Care Home Insurance

What is care home insurance?

Care home insurance is a specialist business insurance policy that protects you financially if something unexpected happens at your care or nursing home, so you can keep providing care with minimal disruption. It is there to protect your residents, patients and staff, and it is also there to protect you, the care home owner.

Because it is a specialist form of cover, it can be tailored to all sorts of care businesses, from nursing homes to retirement homes and assisted living accommodation of all shapes and sizes. The standard cover levels are buildings and contents, as with most other business insurance. After those, you customise the policy to your home's specifications.

Who needs care home insurance?

Any provider of care services in the UK needs care home or nursing home insurance, because running a care home carries a higher day-to-day risk than many other businesses. Care homes must meet legal compliance requirements, often work with a number of professional services and staff, and have elderly and vulnerable people living under their care.

Care home insurance as a whole is not a legal requirement. However, if you employ at least one person, you are legally required to hold employers' liability insurance, so in practice almost every care home needs a policy that includes it.

What does care home insurance cover?

A care home policy starts with buildings and contents cover and can then include a range of liability and specialist covers chosen to fit your home.

• Buildings cover protects the building(s) associated with the business from damage such as fire, flooding and subsidence. It covers the bricks and mortar, including walls, floors, fixed or plumbed-in goods, car parks and sometimes maintained gardens.
• Contents cover protects the items inside the buildings: furniture, kitchen crockery and cookware, clothing, electronics and books. It can even cover food in fridges and freezers, and can include residents' belongings. A useful test is to imagine what would fall out if you turned the building upside down.
• Employers' liability insurance protects your staff if something unexpected happens to them, and is a legal requirement for any business with at least one employee.
• Public liability insurance protects you if a member of the public, such as a resident or a visiting friend or family member, is injured or their property is damaged. That could be a stone flicking up and breaking a visitor's car window or someone falling over and injuring themselves.
• Treatment liability and abuse cover are specialist extensions to public liability. Abuse cover protects the business if allegations of sexual, mental or physical abuse of residents are made.
• Stock cover protects stock stored on the premises, such as medications, bedding and blankets and uniforms, against damage and theft.
• Business interruption insurance keeps your income going if something goes wrong, for example if a resident's room floods and they move elsewhere while it is repaired, so you can carry on paying staff and running the home.
• Cyber liability covers the risk of malware attacks and cyber crime, which matters because care homes hold personal data on patients, staff and suppliers. It often includes a public relations team to help you manage the situation after an attack or data leak.

Is care home insurance a legal requirement?

Care home insurance as a package is not a legal requirement, but employers' liability insurance is, under the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act, for any business that employs at least one person. Every care home employer in the UK must hold cover for compensation of at least £5 million, and every day you operate without it can result in hefty fines.

Public liability insurance is not compulsory, but because your business has members of the public under its care and visiting daily, it is a very important part of any care home policy.

How much does care home insurance cost?

There is no single price for care home insurance, because each policy is tailored to the home and the premium depends on the risk your business represents. The main factors insurers look at are:

• Nature of the business: different types of care provider come with different risk profiles.
• Number of employees: higher numbers of employees can present higher risks for insurers.
• The level of cover: specify exactly what the care home needs so you do not pay for unnecessary items.
• Voluntary excess: increasing your voluntary excess can bring the quote down, but keep it realistic, as you will need to afford it if you claim.
• Property location, size and age: the characteristics of your property determine how much risk it represents.
• Security: check that CCTV cameras, burglar alarms and locks are up to date and working.
• Claims history: policyholders who have not claimed before may be seen as a lower risk.
• How you pay: as with any insurance, paying annually rather than monthly is often cheaper.

Can I insure multiple care homes on one policy?

Yes, you can insure more than one care home, either with a separate policy for each property or with a single policy covering several homes. Insuring each property individually is less complex but may be slightly more expensive. One policy covering multiple care homes keeps everything together, which suits operators running a group of homes.

How do I compare care home insurance quotes?

Fill in one short form with details of your care home and you will see live quotes to compare online from a panel of UK business insurers. From there you can tailor the policy to your home and choose the cover that fits.

Before you compare, work out exactly what cover your home needs, including the buildings, contents, employers' liability, public liability and any specialist extras such as abuse cover or business interruption. Check the voluntary excess on each quote and whether paying annually would be cheaper than paying monthly.