Friday, March 25, 2011

Affordable Insurance for All?

The Ontario Government recently released its report outlining their new strategy in dealing with the Non-Profit sector in Ontario. It should come as no surprise that the report's findings indicate a need to strengthen the relationship between government and non-profits. You can read the full report here.

Of the 6 recommendations put forth by the report, 4 could be affected by the advent of truly affordable insurance for non-profits. Managing to control costs remains a huge problem for non-profits. The ability to afford an adequate insurance policy is slowly being eroded in favour of essential costs such as service delivery, office costs, salaries etc. Having a solid insurance protection plan means that non-profits will be able to retain and recruit capable and skilled volunteers to help fill the information gap that exists with select sectors. By creating a group buying program, non-profits could streamline and share information that would help the sector as a whole. Finally, while social innovation may be a key component of a non-profit's strategy, it does come with inherent risks that traditional non-profits simply don't think of.

WHAT DOES AFFORDABLE INSURANCE LOOK LIKE?

When I started selling insurance for non-profits i was intrigued by the prospect that no two non-profits were the same. The role of the broker then became extremely important. I've recently discovered that the same challenges that separate each non-profit are the same ones that bring them together.

Affordable insurance is one which both protects  the non-profit, but also provides them with a revenue stream. I know what you're thinking....a revenue stream??????

Collective buying power has its benefits, but it should also reward the members for their good behaviour. If they are pooling their risk, adhering to certain managerial, financial and administrative benchmarks, then why shouldn't they be paid back for their efforts?

Affordable insurance then should be extremely cheap and worth it for all parties. With so many non-profits in Ontario, a joint, collaborative insurance venture is the best way to ensure that the interests of non-profits are truly met. Anything short of that, will always be seen as a contradiction to the spirit of the industry.

I know how this can be done and i encourage you to comment on this post to start the discussion on how we can change the face of insurance for non-profits in this province.

Derek

1 comment:

  1. Nice post. Thanks a lot for recommending all these great ways to find affordable insurance policy. I was wondering about what an affordable insurance actually means. You have given a great detail about it.
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    ReplyDelete