Individual & Family Services
Activity Centers for disabled and elderly; Adult Day Care; Adult and Youth Community Centers, Companion and Home Assistance Services; Crisis and Crisis Intervention Centers; Family Welfare, Multi-purpose Neighborhood and Social Service Centers; Self-help organizations; Senior Citizen Centers, Support Groups, Youth Outreach
When your work is helping improve the lives of others and our overall communities, everyday is different and brings with it new challenges and opportunities. Services offered by socially focused organizations vary significantly based on the constituents you choose to support and the mission you've set out to accomplish. as the clients you serve including food banks, transitional housing, rehabilitation services.... You likely depend on donations and grants, dedicated and caring staff as well as volunteers and may even provide work opportunities. .
Combined with donors who may be keen on involvement the ability to attain compensation via flat fees, fees based on AUM or commissions for product sales, the potential for conflicts of interest to arise exist and informed clients look to advisors with a proven track record supported by professional accreditation.
As a socially minded enterprise that delivers specific products and services to help your clients successfully piece it all together, you should expect the same level of diligenc
At times when folks feel overwhelmed and may be struggling with problems that seem insurmountable you provide avenues for safety, shelter, support and a community to lean on. Your work provides assistance with first steps and beyond to help people heal and stand on their own again during and following hardships or abuse by delivering relief services that enable them to get back on stable ground emotionally, financially and with basic needs satisfied.
The lives you impact are complex and needs vary significantly based on your mission, client circumstances and the services you choose to offer or arrange assistance for. Along with your dedicated staff, you likely depend on: donors, foundations, volunteers with diverse sets of skills and backgrounds in your daily operations and on your board of directors, and partnerships with outside health and legal professionals. You may even provide clients with work opportunities or expect contributions to the facility from them as part of their transition process.
You help create moments of mental and physical relief and time for those in need to focus on the possibility of tomorrow rather than the stresses of today and yesterday. As an independent agency focused on serving a few select niches, Distinction Risk is able to deploy its time and expertise understanding the area you operate in and importantly with your organization to understand your vision, specific operations and budget to alleviate stress you may have about "what ifs" that could financially impact your ability to continue if an exposure is unrecognized or a claim uncovered when it could have been.
Contact us today to set up a time to discuss your mission and help you optimize your insurance budget to your risk appetite.
Distinction Risk Solutions is focused on serving a broad range of social service operations and related associations (e.g. psychologists), but does not focus on for profit businesses, professional, political or athletic associations.
Exposures
Fully seen or barely apparent?
When it comes to the community services you provide, the environments (natural and human-made) you operate in can dramatically shift with barely a moment's notice. Recognizing exposures in advance and being prepared to respond quickly may be the reason your organization is able to maintain its balance and services even when the unexpected occurs. Exposures your organization may face:
Liability
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Slips, trips and falls of invitees in common areas due to incomplete maintenance or hazard warnings
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Injury to children for operations offering child care services or play rooms
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Injury due to faulty facility equipment or furniture
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Facility fires combined with numerous residents/invitees present
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Food related illnesses or chemical ingestion
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Injuries to special event or fundraising event participants
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Assertion of excessive use of force or claims of unjust eviction
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Accusations of abuse
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Counseling activities and assertion of inadequate or incorrect counseling
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Admissions and acceptance processes seen as discriminatory
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Accusations of negligent medical care provided
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Failure to maintain confidentiality of client personal information
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Accusations of fund mismanagement by board members and management
Property
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Is your building new and/or originally built for the services you are providing or is it an older facility adapted from it's original purpose in order for you to provide your services? Faulty wiring or overheated equipment could lead to fire losses.
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Appliance related fire loss (ovens, clothing dryers)
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Power outage or equipment failure leading to food spoilage
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Water overflow from toilets or other appliances
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Business interruption and inability to deliver services or need to spend more than anticipated on a temporary alternate location to continue services due to fire, frozen pipe burst, large weather event,
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Wind/hail damage to building
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Flood event
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Misuse or theft of organizational funds
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Theft of client property
Personnel & Volunteers
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Injury potential to employees or volunteers based on breadth of operations including food preparation, facility maintenance and repair, medical services provided with potential interaction with bloodborne pathogens and other pathogens, counseling and interaction with potentially abusive people leading to physical injury and mental stress
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Injury to volunteers or employees while picking up clients in unknown areas and at various times of day
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If benefits are provided, administration of benefit plans and errors in plan selection or updates
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Discrimination asserted in hiring or volunteer acceptance processes
Automobile
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Liability arising from employees and volunteers using their personal vehicles, rented vehicles or facility owned vehicle(s) for client visits/pickups, for transporting clients or goods to various places, running business errands or going between locations.
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Multiple passenger exposures per vehicle based on services provided and times of day transport services
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Key Liability Coverages
Meant to cover your business for loss allegations from and indemnification of third parties (clients, visitors to your premises, donors, volunteers, etc.) arising from bodily injury, property damage or financial damage. Based on your human service focused operations you are more likely to face heightened levels of general liability exposures, social service professional liability exposures, potential for heightened abuse exposures and accusations of misuse of funds by your non-profit organization..
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General Liability (generally monoline or part of a Commercial Package Policy (CPP)
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Premises and Ongoing Operations
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Products and Completed Operations
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Damage to rented premises - e.g. for fundraising events
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Medical payments to others
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Personal and Advertising Injury
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Added coverage possibilities: Special Events, Liquor Liability
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Social Services Professional Liability/E&O (Errors & Omissions)
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Primary operations and staff
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Contingent professional for specific medical professionals
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Management/Executive Liability: While coverages can be purchased separately, a more encompassing program includes key coverages in one offering, reducing your chances of having unintended gaps, which could leave your organization and you personally open to significant financial consequences.
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Directors and Officers (D&O)
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Employment Practices Liability (EPL)
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Fiduciary
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Employee Benefits Liability (EBL)
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Abuse and Molestation Liability
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Some things to consider:
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Limits of liability protection relative to your risk profile and the services you provide, the legal climate of your location(s), and the overall cost of insurance relative to your financial resources
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Are volunteers or independent contractors acting on your behalf covered under your liability policies as insureds or excluded
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Is the definition of professional services provided by your insurer sufficient to cover all of your services as required
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Are defense costs provided within or outside of limits for your management, professional and abuse liability covers
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Defense provision basis (right and duty, at carrier option)
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Basis of coverage, claims-made vs. occurrence
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Presence of hammer clauses, aka consent to settlement clauses
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Does your policy provide 1st and 3rd Party coverage for your EPL coverages
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When you purchase a full Management Liability suite of coverages including D&O, EPL and Fiduciary, are limits shared and if so, how
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Length of extended claim reporting period for former Directors and Officers
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Property Coverages
Focused on indemnifying you for a covered loss to buildings and associated equipment, your business personal property, valuable papers and records, and business income. It's important to remember you are only made as whole as your coverage is structured for and your causes of loss are applicable to. Depending on the focus of your services, whether or not your organization owns the facility(ies) you use, you may have fairly straight forward property exposures or may need a more focused assessment, inventory and specific approach to ensure your property is appropriately covered .
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Building
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Business Personal Property
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Inland marine
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Equipment Breakdown
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Business Income with Extra Expense
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Crime Coverage
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Cyber - 1st Party
Some things to consider:
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Coinsurance requirements
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Covered causes of loss: Multiple forms exist, ensure you have the right one for your circumstance.
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Coverage needs for property away from your business location: Dependent upon the types of property you travel with or move from office to
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Deductibles
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Levels of Business Income coverage: Are you subject to a defined dollar limit? Are you covered for actual losses sustained on an unlimited basis for one year? Is utility service disruption an included cause of loss? Are you exposed to cyber loss and dependent on electronics for your core operations?
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Loss reimbursement basis: Actual cash value, replacement cost, agreed to value, functional value or other basis determines the level of indemnification you might receive.
Additional Coverages & Protection
Beyond your property and key liability coverages, you may have need for additional coverage, dependent upon: whether or not your firm has the number of employees in a state requiring you to provide workers' compensation coverage, whether you provide vehicles for your team to use in business or have them drive or rent autos on behalf of the business, your desire to obtain higher limits of insurance than can be obtained by your primary liability policies.
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Workers' Compensation
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Employers Liability
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Hired and Non-Owned Auto
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Business Auto
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Excess/Umbrella
Some things to consider:
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State requirements for providing Workers' Compensation coverage based on business legal structure and employee counts
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Even if you are not required by law in your state to provide Workers' Compensation, do you have employee exposures which you could be liable for, creating a coverage gap
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Required underlying limits to prevent coverage gaps between primary and excess coverages
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Auto coverage completeness: If your only auto is a business auto, are you or your employees appropriately covered for driving other vehicles?
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Services
Sometimes the brightest ideas come as a result of simple conversations - open minds, connectedness and a willingness to listen and learn. Distinction Risk appreciates the difference you and your organizations make daily, the .
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The Distinction Way - leverages two decades of risk and exposure analysis experience to provide you with a risk profile assessment, coverage analysis and assistance with insurable risk mitigation
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Distinction Risk Connections - Distinction risk regularly reviews the market for companies that support non-profits with technology, process and fund-raising services to assist you in identifying resources to successfully keep your operations going
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Insurer provided services
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Access to loss prevention consultants to assist with safety plans, abuse controls, crime prevention and more
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Access to Human Service specific e-learning courses and online reference guides, loss prevention libraries and risk resource portal
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Access to discounted background checks and MVRs
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Coverage provided by highly rated carriers with strong financial standing and policies specifically crafted by industry niche experts
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Content on this page is for informational purposes only and may not be applicable to all circumstances.
