Members | For Volunteers | Volunteer Essentials

Plan 1 accident insurance covers all Member and Nonmember participants of Girl Scout sponsored/supervised events. This Basic Accident Insurance-Plan 1 is automatic and the cost is paid by Girl Scouts of the USA.

This insurance coverage is not intended to diminish or replace the need for family health insurance. Vehicles and locations also need to be appropriately insured. See the Certificate of Insurance section for more information.

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Activity Accident Insurance – Effective 10/1/2025

Girl Scouts provides Activity Accident Insurance underwritten by Mutual of Omaha to support Girl Scouts participating in Girl Scout approved and supervised activities and events.

Activity Accident insurance is automatic upon membership registration and applies to all adult and youth members who may become injured during a Girl Scout approved and supervised activity. This coverage works like supplemental medical/health coverage and is intended to help with out-of-pocket medical expenses that may not be covered by personal insurance.

Activity Accident insurance extends to non-members who are invited to participate in a Girl Scout approved and supervised activity, whether an adult volunteer for the day, or a friend of a Girl Scout who is joining along to try out scouting.

Activity Accident coverage applies to day events, overnight trips (including camp), and international travel. A summary of these coverage types for each category can be found here:

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Filing a Claim

Read the instructions and complete a claim form.
Complete a Standard Incident Report.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Girl Scout coverage is secondary to any health insurance a member already has (except for 3P and 3PI coverage for travel, which must be purchased). Submit your claim to your primary health insurance company first. When you receive an Explanation of Benefits statement, send it to the Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois’ Accounting Department, if the incident occurred on a trip, with your itemized bill and the completed claim form. Payment will be made to the provider(s) of service (hospital, physician, etc.) unless a paid receipt statement accompanies the bill at the time the claim is submitted.

Certificates of Insurance (COIs)

A Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a form which identifies how much insurance the holder possesses. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is obligated to ensure, to the extent reasonably possible, that any site or facility, vendor or program provider we use is safe. Troops and/or Service Units are also asked to request/obtain a COI from any site or facility that they wish to visit that is not already on the GSofSI list of organizations that have provided acceptable insurance coverage. See complete list below.

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois requires that a COI be requested from:

Operators of a program site
Vendors
Program providers
Program collaborators

Depending upon the Girl Scout activity or function, insurance must be held in some or all the following categories and amounts:

Commercial general liability: $1,000,000 minimum
Automobile liability: $1,000,000
Transportation: $1,000,000 (if providing group transportation)
Workers compensation and employer liability per state statute

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois should be named as Certificate Holder and named as additional insured for activities considered high risk activities and as required by Safety Activity Checkpoints.

Certificates of insurance are not needed for the use of sites owned by Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois.

Wondering if your planned activity requires you to obtain a COI? Check out the When to Request document.

Procedure for Obtaining a COI From a Program/Activity Provider toggle arrow

First, check the list below to find out whether Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois has already received a COI from the program/activity provider.

List of Organizations That Have Provided Acceptable Insurance Coverage

List of GSofSI Insurance Holders

If no COI has been received:

At least two weeks prior to the event, contact the program site and request a Certificate of Insurance naming Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois as a “Certificate Holder” using 4 Ginger Creek Parkway, Glen Carbon, IL 62034 as the address to be listed on the form and request it be emailed to customercare@gsofsi.org. If you plan to use the vendor on a recurring basis, request that the COI be renewed each year when the policy is renewed. A Girl Scouts of Southern IL staff member can obtain a COI for you as well. If you need assistance with your request, please email customercare@gsofsi.org.

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There are times when another organization may ask for you to provide a copy of Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois’ COI for their records. Please complete the link below to request the council’s copy of their COI. Please allow two weeks for this request to be processed. The COI will be emailed directly to the business/organization requesting the COI.

Request a Certificate of Insurance

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What is a Certificate of Insurance (COI)?
A COI is a form provided by the operator of a program site, excluding sites owned by Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois (GSofSI), which identifies a specified amount of coverage the insured holds in various categories, e.g. commercial general liability, automobile, professional liability and workers compensation.

Why does our council require COI’s?
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois' national Girl Scout insurance broker has advised us that it is both appropriate and necessary to request and receive COI’s from the owner/operators of facilities used by our girl and adult members. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois is obligated to ensure, to the extent reasonably possible, that any site or facility we use for our girls and adults is safe. One measure is the evidence that the facility is adequately insured.

What if a vendor/program provider refuses to provide a COI?
These instances are handled on a case by case basis in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer.

We do not need COI’s for political subdivisions of the State of Illinois; licensed vendors with GSUSA.

A troop wants to go to a fast food restaurant that has a playground. Do we need to request a COI?
For public venues i.e. McDonald’s, public library, museum, etc. if the event is held in a public area, no COI is needed. If held in a private room, a COI is required.

A troop is setting up a Fall Program/Cookie Program booth at a local store. Do we need to request a COI?
If the booth is located outside of the outer-most door of the store, no COI is required. If the booth is inside the outer-most door, then we need a COI from the store. If any booth at any commercial establishment will be inside the store, then we need a COI from the company at the corporate level.

What is required when a Girl Scout activity takes place in a private residence?
Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois' commercial general liability policy provides liability coverage for leaders who hold meetings in their home, but Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois property/casualty insurance does not cover the leader’s home or personal property, whether the home is owned, rented or leased. It is the homeowner/lessor’s responsibility to make sure that there is adequate property/casualty insurance coverage in place. Registered members participating in Girl Scout activities in a home who are injured are covered by the Girl Scout Activity Insurance provided as part of the GSUSA membership registration fee. This insurance only provides coverage for accidents.

Does Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois' insurance cover accidents in which the leader is transporting girls in a privately-owned vehicle?
The insurance on the vehicle is always primary, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois' insurance is secondary. The coverage on the vehicle must meet state minimum limits for the vehicle to be used to transport girls.

Why does Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois prefer to be named as an additional insured?
The term Additional Insured refers to the practice of the insured entity naming Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois as additional insured. This allows Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois to be named on the vendor’s insurance policy in case there is a claim resulting from an injury or accident to a program participant for which the vendor and/or its personnel are responsible. For high risk activities, mainly high adventure, food related, hay-rides, transportation, Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois recommends that we be named as additional insured. We are required to be named as additional insured in instances where services are being performed on our site.

When is additional insurance coverage required?
Commercial bus transportation (more than 40 seats) requires $10,000,000 of insurance coverage. The coverage can be a combination of commercial general liability and umbrella coverage, but not automobile liability coverage.

Shopping malls typically have the additional insured listed for $2,000,000 of coverage.

Acceptable amounts of coverage required on a COI:

Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois requires a minimum total per occurrence limit of $1,000,000. This can be in a Primary Commercial General OR a combination of a Primary General Liability Policy and a Broad Umbrella liability policy. If vendors are performing services at any of our facilities or any facility that we rent, we require workers compensation coverage per state statute. If the vendor is coming onto a Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois site or is providing transportation as part of a program, the COI must also include at least $1,000,000 of automobile coverage.

When is Workers Compensation insurance required?
Workers compensation coverage is required in instances where the vendor performs services on any Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois site or any site that Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois rents for a program/event. Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois CANNOT waive workers compensation coverage. If a vendor’s employee is injured on our site, they can file a claim against our workers compensation if the vendor does not carry workers compensation coverage.

When is Professional Liability insurance required?
Professional liability insurance at a minimum of $500,000 is required to cover consultants in instances where we would be relying on their professional opinion, in case it proves to be incorrect.

For more information regarding Certificates of Insurance, please feel free to contact customercare@gsofsi.org or call 800-345-6858.