No one gets left behind under our protection. With AWOIP, you’ll be in good hands with a company that understands the ins-and-outs of animal rescue groups like yours. Whether you are a foster-based rescue, community rescue, or anything in between, we provide the essential protection your organization needs.
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Just because you don’t have a physical location for your rescue doesn’t mean you should go unprotected. There are plenty of unforeseen risks that your organization faces on a daily basis while rescuing animals. The last thing you need is for an incident to occur that may result in a lawsuit or a claim, and your organization suffers a hefty financial loss.
We work with a large number of home-based and foster-based rescue groups that don’t have a physical location and provide protection for fosters, volunteers, adoption events, and more!
Lisa Gray - Akita Rescue Mid Atlantic Coast, Inc.
AWOIP members gain access to tons of risk mitigation tools, including resources custom designed for employees/volunteers, adoption programs, foster programs, and more!
Exclusive and unique insurance protection for only animal welfare organizations across the USA.
Oh, and did we mention we have no breed or species restrictions?!
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No, our program was created to provide protection for organizations no matter the species of animal or breed of animal.
Q. Does this insurance have breed restrictions?
Yes! You may not have a physical location, but liability insurance extends to more than just slip and fall incidents. Liability insurance provides coverage for adoption events, foster homes, and should include volunteer medical expense as well.
Q. Does my animal shelter or rescue really need liability insurance if we don’t have a physical location?
The Transmissible Pathogen protection under the AWOIP program could provide protection for this.
Q. What if a visitor were to acquire a zoonotic disease as a result of visiting our organization, would we be protected?
Liability insurance provides protection for the organization in the event a lawsuit is filed due to an injury to a third party resulting from an animal, a visitor slips and falls and other similar types of incidents that may occur in the course of your operations. Directors & Officers Insurance (D&O), provides protection for your board members and their assets. If the board of directors is sued for mismanagement of donations, discrimination, or harassment as examples. A D&O Insurance Policy will pay to defend the covered consequences as well as any settlement.
Q. What is the difference between Board of Directors Insurance and liability insurance for my animal rescue?
Both policies are recommended for every nonprofit animal shelter or rescue. Since these policies provide protection for different types of lawsuits, it is best to make sure you are fully protected against potential claims. If it is not financially possible to purchase both policies, we recommend that you review the coverages and determine what is best for your organization’s needs at this time.
Q. Do I need both liability insurance and Directors & Officers insurance?
Volunteers are protected if they should be involved in a covered lawsuit with the organization as a result of acting on behalf of the organization.
Q. Does my general & professional liability insurance policy cover volunteers?
There is wide variety of insurance policies available to animal welfare organizations of all types. These policies include general and professional liability, directors and officer’s liability, accident and health, business auto, workers compensation, employment practices liability and special events liability. AWOIP has taken great care in providing insurance protection that is specific and created just for organizations like yours. For a complete description of each of these policies, visit our page, What Does my policy really Cover?
Q. What types of Insurance policies are available?
The team at AWOIP (Animal Welfare Organization Insurance Program) is more than happy to assist you during the dreaded insurance process. You can fill out an online insurance application or contact our team at 800-673-2558 for more information.
Q. Who can our animal shelter or rescue contact for more information?
The “Good Samaritan Law” may provide some defense for volunteers of the organization, however there are limitations to this law and it is only intended to protect the individual volunteer and not the organization as a whole.
Q. I am a nonprofit organization, aren’t we covered by the “Good Samaritan Law”?