25,000 to $100,000 per occurrence. It's inexpensive (often $2–$5 per volunteer annually) and prevents the scenario where an injured volunteer's only option is a liability lawsuit against the organization they were trying to help.
Gap #2: Volunteer drivers create auto liability exposure. When volunteers use their personal vehicles for organizational purposes — delivering meals, transporting clients, driving to an event — they create hired and non-owned auto liability exposure for the nonprofit. If the volunteer causes an accident while on organizational business, the injured party can (and will) sue both the volunteer and the organization. Your nonprofit's general liability policy typically excludes auto-related claims. The volunteer's personal auto policy may have exclusions for commercial or organizational use. Without a hired and non-owned auto endorsement on your nonprofit's auto or liability policy, you have a gap.
The 15-passenger van is the sharpest edge of this exposure. These vehicles have a documented rollover risk that the NHTSA has issued warnings about. Nonprofits that transport clients, youth groups, or congregants in 15-passenger vans face a catastrophic liability exposure that requires specific attention — driver qualification, vehicle maintenance, passenger limits, and adequate insurance limits.
Gap #3: Volunteers can sue you like employees. The Federal Volunteer Protection Act provides limited liability protection for individual volunteers — not for the organization. And employment discrimination laws apply to volunteers in many contexts. A volunteer who is terminated from their role after reporting harassment can bring a retaliation claim. A volunteer who is denied opportunities based on age, race, or disability can bring a discrimination claim. Your EPLI policy needs to explicitly cover volunteer claims — and many standard forms don't.
The volunteer workforce is what makes the nonprofit sector extraordinary. Millions of people showing up to serve, without pay, because they believe in the mission. Your insurance program should honor that service by actually protecting the people who provide it.