Amsterdam Volunteer Insurance

The Amsterdam Volunteer Insurance (AVV) is a secondary liability and accident insurance for volunteers, informal caregivers, and social interns in Amsterdam. The insurance is valid during volunteer work, informal care, and social internships, as well as during commuting. The costs for this insurance are fully paid by the municipality of Amsterdam. From January 1, 2023, administrative liability will also be covered by the AVV.

Who is insured?

Volunteers
Volunteers are persons who, in any organizational context, perform unpaid work for the benefit of others and/or society, thereby serving a social interest.
Persons who are active in citizens’ initiatives, working groups, committees, residents’ groups, and church communities.
Refugees, including those without status who are staying in emergency shelters, provided they perform volunteer work.
In exceptional cases: volunteers at a sole proprietorship, provided there is a social interest and no profit motive.

Informal caregivers
Informal caregivers are persons who provide long-term, unpaid care to a chronically ill, disabled, or needy partner, parent, child, family member, friend, or acquaintance.

Social interns
A social intern is a secondary school student who, through an internship, learns to take responsibility for social interests. This is not vocational training, but character building.

Who is not insured?

• Volunteers from outside the EU who are staying here as tourists.
• Volunteer firefighters and police officers (they have their own insurance).
• Professionals (the insurance only applies to volunteers).

Coverage and conditions in brief

1. Liability insurance is secondary insurance. This means:

• The organization’s or volunteer’s own insurance always takes precedence.
• If this insurance does not exist or does not provide compensation, the AVV comes into effect.
• You can never be double insured.

2. Accident insurance is primary insurance. It can be invoked immediately.

Where does the insurance apply?

• Volunteers, informal carers and social interns are insured as long as they carry out their activities for an Amsterdam volunteer organisation, regardless of where they live.
• If volunteers/interns from an Amsterdam organisation carry out activities elsewhere in the Netherlands, they are also insured.

In all other cases, any volunteer insurance from the other municipality takes precedence.

What is covered?

✅ Liability of volunteers and informal carers.
✅ Accidents.
✅ Damage to personal property (e.g. clothing, bicycle).
✅ Traffic liability (damage when participating in traffic).
✅ Legal assistance for volunteers.
✅ Board liability.

What is not covered?

❌ Third-party liability (e.g., damage caused by visitors/participants at an event).
❌ Accidents involving third parties.

If an organization has its own board liability insurance, we recommend comparing the policy conditions with those of the AVV. If the AVV is sufficient, the organization’s own insurance may be canceled.

Supplementary insurance

Some organizations need supplementary insurance, such as:

• Business liability
• Property liability
• Data/cybercrime liability

Policy

You will not receive a policy

• Volunteers, informal carers and social interns do not need to register: the insurance applies automatically.
• Organisations must, however, keep a record of who is active as a volunteer or social intern, in case a claim is submitted.

Questions? Reporting damage?

For detailed information about the coverage, please contact Arjen Verhoef – AVerhoef@vga.amsterdam.nl / 085-0811900.
To report damage, please contact the municipality of VGA Verzekeringen: 085-0811900 | zv@vga.amsterdam.nl or use the digital damage report form.