One of the big questions for our charter school clients is regarding volunteers and auto insurance coverage.   Which policy pays when a volunteer drives one of the charter school’s vehicles?

Most commercial auto policies will cover anyone with the charter school’s permission to drive the vehicle and aren’t explicitly excluded from the procedure.

However, if a specific volunteer drives a school vehicle regularly, you should let your agent and underwriter know, as they will want to review the driver’s information and history.   Also, if volunteers use the vehicles regularly, you should inform your agent and underwriter there.   Additional risks are posed for anyone driving the school’s cars, mainly if students occupy them.

This would also be an excellent time to review whether the insurance limits carried are sufficient for the risk.   We often recommend that schools with regular vehicle exposure purchase limits of $5 million to protect themselves and their students adequately.

It’s also essential that your school have formal vehicle maintenance procedures that everyone must abide by to operate the vehicles.