Who asks a counseling nonprofit for what
| Who | What they usually want to see |
|---|---|
| Grant funders & government contracts | General liability, professional and abuse coverage at stated limits, directors and officers, and a crime bond over any funds held |
| Landlords & commercial leases | General liability with the landlord as additional insured, property coverage on tenant improvements and workers' compensation |
| Cities, counties & permits | General liability, auto and workers' compensation at the limits in the permit or contract |
Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.
How to check what you already have
- Professional liability declarations. Claims-made or occurrence, the retroactive date (it should not have moved), the limit per claim and aggregate, the deductible, and whether defence costs sit inside or outside the limit.
- General liability declarations page. Three liability numbers matter: each occurrence, general aggregate and the products–completed operations aggregate. Then the forms list: blanket additional insured, waiver of subrogation and primary and non-contributory wording satisfy every contract; scheduled forms satisfy one.
- Directors and officers declarations. Entity coverage, employment practices if packaged, the retention, and the exclusions for prior and pending matters.
- Abuse and molestation. A separate limit, not a sublimit of general liability; whether it is occurrence or claims-made; and whether the organisation and the individual are both covered.
- Cyber declarations. The headline limit matters less than the sublimits: social engineering, funds-transfer fraud, ransomware and business interruption, plus the regulatory coverage and the panel of breach vendors.
- Workers' compensation information page. Item 3.A must list every state you work in, item 4 must carry the right class codes, and the employers' liability limits should meet what contracts ask. Check that the estimated payroll is close to this year's.
- Participant accident. The medical limit per injury, the deductible, whether it pays primary or excess of the family's health plan, and the activities covered.
- Crime declarations. Employee theft, forgery, funds-transfer fraud and social engineering each have their own limit; third-party coverage if you work in clients' premises.
- Business owner's policy declarations. Liability limits on the first page, then the property section: building (if you own), business personal property, business income and the named extras such as spoilage, equipment breakdown or employee dishonesty. Confirm the property values are current.
- Property section. Limits for building, business personal property and tenant improvements against replacement cost, the coinsurance percentage, the deductible, and whether flood and earthquake are excluded (they usually are).
- Business income. The limit or actual-loss-sustained wording, the waiting period, the period of restoration and whether extra expense is included.
What usually goes wrong for counseling nonprofits
- Interns and volunteer counsellors practising under supervision that the policy never named.
- Grant agreements that require directors and officers coverage the board never bought.
- Telehealth across state lines without the licence or the coverage to match.
- Volunteers assumed to be covered by workers' compensation; in most states they are not.
- A fidelity limit below what lenders and the statute require for the funds on hand.
- A management company not named on the fidelity bond that handles the account.
What underwriters will ask a counseling nonprofit
- Clinicians, interns and volunteers, supervision structure, funding agreements, and records systems
- Licence types, telehealth share and whether minors are treated
- Whether any residential, crisis or substance-use services are provided
- Number of volunteers, background checks and what they do
- Budget, funding sources and whether any government contracts are held
- Number of units, reserves on hand and who manages the money
Have the answers in the wallet before the renewal and the quote request fills itself in; CoverMatch sends one application to every eligible carrier and lines the quotes up against what you have.
Renewal timing
Claims-made policies make continuity the point: keep the retroactive date where it is, report circumstances as they arise, and never let a renewal lapse into a gap. Renewal autopilot starts the comparison sixty days out and shows the retroactive date on every quote.