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Volunteer Program

It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, the results can be serious… a volunteer is injured, injures someone else, or damages someone’s property while performing his or her volunteer duties. Volunteers provide a valuable service to the citizens of Texas by giving their time and talent. Let them know how much you value their help by providing limited coverage for accidents and injuries that occur while volunteering with your agency.

As authorized by Texas Labor Code 412.011, the State Office of Risk Management has developed a Statewide Volunteer Insurance Program to provide excess personal liability, excess automobile liability, and accident medical expense coverage for any designated or registered volunteer of Texas State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education.

Underwritten by CIMA and Gerber Life Insurance (referred to as “Gerber Life”), the program offers the following coverages separately or in any combination.


What is Covered?

Excess Automobile Liability (CIMA):

Protects the registered volunteer driver for bodily injury or a property damage liability claim arising out of volunteer’s operation of his or her own vehicle, during their volunteer assignment. Coverage is in excess of the volunteer’s personal automobile insurance limits.

Excess Personal Liability (CIMA):

Provides coverage against personal injury or a property damage liability claim arising out of the performance of a registered volunteer’s duties. Coverage is in excess of the volunteer’s renters/homeowners liability insurance limits.

Excess Accident Medical Expense (Gerber Life):

Provides excess coverage for accidents that occur while volunteering and is secondary to all other valid health insurance coverage. If the volunteer does not have health insurance, this coverage will become primary.

*Note: Exclusions do apply.


How to Obtain a Quote

Complete SORM’s Volunteer Insurance Application (Word).

  • The contact person on the application will be considered the Volunteer Program Coordinator at the applying agency and will be SORM’s contact regarding premium payments, claim reporting, and record keeping.
  • The volunteer program coordinator will calculate the number of volunteers for excess accident and excess liability. The maximum number of volunteers at all facilities statewide, on any one day, should be used.
  • In calculating the number of volunteers for excess auto, the number of volunteers who actually drive, regardless of the number of hours worked, should be used.
  • Email the completed application back to sorminsuranceteam@sorm.texas.gov.
  • Unless otherwise requested, coverage will become effective the first day of the month, after the application is received, and will end the following year on June 30th.

Reporting Requirements

The insurance carrier has the right to request documentation and confirmation of your volunteers’ duties, number of hours they have worked and activities. The Volunteer Roster requires this reporting annually and can be requested at other times as the insurance carrier may decide.

The report of your volunteers’ activities should include the following:

  • Name of state agency submitting report
  • Name of volunteer
  • Phone number
  • Dates worked
  • Hours worked

Claims Reporting

All claims should be reported through your Volunteer Program Coordinator, who will submit the claims to the State Office of Risk Management and Alliant Insurance Services.

To Report an Excess Volunteer Automobile Liability Claim or an Excess Volunteer Personal Liability Claim, IF THE VOLUNTEER IS AT FAULT–(CIMA)

Your Agencies Volunteer Program Coordinator must verify:

  • that the claimant is an agency volunteer (listed on an official agency volunteer roster);
  • who was volunteering on the date and time of injury;
  • whether the injury/accident happened in the course and scope of the volunteer’s assigned duties.

For Excess Volunteer Automobile Liability Claim:

  • A completed Proof of Loss form, describing the injury to the volunteer or damage to another person or another person’s property.
  • A copy of the police report such as the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Driver’s Confidential Accident Report Form (ST-2)
  • The volunteer’s auto insurance information if a vehicle was involved:
    1. Insurance company
    2. Policy number
    3. Policy period
    4. Limits of coverage
    5. Claim number for the incident
    6. Adjuster’s name, phone number, and email address
    7. An explanation of the accident
    8. A statement from the organization that the volunteer was driving during their volunteer activity when the accident occurred.

Note: If the costs arising out of the collision exceed the coverage available to your volunteer from their personal automobile liability insurance, the Volunteer Excess Automobile Insurance claim representatives will collaborate with the volunteer’s personal automobile insurance adjusters in handling the claim defense and costs. If the volunteer does not have personal automobile insurance, a $50,000 fee will be charged prior to payment of the automobile liability policy.

Note: This policy is in excess over any personal liability coverage the volunteer may have (usually, volunteers with homeowners or renters insurance have some personal liability on that policy).

The volunteer’s primary coverage would be addressed concurrent with filing a volunteer claim. If the volunteer does not carry a homeowners or renters insurance policy, the volunteer liability coverage would become primary from the first dollar. Please note there is NO professional liability associated with this coverage.

A copy of the completed and fully encrypted (due to sensitive information) Proof of Loss form and all related documentation and copies of the invoices for paid amounts through the primary insurance company should be sent to:

Akbar Sharif – Claims Advocate, Alliant Insurance Services
Email: akbar.sharif@alliant.com
Fax Number: 877-725-7695

To Report an Accident Medical Expense Claim:

Did you know that missing one item on your claim could delay payment? You can help us speed up the claim process by properly completing and mailing required information. The following guidelines and the Claim Submission Checklist (PDF) will help you in filling out the forms and gathering information:

  • The Policyholder must complete, date, and sign PART I-A of the Gerber Claim Form.
  • It is mandatory for the claimant, parent or guardian to complete PART I-B, including ALL other insurance information in full detail. Please note that signatures are required of the claimant, parent or guardian.
  • Eligible expenses will be paid only if they are in excess of other valid and collectible insurance or medical payment plan. If the claimant is covered by any other health insurance or medical payment plan, they must first submit claim to the primary insurance. After the primary insurance has paid benefits, then submit this claim form along with all EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) from the primary insurance. If the claimant has no other insurance, submit claim form along with itemized medical bills.
  • Attach all medical bills. All submitted medical bills must be itemized for service. A balance due statement is not acceptable and will only delay processing. A physician’s office should submit an invoice per CMS 1500. A hospital and/or emergency room should submit an invoice per UB04. CMS 1500 and UB04 are universal billing forms supplied by the physician’s office and/or hospital.
  • You should make copies of the completed claim form and all itemized bills that are involved in the claim and KEEP THEM FOR YOUR RECORDS.

Please forward the requested information immediately so the claim can be adjudicated in a swift manner:

  • Gerber Claim Form
  • All EOB’s (Explanation of Benefits) from the primary insurance. If the claimant has no other insurance submit claim form along with itemized medical bills. The Explanation of Benefits (information request) will be sent to the address of the injured person listed on the claim form in Part (I-A).
  • All medical bills

In the event that a claim is not submitted in full or if additional information is needed, the claim will be pended and the additional information will be requested by Gerber Life.


Frequently Asked Questions

  • Volunteers come and go. How do I count the number to insure? You simply insure the greatest number you expect on any given day.
  • Is there coverage for the volunteer while traveling to and from the volunteer work site? No, the policy only covers the volunteers in their own vehicle while in the course and scope of volunteering for an agency not for traveling to the work-site or back home.
  • The volunteer has medical bills related to an accident while volunteering. Who do we send the bills to? The accident medical coverage pays after any other health insurance coverage. Send all of the bills to the volunteer’s current health insurance company. What the health insurance company does not pay should be submitted to SORM and Alliant Insurance Services to forward to the insurance company for payment through these policies.

Disclaimer: Any descriptions of coverage provided are not intended as an interpretation of coverage and should not be relied upon as such. An actual insurance policy must be consulted for full coverage details.