Some of you might recall that a year ago, when I had a serious accident clearing scrub at a local chateau, it emerged that the standard association insurance policy didn’t cover members for injuries they suffered. It turned out only to cover injuries caused by members to 3rd parties. This outcome came as a considerable shock to members. Their insurer, AXA, claimed that most associations policies similarly did not actually cover injuries to members as the premiums were likely to be too costly for associations to bear.
I attended the Assemblée générale of the association today and they have finally found a policy that does cover members for injuries they suffer in the course of volunteering. It’s offered by MAIF Collectivité. MAIF stands for the Mutuelle assurance d’instituteurs de France. It appears that the premium is actually slightly less than the premium previously changed by AXA, obviously with much wider coverage, specifically protecting members.
If you are a member of an association with an activity with any real physical risk, you might wish to check that they have insurance that really does cover accidents suffered by members (as opposed to what they believe it covers!). If it turns out that members are not covered (eg due to the cost of premiums) it might be worth drawing attention of the association to the existence of the MAIF policy. It is possible that there are other insurers who offer this coverage, but judging from the lengths my association had to go to in order to find suitable cover, it may be that coverage is not widely available.