Since legally created associations benefit from the same status as a legal entity, any third-party damage would make them liable. For example, a music club member unintentionally knocks over a musical instrument belonging to a third party. In this case, the association would be directly affected by this public liability-related compensation, which could potentially result in some significant expenses if not covered.

Although this insurance is not mandatory for associations, it is nevertheless strongly recommended to be protected from any unexpected situations. For your information, if liable for something, this insurance would cover:

• The association itself as a legal entity
• Its managers, members, employees or even the volunteers involved in the mission of the association
• The damages caused by property belonging to the association
• The various risks connected to its activities, whether usual, occasional or even rare

By definition, volunteers work for a third party or a community by choice, without any obligation and without being paid.

They can, however, cause damages to a third party while doing their volunteer work. For example, let’s take a football club: during training practice a ball accidently damages the roof-tiles of a house located next to the field. The question then remains to decide who exactly is liable – the club member who inadvertently kicked the ball or the football club?

Even without the liable person being determined, the victim could very easily turn against the association which is why it’s very important for them to be covered by this sort of risk.