Nanny insurance – what cover should a self-employed nanny consider?

You became a self-employed nanny because you love working with children. You’re in a position of great responsibility, and so you should think carefully about the insurance you might need. Find out all about nanny insurance and what it can cover.

Why do nannies need insurance?

As a nanny, you need patience, patience, and more patience, because your job involves entertaining kids and making sure they behave.

So it’s likely that you’re a natural with children. But the fact remains that accidents can happen, even when you’re giving the kids and their families your utmost care and attention.

Having nanny insurance in place can protect you and your livelihood if something goes wrong.

What insurance do nannies need?

As you work with your clients and their children, often at their home, public liability insurance is likely to be your key cover.

There are other covers that could be useful for nannies, too. These include:

– Employers’ liability insurance
– Personal accident insurance
– Business equipment insurance
– Business buildings insurance

You’ll usually be able to tailor your insurance policy to your business, adding different covers as necessary.

Nanny public liability insurance

Every business that comes into contact with members of the public should consider public liability insurance. It can cover you for injury or damage claims made against you.

It’s not something that you or a child’s parents will want to think about. But imagine if there was an accident, for example if child slipped on a spillage you hadn’t cleaned up. A compensation claim might be brought against you, which could prove costly if you were held responsible for the injury.

Other accidents that you might be held accountable for include damages to a client’s home. If you knocked over a priceless vase or damaged an expensive painting, your clients could claim compensation.

It’s not out of the ordinary for compensation claims to run into the millions of pounds. When deciding what level of cover to take out, you should consider what kind of claim might be brought against you. The good news is that most insurers offer between £1 million and £10 million of public liability cover.

Employers’ liability insurance for nannies

If you’re running a nanny business and you employ staff, you’re legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. You can be fined if you don’t have this cover in place (£2,500 for every day you’re not properly insured).

This cover can protect you for claims brought against you by your staff. Say one of your nannies hurt their back by lifting a child, and then said your business was at fault for not providing proper training. Insurance can cover the compensation claim, letting you get on with running your business.

Personal accident insurance

What if you had an accident inside or outside of work? When getting a quote for nanny insurance, this might be a useful cover to add.

This is a popular cover for those who work in environments where accidents are more likely to occur. As a nanny, you get out and about a lot, and this cover could protect against serious injury or death caused by an accident.

The money paid out can help with costs that inevitably come with an accident. These may include bill payments and medical costs.

Business equipment insurance

If you have any expensive or specialised equipment you use when working, you may want to make sure it’s protected.

If you rely on this equipment, then damage, loss, or theft could cause problems for your business. Having the right cover in place can give you peace of mind that your business won’t suffer if anything happened.

Business buildings insurance

It’s possible that you’re running your nanny business from home or from a separate premises. In this case, insurance can protect your building. If you combine this with covers like contents insurance, business equipment cover, and stock insurance, you could be comprehensively protected should anything happen.

If you rent your building, though, check with your landlord to find out what’s already insured.

Where to get nanny insurance

When you’ve had a think about what your risks are and what covers you might need, it’s time to get a quote for your business insurance.

There are several places that offer nanny insurance, so it’s a good idea to shop around and compare quotes before purchasing.

Nanny insurance compare quotes

You can use online broker Simply Business to compare quotes from a large number of insurers, without having to fill in multiple forms. They have over 425,000 UK customers and are specialists in small business insurance.

You can get your quotes online in minutes. Just get your details ready, fill in their simple form and you’re all set.