Employers’ Liability Insurance for Home Care Providers

Specialist employers’ liability insurance for domiciliary care agencies, home care providers and live-in care teams across the UK.

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Helping you protect your staff, your service users and your care business.

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GET A DOMICILIARY CARE QUOTE

We compare quotes from leading UK care sector insurers

  • Allianz
  • Aviva
  • QBE
  • RSA
  • Zurich
  • NIG

EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY FOR DOMICILIARY & HOME CARE PROVIDERS

Specialist Employers’ Liability for Home Care & Domiciliary Services

If you employ carers, support workers, nurses, office staff or even casual bank staff, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement in the UK (with very limited exceptions). For domiciliary care providers, the exposure is heightened by manual handling, lone working and the realities of delivering care in service users’ own homes.

Insure24 works with insurers who understand the care sector and can provide employers’ liability that sits alongside your public liability, medical malpractice and professional indemnity cover – helping you demonstrate compliance to regulators, commissioners and clients.

What Is Employers’ Liability Insurance for Home Care Providers?

Employers’ liability (EL) insurance covers your legal liability if an employee (or someone treated as an employee) suffers an injury, illness or disease in the course of their work and claims compensation from you. In domiciliary care, this might include:

  • Carers injuring their back while helping a service user to move or reposition.
  • Staff slipping on wet floors in a client’s home or at your office.
  • Support workers being assaulted or harmed while providing care.
  • Office-based staff developing repetitive strain injuries or other workplace issues.
  • Agency or bank staff who fall within the scope of “employees” for insurance purposes.
  • Claims relating to long-term musculoskeletal problems linked to care work.
  • Injuries sustained while travelling between calls, where liability attaches to the employer.
  • Allegations that inadequate training, risk assessment or supervision contributed to an accident.
  • Legal defence costs and compensation settlements where the employer is at fault.
  • Compliance with the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
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What Employers’ Liability Can Cover for Domiciliary Care Agencies

Employers’ liability is typically arranged alongside your wider domiciliary care insurance package – here are some of the typical features available.

Core Employers’ Liability Protection

  • Indemnity limit typically £10 million (higher limits available by request).
  • Claims for injury, illness or disease suffered by employees in the course of their employment.
  • Cover for full-time, part-time, bank, zero-hours and temporary staff (as declared).
  • Support for incidents occurring in service users’ homes, in transit between calls or at your office base.
  • Legal defence costs and representation at inquests or hearings relating to insured claims.
  • Contribution towards damages, compensation and claimant legal costs where you are liable.
  • Cover compliant with UK Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) regulations.

Linked Care-Specific Covers (Often Combined)

  • Public Liability – for injury or property damage to service users and members of the public.
  • Medical Malpractice / Treatment Risk – for alleged errors in clinical or personal care.
  • Professional Indemnity – for alleged errors in care planning, assessments or documentation.
  • Management Liability – for directors and senior managers in the care business.
  • Property & Business Interruption – for your office, contents and loss of income.
  • Cyber & Data – for breaches involving care records and confidential information (where available).

Cover and limits vary by insurer and proposal. We will explain the options and help you choose what fits your care service.

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Common Employers’ Liability Risks in Home Care

Real-world scenarios where employers’ liability cover can become crucial.

Typical Injury & Incident Scenarios

  • Carer injures their back while transferring a service user without appropriate equipment or assistance.
  • Support worker slips on an unmarked wet floor in a client’s kitchen and fractures a wrist.
  • Employee trips over loose cables or clutter at the office and suffers a head injury.
  • Care worker is assaulted by a service user or family member while providing care.
  • Staff member suffers a needle-stick injury while disposing of sharps.
  • Long-term manual handling leads to chronic back or shoulder problems.

Key Risks for Care Employers

  • Inadequate or outdated moving and handling training.
  • Poorly documented risk assessments for client environments.
  • Lone working in unpredictable domestic settings.
  • Insufficient PPE or unsafe working practices.
  • Stress, burnout and mental health issues in care teams.
  • Failure to report, record and investigate near-misses and incidents.
  • Rapid growth in care hours without matching supervision and governance.
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Why Use Insure24 for Employers’ Liability in Home Care?

Care Sector Expertise

  • Experience with domiciliary care, live-in care and supported living providers.
  • Understanding of CQC expectations and commissioner requirements.
  • Appreciation of the realities of lone working and community-based care.
  • Policies designed around real care tasks, not generic office risks.
  • Ability to integrate EL with your wider care insurance package.

Practical, Compliance-Focused Support

  • Help you evidence Employers’ Liability insurance to regulators and clients.
  • Clear documentation showing limits, insurer and policy details.
  • Guidance on what to declare – staff numbers, roles, turnover and wage roll.
  • Support in presenting your risk management to insurers.
  • Claims support if an employee injury claim is made against you.
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How to Arrange Employers’ Liability for Your Domiciliary Care Business

Information We Usually Need

  • Your business name, legal entity and CQC (or equivalent) registration details.
  • Description of services – personal care, domestic support, live-in care, complex needs, etc.
  • Number of employees, bank staff, self-employed carers and volunteers.
  • Wage roll split by role (care staff, nurses, office staff, management).
  • Turnover and number of service users supported.
  • Details of any previous or ongoing employers’ liability claims.

Our Process

  • We discuss your services, risk management and growth plans.
  • We gather the key data insurers need in a simple, structured way.
  • We approach suitable care sector insurers on your behalf.
  • We present clear options, explaining cover, limits and pricing.
  • Once agreed, we arrange cover and issue your Employers’ Liability certificate.
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Risk Management & HR Practices That Support Employers’ Liability

Good systems help protect staff and strengthen your position with insurers and regulators.

Health & Safety in Domiciliary Care

  • Robust moving & handling training and refreshers for all care staff.
  • Documented risk assessments for service users’ homes and tasks.
  • Lone working policies and escalation pathways for staff in the community.
  • Provision and monitoring of appropriate PPE and equipment.
  • Incident, accident and near-miss reporting with follow-up actions.

HR, Supervision & Governance

  • Clear job descriptions, contracts and expectations for all staff.
  • Structured supervision and appraisal processes for care workers.
  • Fit-for-work and occupational health processes where needed.
  • Robust induction, shadowing and competency checks.
  • Documented policies aligned with CQC’s safe, effective and well-led domains.
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“Insure24 helped us tidy up our employers’ liability, public liability and malpractice cover in one package – we now feel far more confident when staff are out delivering care.”

Registered Manager, Domiciliary Care Agency

UNIQUE INSURANCE
TAILORED FOR YOUR DOMICILIARY CARE TEAM

PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO DELIVER YOUR CARE

  • Demonstrate that you take your responsibilities as an employer seriously.
  • Provide a safety net if something goes wrong and an employee is injured.
  • Support your CQC “safe” and “well-led” ratings with documented cover.
  • Give staff reassurance that they are properly protected at work.
  • Protect your business finances from the impact of employee injury claims.
  • Free yourself to focus on delivering high-quality care in the community.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Is employers’ liability insurance a legal requirement for home care providers?

In most cases, yes. If you employ anyone – including carers, support workers, nurses or office staff – you are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance, with only very limited exemptions. Domiciliary care providers almost always meet the definition of an employer and must hold valid cover and display (or make available) the certificate.

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Does employers’ liability cover carers working in service users’ homes?

Yes – the policy is designed to protect employees while they are carrying out work for you, including in client homes, in transit between visits or at your premises, subject to policy terms and conditions. It is important that the nature of their work is accurately described to insurers.

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Are self-employed or bank carers covered under employers’ liability?

It depends how they work in practice. Even if someone is described as “self-employed” or “bank staff”, they may still be treated as an employee in the eyes of the law and insurers if they work under your control and direction. We’ll discuss your staffing model with you and help ensure the policy is structured correctly.

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What level of cover do I need for employers’ liability?

In the UK, the minimum legal limit is generally £5 million, but most insurers provide £10 million as standard, which is what many commissioners and contract frameworks expect. Higher limits may be available if required. We’ll confirm what’s appropriate for your size and risk profile.

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How much information do you need about my staff to quote?

We don’t need every name, but we do need accurate numbers and wage roll split by role (care workers, nurses, office staff, management). We’ll also ask about the type of care you provide, hours of work, lone working and any previous claims. This helps insurers price fairly and avoids problems at claim time.

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Will insurers look at our health & safety and training arrangements?

Yes, particularly for care businesses where manual handling and lone working are major exposures. Good training, supervision and incident reporting can help when presenting your risk to insurers and may influence pricing and terms. We can talk through what underwriters usually look for.

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Can you combine employers’ liability with our other care covers?

In many cases, yes – we can place employers’ liability alongside public liability, medical malpractice, professional indemnity and property cover as part of a combined domiciliary care insurance package. This often makes management easier and can be more cost-effective than multiple separate policies.

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What happens if we grow or take on more staff mid-year?

Growth is positive, but it’s important to keep your policy up to date. We can adjust wage roll and staff numbers as you expand, and we’ll review everything with you at renewal. Letting us know about major changes during the year helps avoid underinsurance or difficulties if a claim occurs.

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Can you help if we’ve had previous staff injury claims?

Yes. Previous claims don’t automatically prevent cover, but insurers will want to understand what happened and what has changed since. We’ll work with you to present that information constructively and look for realistic solutions in the care insurance market.

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How do we get started with an employers’ liability quote?

You can call us, complete our online enquiry, or send us your existing policy schedule and staff/wage details. We’ll take it from there – asking only the questions we need, approaching suitable insurers and coming back to you with clear options so you can decide what’s right for your home care service.

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