If the carrier will not add volunteers as additional insureds, there may be protection under the volunteer's personal liability insurance provided by his or her home owner's policy. Coverage under this type of policy is questionable, however, and subject to interpretation by the insurance carrier. Most companies consider volunteering to be a business-related activity and therefore exclude it from coverage. The surest way to protect your volunteers from a liability judgment, if your general liability carrier will not name them as additional insureds, is to purchase a special volunteer liability policy. Such coverage is only obtained through the purchase of directors' and officers' liability insurance.
Transportation is one of the thorniest areas with respect to insuring volunteers.
If an organization asks its volunteers to used their own vehicle to transport clients, the volunteers are very vulnerable. If an accident occurs while a volunteer is transporting clients in his or her vehicle, both the owner and the agency face grave consequences. If the volunteer carries only minimal insurance, he or she may be open to a judgment that exceeds the amount of his coverage. This relatively new coverage will protect the volunteers as individuals up to the limit of liability carried by the agency. Neither of these forms of coverage should be considered as primary insurance for the individual driver.