If your nonprofit owns any vehicles, you need a BAP to cover the vehicles for auto liability and physical damage. If the nonprofit doesn’t own any vehicles then you want to purchase hired and non-owned auto liability coverage. Often you can purchase this coverage as part of a package policy that includes commercial general liability, assuming the nonprofit doesn’t own any vehicles. This coverage protects the organization (not the driver or vehicle owner), when the person is acting on behalf of the organization and has an auto accident. Thus, if a volunteer is driving her own car on behalf of the nonprofit (such as going to the bank or attending a special event) and has an accident, her personal auto insurance will pay for the claim first. If the volunteer’s personal insurance is inadequate to cover the amount of the loss (the member doesn’t have auto insurance, has very low policy limits or causes a catastrophic loss), the non-owned auto policy would protect the nonprofit for its extent of the loss. Without this coverage, if such a claim occurs, the organization wouldn’t have any insurance protection.
