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As a carer, you make a huge difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
But no matter how dutiful and diligent you are, mistakes can happen and it could be you that ends up vulnerable to allegations of misconduct, as well as having to foot the bill of the associated costs.
Whether it’s incorrectly administering medication, a minor injury or even accidental death – and whether you think you’re at fault or not – you could be held liable, resulting in massive legal costs and compensation payouts.
Having carers’ insurance in place is the best way to ensure you are protected from the consequences of these costs.
If you’re self-employed, you’ll need specialist self-employed carer insurance, while if you run, or work in, a care home, the insurance requirements will be different. It’s on you to think about your situation and consider what insurance is best suited to the specifics of your work or your business.
Read on to learn more about carers’ insurance and how it could help.
What is carers’ insurance?
Carers’ insurance is not one specific product but rather an umbrella term for a number of policies that can protect you in the course of your care work. For example, if someone under your care is injured or becomes ill as a result of your care work, or if someone’s property is damaged, lost or stolen.
Exactly what is covered will depend on what you decide to include in your carer’s insurance package.
Your policy can also be tailored to your personal circumstances, whether you’re a self-employed carer or you work within a care home.
Self-employed carer insurance
You may want to consider public liability insurance if you are a self-employed carer.
Public liability insurance kicks in if a member of the public suffers an accident or incident as a result of your business activities and makes a claim against you.
You could be covered for legal costs and compensation as a result of errors, omissions, accidents you’re responsible for in your role as a carer that might result in a client’s injury, illness or death, as well as for any damage or loss you might cause to a member of the public’s property.
Your public liability insurance policy might also include specific cover for incidents as serious as a client’s accidental death, permanent or temporary disability and accident-related hospitalisation. These situations may be rare, but it could make sense to be covered for the worst-case scenario. Often, you can choose to have these specific circumstances covered, or not.
Personal accident insurance, which covers you for loss of earnings if an injury prevents you from working, is also an important consideration. And you may also consider adding personal belongings insurance to your policy. If you are choosing a specific carer package, check whether these two types of cover will only protect you during your working hours, or outside work too.
Care home insurance
If you run a care home that employs staff, you are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. This will cover you in the event that a member of staff is involved in an accident in the workplace. The only exception is if your staff are close family members, or are based abroad.
If you run a care home, your insurance needs will probably be more complex than if you visit clients in their own homes. To understand what sort of insurance you will need, you should consider all aspects of your business, from the staff you employ to the need for buildings and contents insurance to protect your premises and any supplies and equipment on site.
» MORE: Business liability insurance explained
Do I need carers’ insurance?
Carers’ insurance is not required by law, with the exception of employers’ liability insurance if you have employees based in the UK who are not close family members.
However, caring for people who are vulnerable comes with significant risks, so it may be a good idea to have public liability insurance to ensure you’re covered for accidentally causing an injury, illness or death to someone you’re responsible for.
» MORE: Do I need business insurance?
What does carers’ insurance cover?
As mentioned, carers’ insurance is not a specific policy, but rather a term used for the various policies that might cover you for the legal and compensation costs of a mistake you make or accident that occurs while carrying out your care duties.
What is usually included in carers’ insurance?
Carers’ insurance policies could include:
- public liability insurance
- employers’ liability insurance
- personal accident insurance
- legal expenses insurance
- accidental death insurance
- accident-only hospitalisation insurance
- personal belongings insurance
- property insurance
- business interruption insurance
- medical malpractice insurance
- cyber and data insurance
Often, you can choose to include or not include certain covers based on what suits the way you work. For example, a carer who visits other people’s homes will have different needs from a care business that also houses people.
What isn’t usually included in carers’ insurance?
Carers’ insurance packages don’t usually include car insurance as standard.
As a self-employed carer, you’ll need Business Class 1 cover to be insured for driving between locations.
You may want to consider breakdown cover if you drive between different locations for work, so that a mechanic can offer emergency assistance and get you back on the road as soon as possible.
If you offer clients advice about their care, then you should also consider taking out professional indemnity insurance to protect you against claims for loss or damage as a result of negligence.
» MORE: What is business car insurance?
How much does carers’ insurance cost?
It’s quite common for carers’ insurance to be tiered, so you can choose the level of cover that suits your particular circumstances.
To help determine which level of cover you need, try to establish the potential legal and compensation costs of the worst-case scenario that could occur while caring for someone.
Often, you can choose to include some policies and not others in your carer’s insurance package, which will directly affect your costs.
However, accidents do happen so, while saving money in the short term may seem like a good idea, it could backfire in the future if you are liable for an incident that you don’t have cover for.
» MORE: Compare business insurance
Carer’s insurance FAQs
Self-employed carers’ insurance might include public liability insurance with specific cover for accidental death, disability, and accident-only hospitalisation.
It might be worth considering legal expenses, personal accident and personal belongings cover in order to be comprehensively insured.
If you employ staff outside your immediate family, you will be required to have employer’s liability insurance of at least £5 million. Not having this insurance in place could result in a fine of £2,500 for every day you go without cover.
If you are providing professional advice in your capacity as a carer, you should consider professional indemnity insurance.
As a carer driving to and from care visits using your own vehicle, you will need to be covered by Business Class 1 car insurance.
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