Baker, Romero & Associates

Volunteers can covered in several areas of insurance. Under the General Liability policy, they can be added as additional insured. In California, volunteers –non compensated interns- can be added to the workers’ compensation policy as an endorsement. Every worker’s compensation carrier will charge a premium based on their underwriting guidelines. A Volunteer Accident policy can be purchased to protect volunteers and non-compensated interns if they are injured “on the job.”

Most standard insurance policies exclude independent contractors. As a general rule, the insured should have the independent contractor provide them with a certificate of insurance verifying the coverages that are required in the contact or MOU. There are circumstances in which independent contractors can be insured under your policy. Check with your attorney before you consider insuring an independent contractor.

Employers can be held liable if their employees (or volunteers) are involved in an automobile accident on company time. Employers should carry a Non Owned Automobile policy to protect their business or organization in the event of an automobile accident. Non Owned Auto Liability can also be added to the business package policy as an endorsement.

While there is no standard insurance policy that can insure all exposures, the following is a general summary of the basic insurance coverage most businesses and nonprofits should carry:

• General Liability

• Umbrella

• Property

• Professional Liability

• Abuse & Molestation Liability

• Directors & Officers Liability / Employment Practice Liability

• Crime (fidelity bond) 

• Cyber Liability

• Workers Compensation

In order to make sure that your special events are covered under your General Liability policy, always notify your insurance carrier. There is no “standard” insurance form that will cover all exposures that can arise from a special event. You may be required to purchase a separate Special Event Liability policy instead of adding to your General Liability policy because the insurance carrier may not cover the event.

A Certificate of Insurance is a document used to summarize information on specific insurance coverage(s). A vendor is usually a person or business what is selling you a product or service i.e. I.T., Caterer, D.J., etc. The vendor should provide you with a copy of their certificate of insurance. If the vendor requires that your organization add them on to your policy, consult with your insurance broker and attorney as there may be coverage issues.

Complete the Certificate of Insurance Request form so that we may process your Certificate of Insurance. When requesting a certificate of insurance please let us know the purpose for the certificate of insurance i.e. Special Event, Landlord or Funding Source, etc. Additional details will be required depending on the purpose of the certificate of insurance. Provide us with a copy of the agreement outling the insurance requirements.

Funding sources, counties, school districts, and Regional Centers may require additional wording, which needs to be approved by the insurance carrier. The contract will usually stipulate the special wording which needs to be included in the certificate of insurance and endorsement. Provide us with a copy of of the agreement outlining the insurance requirements so that this certificate of insurance can be processed.

Many general liability policies include a Blanket Additional Insured Endorsement, which automatically provides coverage to any party to which the named insured is contractually required to provide coverage. The Blanket Additional Insured Endorsement does have limitations and should be reviewed. Without a contract, there may not be general liability coverage in place under a Blanket Additional Insured Endorsement. If the contract requires an Endorsement in addition to the

certificate of insurance, this will have to be processed separately. The intent of an additional insured endorsement is to amend the General Liability policy. Always provide us with a copy of the agreement or contract so as to notify the insurance carrier and process the endorsement.

Most General Liabilty Insurance policies will not add an Independent Contractor as an additional insured. There are, however, a few exceptions. We recommend that your discuss this agreement with your attorney and provide us with a copy of the agreement.

As of January 21, 2021, a new workers compensation code, Classification 8871– CLERICAL TELECOMMUNTER EMPLOYEES, goes into effect in California. Historically, California would assign clerical workers to class code 8810, Clerical Office Employees. Under the new class code 8871, employees must work more than 50% of the time in their home or other office space away from any location of their employer.