A Trustee Indemnity insurance policy is designed to cover trustees in the event that they’re held personally liable for the loss of charity assets or for making a decision which results in the charity sustaining a loss in financial terms.

The Scouts have a national policy to cover trustees of any Scout charity. The premium is paid centrally by the Scouts, so the good news is that you won’t need any additional cover.

Who is covered?

Any person elected, co-opted or appointed to act as a trustee to Scout assets which are usually members of an Executive Committee.

What are they covered for?

Personal liability to make good a loss to the charity caused by their joint or several action.

Trustee liability covers you for:

• Legal costs and expenses in defence of a claim
• Damages and compensation awarded against you

Some examples of what is covered are:

Alleged defamation

• Following publication of an article, the charity trustees were sued for defamation by another charity with similar objectives. The claimant stated that certain statements made in the article were untrue and gave a false representation of the charity.

Claim for alleged trespass

• A neighbouring landowner to the charity claimed that recent construction carried out by the charity infringed on their property. The charity claimed their documents showed that the previous owner passed the land over to them, whereas the claimant argued that the land never legally belonged to the previous owner. Trustees were responsible for damages and for restoring the land to its former condition

Some examples of what isn't covered

• Criminal actions

• Acts which the trustee(s) knew (or should reasonably have known) could result in a breach of trust. Acts taken in reckless disregard of whether a breach of trust might occur or not.