Insurance · Comparison
Best parish council insurance
Four specialist schemes serve the UK’s c.10,000 parish, town and community councils. They are not interchangeable. This is the honest comparison — including the biggest underwriter migration in the niche in a decade.
Published by The Committee Room·Last updated 24 September 2026·12 min read
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How we assessed these parish council insurance reviews
We compared each scheme's current product information, underwriter, eligibility, published limits, exclusions, route to quotation and service model. We also checked the broker or insurer identity against the FCA register and separated current brands from legacy names such as BHIB Councils and Came & Company.
There is no public, parish-specific dataset showing claims acceptance or settlement times by scheme. We therefore do not rank providers on unsupported claims-service anecdotes. Public ratings and provider-hosted testimonials are context, not proof that one scheme will handle your claim better. A council should obtain comparable quotes and judge the actual wording, limits, excesses and service commitments offered to it.
The four-scheme landscape, at a glance
| Scheme | Underwriter (2026) | NALC / SLCC | Online quote? | LTA standard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear Councils | Ecclesiastical (from 2025; previously Aviva) | NALC-endorsed; SLCC supplier | No — quote request form or phone | 3-year LTA standard |
| Zurich Municipal | Zurich (direct) | Not NALC-endorsed; widely used | Yes, sub-£30k precept | Via tailored quote |
| Gallagher (Communities Team) | Hiscox (principal) | SLCC supplier; absorbed Came & Co | No — broker only | Yes |
| James Hallam Council Guard | Insurer panel (Aviva on recent town-council placements) | SLCC supplier | No — broker only | Yes |
#1 · NALC-endorsed scheme — Ecclesiastical-underwritten (from 2025)
Clear Councils
Underwriter: Ecclesiastical (Benefact Group) from 2025; previously Aviva
Who it's for: A common choice for parish councils of all sizes: over 2,000 council clients (Ecclesiastical, December 2024), NALC's official insurance partner, and suited to small, medium and larger parishes alike. Headline sponsor of NALC's Star Council Awards. Particularly natural choice for councils that prefer to align with the national association's recommendation.
Strengths
- NALC-endorsed — the only insurance broker formally listed on NALC's partners page
- Fixed Rate Agreements (typically three years): the insurer holds its rating for the term and discounts certain sections of the policy
- Ecclesiastical-backed from 2025: a Benefact Group insurer with deep public-sector and charity experience
- Co-developed Ecclesiastical/Clear policy wording designed for parish-council risks
- Headline sponsor of NALC's Star Council Awards
Watch-outs
- Many councils moved to Ecclesiastical on a rollover renewal based on information given to Aviva — check your renewal documents are still accurate
- No online quote-and-buy: quotes start with a request form or a phone call
- A Fixed Rate Agreement does not freeze the premium: index-linking of sums insured can still raise it each year
- BHIB offered free Parish Online asset mapping with three-year deals (2019); Clear's current site no longer lists the offer, so ask whether it still applies
- NALC endorsement is a partnership, not a guarantee — you should still benchmark against Zurich and at least one of Gallagher / James Hallam
Pricing: Published example: Waltham on the Wolds & Thorpe Arnold Parish Council (Leicestershire, precept about £47,000 in 2025/26) paid £1,848.38 for the first year of a three-year agreement in 2024 and £2,011.03 for the second year in 2025. Single-year quotes are also available.
#2 · Direct insurer — over 4,000 council customers
Zurich Municipal
Underwriter: Zurich Insurance Company (direct)
Who it's for: Small parishes (sub-£30k precept) that want a fast, transparent online quote. Also serves medium and large town councils through tailored quotes. 4,000+ council customers and a 4.8/5 Feefo rating (2024) — the volume play in this niche.
Strengths
- Genuine online quote-and-buy for sub-£30k precept councils — from £196/yr for the simplest profile
- Transparent published add-on pricing: from £39/yr for play equipment, from £63/yr for memorials
- Direct-insurer model removes the broker-margin layer for the simplest cases
- Publishes its Fair Value Assessment outcome (assessment dated 30 September 2025) on the product page — strong documentation discipline
- Long-standing relationship with Community First (a Wiltshire charity that has arranged Zurich cover as an insurance agent for 20 years) for rural-network distribution
- 4.8/5 Feefo rating (2024) — best public satisfaction data in the niche
Watch-outs
- Not NALC-endorsed — Clerks who lean on NALC alignment may not feature it
- The online package is not available to councils responsible for a skate park and does not cover buildings — those councils need a tailored quote
- Less of a named-relationship feel than Clear Councils or the smaller broker schemes; suits councils that want process, not handholding
Pricing: From £196/yr (sub-£30k precept, online package, no skate park, no buildings cover). Add-ons published openly. Medium and large town councils quoted on a tailored basis, with discounts for three-year agreements.
#3 · Broker — Hiscox-underwritten; absorbed Came & Company / parishinsurance.co.uk
Gallagher (Communities Team)
Underwriter: Hiscox (principal); panel for specialist lines
Who it's for: Medium and large town councils, and councils with complex asset registers (fleet, multiple buildings, leisure services, neighbourhood plans). Gallagher absorbed the legacy Came & Company / parishinsurance.co.uk parish book and is now the largest global broker active in the niche.
Strengths
- Hiscox as principal insurer (Hiscox Insurance Company Limited on 2025 council schedules) — a specialist with strong wordings and claims discipline
- Inherits Came & Company's specialist parish book; in 2021 Gallagher said the team acted for about 40% of the town and parish council market
- Global broker resources behind a specialist team — useful for tendered placements at the larger end
- Active risk-management content via the Scribe Accounts blog (Kevin Millard) — strong on practical PL claim defence
- Named-broker model with continuity of relationship; well-suited to councils that value personal contact
Watch-outs
- No online quote — broker-only model, slower for the simplest cases
- Premium tends to be tendered against the simpler schemes for small councils; price-led buyers may prefer Zurich's online route
- The Came & Co brand is being phased out in favour of Gallagher; some legacy materials still reference the old brand
Pricing: On quotation — not published. Pricing reflects asset register, claims history and council size; competitive against Clear Councils at the larger end.
#4 · Broker — independent Lloyd's broker; SLCC supplier
James Hallam Council Guard
Underwriter: Insurer panel (Aviva Insurance Limited on 2025–27 town-council combined policies)
Who it's for: Medium-to-large town councils that want an independent-broker alternative to Clear or Gallagher. Strong on named-broker relationships, with testimonials from Shrewsbury Town Council and Weston-super-Mare TC. Chartered Insurance Broker status with an in-house claims team.
Strengths
- Independent Lloyd's broker that places council cover across a range of insurers (recent town-council combined policies went to Aviva; Ansvar was also approached)
- Chartered Insurance Broker status — a meaningful professional standard
- In-house claims team and named scheme manager (Colin Raffell) — continuity through claims
- SLCC supplier listing — visible at SLCC national and branch events where clerks meet brokers
- Suited to councils that want a specialist alternative without going to a global broker
Watch-outs
- Smaller book than Clear or Zurich — fewer published benchmarks and reviews
- No online quote — broker-only; slower for the smallest councils
- Not NALC-endorsed; clerks who lean on NALC alignment may not consider it first
Pricing: On quotation — not published. Targets the medium-to-large town-council band where bespoke pricing makes sense.
How to choose between them
The four schemes don't fight on price alone — they fight on distribution model, underwriter pedigree, and the support wrapper. The right pick depends on your council profile.
| Your council profile | First quote to get | Second quote |
|---|---|---|
| Tiny parish, sub-£30k precept, no skate park, clerk-only | Zurich (online) | Clear Councils |
| Small-to-medium parish, £30k–£100k precept, some assets | Clear Councils | Zurich or Gallagher |
| Medium parish, £100k–£250k precept, play equipment, hall, paid staff | Clear Councils | Gallagher or James Hallam |
| Large town council, £250k+ precept, multi-asset, fleet, leisure services | Gallagher or James Hallam | Clear Councils (formal tender) |
| Complex risk (skate park, large outdoor events, multiple leases) | Gallagher (Hiscox) | James Hallam (insurer panel) |
In all cases — get three quotes. The procurement expectation is three written quotations, and the cost discipline of getting them is real even when you end up renewing with the incumbent.
What the schemes have in common (and where they differ)
All four schemes cover the standard parish-council package: EL £10m, PL £5m–£12m, officials' indemnity, fidelity guarantee (set against the council's own risk; there is no official formula), libel and slander, money, property all-risks for council assets, personal accident, engineering inspection, optional motor and cyber.
Where they actually differ:
- Distribution model. Zurich has the only meaningful online quote-and-buy. The other three are phone/broker-led.
- Underwriter. Ecclesiastical (Clear), Zurich (Zurich), Hiscox (Gallagher), an insurer panel (James Hallam; Aviva on recent town-council placements). All A-rated. Different claims histories in different sub-sectors.
- NALC alignment. Clear is the only NALC-endorsed scheme. The others actively compete.
- Bundled extras.Clear runs risk-management webinars with Ecclesiastical and publishes risk assessment templates. Gallagher's Kevin Millard writes a risk-management series on the Scribe Accounts blog. Zurich publishes Feefo ratings. James Hallam runs named-broker continuity.
- Claims handling. Hard to compare publicly — no published claims-acceptance data is parish-specific. The FOS publishes general SME-insurance complaint figures but does not segment parish-council policyholders.
Worth knowing
Officials' indemnity ≠ trustee indemnity. Parish councillors are elected office-holders, not charity trustees. Don't buy a charity-only trustee indemnity insurance product for a parish council — the wording is wrong. All four schemes above sell parish-appropriate officials' indemnity as part of the package.
Allied Westminster / VillageGuard is village hall, not parish council. If a parish council owns or trustees a village hall, you may need a separate village-hall policy from VillageGuard or similar, in addition to (not instead of) your parish-council policy. See village hall insurance.
Smaller authority audit (AGAR).Assertion 5 of the annual governance statement asks whether the council managed its risks, “including the introduction of internal controls and/or external insurance cover where required”. Under the Practitioners' Guide 2026/27, the internal auditor checks that appropriate levels of cover are in place for land, buildings, public, employers' and hirers' liability, fidelity, business interruption and cyber security. The guide sets no minimum limits: it says fidelity guarantee should be risk-based and kept under review. All four schemes offer the core liability, property and fidelity sections.
Frequently asked
Has Clear Councils’ service changed since the Ecclesiastical migration?
The broker (Clear) is unchanged — same team, same contacts, same NALC endorsement. The underwriter (the company actually carrying the risk) changed from Aviva to Ecclesiastical for renewals from 2025. The policy wording was co-developed by Clear and Ecclesiastical for the new scheme. Each council moved at its first renewal from 2025. Many moved on a “rollover” renewal based on the information previously given to Aviva, and Ecclesiastical uses a different question set, so Clear asks councils to check their renewal documents and tell it about any changes.
Do we have to use the NALC-endorsed scheme?
No. NALC describes the Clear Councils relationship as a partnership rather than a single-supplier mandate, and does not appoint a panel. Zurich, Gallagher and James Hallam all compete actively for parish business, including against NALC-endorsed Clear. Best practice — and the procurement-rule expectation — is to get three quotes.
What about BHIB? Or Came & Company?
Clear Group bought BHIB Councils Insurance and its parent, Brokerbility Holdings, in 2020, and BHIB Councils Insurance was rebranded as Clear Councils in August 2023. Same people, same book, new name. Came & Company became part of Gallagher when Gallagher bought Stackhouse Poland in 2020; its parish business now sits in Gallagher's Communities team, and the old parishinsurance.co.uk site no longer operates. If you're looking for either of those names, you should be looking at Clear or Gallagher.
How long is the typical procurement process?
Allow 4–6 weeks from quote request to council resolution for the typical small-to-medium parish. The clerk requests three quotes, prepares a comparison appendix, the council resolves at the next Finance Committee or Full Council meeting, and the clerk binds cover. For larger town councils running a formal tender under the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 or the Procurement Act 2023, allow 3–4 months.
Should Welsh community councils choose differently?
Largely no. One Voice Wales does not publicly endorse a single insurance partner, and Welsh community/town councils are served by the same broker pool — Clear, Zurich, Gallagher, James Hallam. If the council works bilingually, check with the broker which schemes support bilingual policy documentation.
Related guides
Parish council insurance — the buyer’s guide →
Full package guide for parish, town and community councils — covers, statutory requirements, the clerk’s role.
How much does parish council insurance cost? →
Real published numbers: Zurich’s £196 entry, and a parish council’s £1,848.38 first-year Clear Councils premium.
Parish councils — the cluster hub →
All our parish council guides on one page.
Village hall insurance →
If your council owns or trustees the village hall, you may need both cover types.
Insurance topic hub →
All our insurance guides for UK community organisations.
Sources
- NALC partnership announcement with Clear Councils (renewal 2024) and Aviva-to-Ecclesiastical scheme migration (2025); NALC partners page and Star Council Awards sponsors page
- Clear Councils announcement of Clear Group's acquisition of BHIB Councils Insurance and Brokerbility Holdings (October 2020); Clear Councils FAQ (rollover renewals, Fixed Rate Agreements)
- SLCC supplier directory listings
- Zurich Municipal town and parish council product information; published Fair Value Assessment (30 September 2025); 4.8/5 Feefo (2024)
- Gallagher, “Town and Parish Councils – A new offering from Gallagher” (March 2021); Gallagher/Hiscox council policy schedules (2025); Scribe Accounts blog (Kevin Millard)
- James Hallam Council Guard product information; SLCC supplier listing; Watchet and Ventnor Town Council renewal papers (2026)
- Waltham on the Wolds & Thorpe Arnold Parish Council insurance quotes appendix (July 2024) and payment lists (August 2024, August 2025)
- Ecclesiastical and Insurance Business UK reporting on the Clear / Ecclesiastical partnership (December 2024)
- Practitioners' Guide 2026/27 (Smaller Authorities Proper Practices Panel, formerly JPAG)
- Local Government Act 1972 (parish council statutory framework)
- Localism Act 2011 (general power of competence for “eligible” parish councils)
- Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 (statutory EL minimums)
- Procurement Act 2023 and Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (council procurement framework)
General information, not regulated insurance advice. For a binding quote, contact each broker directly. Market positions described here were correct at the most recent update date — the parish-insurance market is consolidating and may move again.