Public liability insurance

Our public liability insurance policy for members and what it covers

Girlguiding's public liability insurance covers you for guiding activities.

It protects Girlguiding and our members against claims of negligence by Girlguiding, or people acting on Girlguiding's behalf, that causes damage to third party property or injury to third parties. The cover includes the cost of legal action.

Who’s covered?

The policy covers Girlguiding members, or anyone acting on behalf of Girlguiding, while taking part in a guiding activity. As a member, you don’t have to be in guiding wear for our policy to cover you, but you must follow  all rules and policies outlined by Girlguiding associated with the activity - otherwise any claim may be invalidated.

The policy is in respect of acts by members of Girlguiding and does not cover acts of members of other organisations when participating in joint activities. These people should have their own public liability insurance.

Our insurance covers public liability arising out of the ownership of guiding buildings or management of non-owned buildings while being used for guiding activities. For more information about hiring out your hall to non-guiding groups, read our information about hiring out your hall.

Our insurance covers against claims of negligence, but doesn’t cover damage to guiding property and contents. For example, if you own a guiding property and a roof tile falls off which injures a passer-by, our public liability insurance would cover a claim made against you by the passer-by. It wouldn’t cover the cost of repairing your roof.

How much is covered?

Although Girlguiding has certain elements of cover up to £50 million in total, you’ll probably only be asked if you have up to £20 million of cover. If you’re asked for a higher limit, please contact the insurance team.

Extra details of our public liability policy

  • There’s an excess of £100 in respect of third-party property damage.
  • All our members can be considered third parties.
  • You can show that you are covered by displaying the public liability insurance certificate.

Download the certificate.

Why might I need to show I am covered?

Some meeting places require a copy of the public liability insurance certificate before letting you hire it. Or you might need to show the certificate if you are holding a stand at an event.

Checking public liability insurance of other organisations

Public liability insurance should be for £5 million, in date and with a reputable provider which you can check on the Financial Conduct Authority website. If they have less than £5 million, you can still accept it, but you will need to understand that this limits the claims.

If you’re hiring your venue, make sure that the person who owns the venue has their own public liability insurance cover of at least £5 million. You may need to sign a hire agreement with them.

If you’re holding a joint event, you’ll need to check that the other organisation has a similar level of public liability insurance to Girlguiding.

If you’re undertaking an activity, make sure that the activity provider has public liability insurance cover of at least £5 million.

If you’re asked to sign a contract to undertake activities or hire a venue, please make sure you read and fully understand the terms. You may be accepting liability on behalf of Girlguiding, which might include duties or responsibilities not covered by our public liability insurance. If you have any concerns about the terms of a contract, please contact our insurance team.

Contact our insurance team

For more information, please contact our insurance team, either by phoning 0845 260 1053 or by emailing [email protected].