One of the common questions we receive from our charter school clients is about school volunteers and whether or not worker’s compensation covers them. 

Unfortunately, the answer is a resounding: “It depends.” Insurance companies, agents, and even state laws vary dramatically when covering volunteers on a worker’s compensation policy. 

Some states have laws that specify certain types of volunteers as eligible for workers’ compensation, either voluntary or mandatory. NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance), the governing body over workers’ compensation for most of the nation, provides a “Voluntary Compensation Insurance” endorsement that can be added to policies. 

However, this endorsement has been interpreted to mean different things by different insurance companies. So even having this endorsement doesn’t necessarily guarantee you coverage. 

What can a charter school do to obtain coverage?

As of this blog post, coverage for school volunteers is not required in Nevada, but we certainly recommend you obtain the proper coverage for them. 

The best way to obtain the coverage is to work with an insurance company that understands schools and doesn’t have a problem adding volunteers. Only a few worker’s compensation insurance companies will add the coverage, so you must have insurance with one of those companies.  

We recommend that you or your agent obtain written confirmation from the insurance company about the volunteer workers. Having the endorsement doesn’t necessarily guarantee you the coverage because the coverage endorsement has been interpreted in different ways. 

If you have any questions or want to find out if your policy provides coverage for volunteer workers, please don’t hesitate to contact our office at (702) 507-6999.