A Guide to Home Care Insurance

Home care insurance features

In this section we look at some of the common business insurance protections features you will want in place for your care home. 

Buildings Insurance

• The Rebuild Cost - A care home is reliant on the premises and is most likely your most expensive asset. Buildings insurance exists to cover the costs for repairing damage right through to rebuilding - should it need. You should insure yourself for the full re-build cost of your property. Make sure you factor in any outbuildings, boundary walls, pools, fitted kitchens and bathrooms etc., as well as the building itself. 

Contents insurance

• Contents insurance covers many different things. It can cover the items in your building, belonging to the business. This means everything from office equipment to specialist care equipment you keep in stock.

• Employee’s personal belongings can also be covered while they are on duty. The amounts can differ though between insurers and policies, something around £1,000 per person and £100 for personal cash is standard.

Public liability

• This is to protect you and your customers. As the owner/manager you are responsible for making your care home as risk free as possible but accidents can still happen. Public liability insurance will cover your legal liability for accidental loss, damage or injury to a third party on your premises.

Employers liability

• This is a legal requirement for employer's liability, usually for £5million, although some policies will include limits up to 10million. Employers’ liability insurance guarantees you have access to adequate funds should you need to compensate a member of your staff for an injury or damage from a situation you, as their employer, are liable for.

Business interruption

• Should an insured event such as fire cause the business to run at an increased cost of working, you’ll be able to claim for the extra costs. For example, if an insured event meant that some of your staff were off sick, this could cover hiring extra staff to keep your business running.

Professional liability

• This liability cover protects you against a breach of professional duty. For example, if you or your staff were to write a care plan which didn’t give adequate care, you could be protected against a claim against you. As a guide our home care policy starts at £2million per period of insurance as standard.

Why Towergate?

As well as great insurance our care home customers have access to all these useful features free of charge.

CyberHR: This is an online care-specific human resources management tool. Click here to read more about CyberHR.

24 legal advice line: giving you access to industry-specific qualified solicitors and barristers for impartial advice over the phone, at any time. You don’t need to have a claim brought against you, so even if you suspect on might be raised, contact them for advice on how to handle the situation.

Bespoke legal expenses: Protects you and your business in the event of legal disputes and provides cover for the costs of solicitors, barristers, expert witnesses and court proceedings.

24-hour stress helpline: The care industry sees a high level of stress amongst staff. Our free, confidential service offers employers the resource to provide their duty of care. This can prove a vital tool in helping your staff cope and keeping up your standards.

BCARM: Online business continuity and risk management service. Read more about BCARM here.