Church Fundraising Event Insurance: A 2026 UK Guide for PCCs & Volunteers

Does the Church Policy Already Cover Your Event?

For most churches, the honest answer is: largely yes, but only for the church's own activities, and only up to a point. Churches in England are typically insured under a specialist policy, most commonly from Ecclesiastical, and the cover is built around the parochial church council (PCC) as the body responsible for the building and its activities. Ecclesiastical's published guidance says its policy automatically covers the PCC for events held in the church and for events held elsewhere in the British Isles, including liability if someone is injured because of the PCC's negligence. Volunteers acting for the PCC are covered too.

That is a good starting position for a fete, coffee morning, cake sale or Christmas fayre run by the congregation. But "covered" has edges, and most disputes and nasty surprises happen right at them. Read your own policy schedule rather than relying on a diocesan leaflet, because wording and extensions differ between insurers and between policy years.

Low-Risk Fundraising: Usually Business as Usual

Ecclesiastical treats bake sales, bric-a-brac stalls and fete-style stalls as normal church activities with no additional premium. The same logic generally applies to coffee mornings, bring-and-buy sales, quiz nights held in the church hall and sponsored walks organised by the congregation. These are the events the policy was designed around, and in most cases you do not need to buy anything extra.

What you do need is evidence that you thought about it. Insurers expect a proportionate risk assessment for each event, and several dioceses go further and ask for the PCC to approve and minute any event held away from church property. A single page covering who is responsible, how many people you expect, what could go wrong (trip hazards, hot water urns, children running about) and what you have done about it is usually enough for a small event. It also protects the individual volunteers, who are the people most worried about being personally blamed.

Where the Church Policy Stops

The gaps tend to appear in five places.

1. Events hosted by someone else

If a member of the congregation holds a church supper, garden party or coffee morning in their own home or garden, the PCC policy does not step in for the householder. Ecclesiastical's guidance is that homeowners hosting church gatherings should check their own household liability cover, and diocesan advice is blunter still: the organiser or property owner cannot rely on PCC cover and needs their own adequate insurance, including public liability, and should tell their insurer about the event. Many home policies include public liability, but some exclude events open to the public or where money changes hands, so a quick phone call is worth making.

2. Hirers of church premises

If the hall is hired out for a children's party, a quiz or a community group, the hirer should carry their own public liability insurance for the event, and the PCC should check that they do. Put this in the hire agreement and ask to see the certificate. For more on how this works from the hirer's side, see our guide to venue hire and hirers' liability.

3. Hazardous activities

Ecclesiastical asks to be told about potentially dangerous events such as firework displays, clay pigeon shooting, rock climbing and abseiling. The sensible route is to use a competent specialist provider that carries its own public liability insurance, and the insurer does not normally charge an extra premium where that is done. Our guides to fireworks display insurance and community bonfire night events cover the detail.

4. Larger-scale catering and cash

Selling cakes at a stall is routine. Running regular hot meals or a café, with more cash on the premises, is a different level of activity and may need extra cover. Anyone preparing food should have basic food hygiene training, and you should tell the local council so it can advise whether food business registration is needed.

5. Hired-in equipment, lifts and visiting performers

Hired equipment is covered under the Ecclesiastical policy only up to stated limits (its guidance quotes £2,500 per item and £10,000 per event), so a hired marquee or sound system may need higher limits arranging in advance. Volunteers driving others to events use their own motor insurance, and the driver, not the PCC, is liable. Visiting performers and bell ringers are protected if the PCC is negligent, but not for injuries they cause to others, so professionals should hold their own public liability. Our guide to bouncy castle hire shows what to ask for when you bring in an inflatable.

Raffles and Lotteries: The Rules People Get Wrong

Almost every church event has a raffle, and almost nobody checks the rules. Under the Gambling Act 2005 there are two routes that matter. An incidental lottery is one run at an event such as a fete or dinner dance, where tickets are sold only at the event and during it, the draw takes place there, and there are no rollovers. Under the council guidance we reviewed, no more than £500 can be deducted for prizes and £100 for expenses, and all proceeds after those costs must go to the good cause.

If you want to sell tickets in advance, or run a regular draw such as a 100 Club, you need a small society lottery registered with your local council. Registration carries a one-off fee and an annual fee (one council quotes £40 and £20), a single draw cannot raise more than £20,000 and annual proceeds are capped at £250,000, at least 20% of proceeds must go to the society's purposes, tickets must all be the same price and carry the promoter's details, and nobody under 16 may sell them. Returns are due after each draw. Rules differ in Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check locally. Our guide to raffles, tombolas and charity auctions goes further.

Prize indemnity cover is a separate matter: it protects against paying out a big prize, not against the lottery rules, so it is no substitute for getting the licensing right.

When to Buy Separate Event Insurance

A standalone event policy makes sense when the event is a different order of size or risk from normal church life, or when the church is not the organiser. Typical cases include a community festival or fete open to thousands, an event run jointly with a school or parish council, a one-off music event with hired staging, or an outside hire where the organiser has no insurance of their own. Standalone public liability for a small one-day event is usually inexpensive compared with the cost of a claim, and limits of £5 million or £10 million are standard for venue hire requirements. Cancellation and equipment cover are optional extras; consider them if you have paid non-refundable deposits for a marquee, hire kit or a headline act. Our event insurance cost guide sets out realistic price ranges.

A Practical Pre-Event Checklist

1. Check your church policy schedule for events cover, and ask the insurer in writing if the event is unusual.
2. Confirm who the organiser is. If it is not the PCC, that person needs their own cover.
3. Complete and keep a short risk assessment, and minute PCC approval where required.
4. Get certificates from any hirer, caterer, performer or inflatable supplier.
5. Tell the insurer about anything hazardous before the day, not afterwards.
6. Decide whether your raffle is incidental or needs a small society lottery registration.
7. Train food handlers and brief stewards on first aid, fire exits and safeguarding.

The Bottom Line

Church insurance is generous towards the everyday fundraising a congregation does itself, but it is not a blanket for everything that happens under the church's name. The risk sits where someone else is hosting, hiring or performing, where the activity is hazardous, or where the scale grows beyond a normal church event. Ask the question early, get the answer in writing and keep the paperwork, and most church fundraisers will find they need little or nothing extra. This guide is general information, not advice on your specific policy, so confirm details with your insurer or broker.