• Public liability – injury to service users or third parties, and damage to their property.
• Professional indemnity – claims that your care planning, advice or assessments were negligent.
• Medical malpractice – for agreed clinical tasks delivered at home by your staff.
• Employers’ liability – protection if your care workers or office staff are injured while working for you.
• Abuse and safeguarding extensions – subject to strict conditions and risk management.
• Legal expenses – support with certain regulatory investigations, employment disputes and contract issues.

• Client falls, pressure sores and medication errors in people’s homes.
• Allegations of neglect, poor care or failure to follow care plans.
• Staff injuries from moving & handling, lone working or challenging behaviour.
• Safeguarding investigations triggered by families, neighbours or other professionals.
• Complaints escalating to CQC and commissioners.
• Damage to service users’ property while care is being delivered.
• Disputes over fees, visit lengths and what is / isn’t included in packages.
• Data breaches involving care records, MAR charts and personal information.

• Experience working with small and growing domiciliary care agencies across the UK.
• Access to specialist care-sector insurers – not just generic commercial packages.
• Policies designed around how small agencies actually operate, not just theory.
• Support aligning your cover with CQC expectations and local authority frameworks.
• Clear explanations of policy conditions in straightforward language.

• 1. Initial Conversation – we discuss your services, client groups and growth plans.
• 2. Information Gathering – we collect details on turnover, staff numbers and claims history.
• 3. Risk Review – we look at safeguarding, medication, lone working and documentation.
• 4. Market Approach – we approach suitable care-sector insurers and negotiate on your behalf.

• Providers who are newly registered with CQC or in the process of registering.
• Directors bringing experience from nursing, social work or senior care roles.
• Small teams with limited admin support and back-office infrastructure.
• Flexible hours and packages as the business builds up a client base.
• Support with getting insurance ready for contracts and tenders.

• Services that match self-employed carers with clients.
• Complex questions around where liability sits in practice.
• Need for strong professional indemnity and safeguarding frameworks.
• Flexible cover where there is a mix of managed and introductory work.
• Options to support self-employed carers with their own cover.

With a small leadership team, it can be challenging to keep governance, policies and documentation fully up to date while also focusing on operations and growth.

• Ensuring care plans and risk assessments are completed and regularly reviewed.
• Keeping MAR charts, visit notes and incident records accurate and legible.
• Embedding safeguarding, consent and mental capacity processes.
• Preparing for CQC inspections and responding to action plans.

As commissioners push more complex care into home settings, small agencies may support higher acuity clients with limited internal clinical support.

• Managing medication for multiple conditions safely.
• Escalating concerns promptly to community health teams.
• Balancing independence, choice and risk for clients and families.
• Ensuring staff are trained and competent for allocated tasks.

• Compensation payments for injuries or negligence claims.
• Legal fees, expert evidence and representation costs.
• Management time diverted to dealing with investigations and hearings.
• Short-term loss of income if packages are reduced, suspended or withdrawn.
• Costs of additional training, supervision and equipment after incidents.
• Excess payments and potential increases at renewal.

• Annual turnover and growth trajectory.
• Number of clients and average visit frequency.
• Types of needs – older people, learning disability, mental health, complex needs.
• Use of double-up calls, night visits and live-in care.
• Geographical footprint and travel requirements.
• Mix of private, direct payment and commissioned packages.
• Any history of serious incidents, claims or inquests.

Situation: A new domiciliary care agency missed a dose of a client’s critical medication.

Impact: The client was admitted to hospital and the family lodged a complaint with CQC.

Resolution: Professional indemnity and malpractice cover responded to the claim, while legal expenses supported the agency in dealing with regulatory questions. Insurer and broker worked with the provider to strengthen medication training and audit processes.

Situation: Staffing shortages led to late and shortened visits over several weeks.

Impact: A family raised concerns with the local authority and considered legal action.

Resolution: Legal expenses and liability cover provided advice and representation. The agency improved rota planning, communication and contingency plans – and demonstrated learning to commissioners to protect its reputation.

• Robust assessment and care planning before packages start.
• Clear, personalised risk assessments for falls, pressure care and medication.
• Regular review and update of care plans as needs change.
• Structured approaches to medication, including double-checks where needed.
• Strong links with community nurses, GPs and allied health professionals.
• Learning from incidents and near-misses across the agency.

Ideal for: New or very small agencies with limited staff and turnover.

• Core public liability, professional indemnity and employers’ liability.
• Standard limits that meet common contract and CQC expectations.
• Simple structures for easy understanding and management.
• Options to include basic office and equipment cover.
• Designed to keep costs manageable at early stages.

Ideal for: Small agencies supporting higher acuity or specialist packages.

• Bespoke consideration of clinical tasks and complex behaviours.
• Closer engagement with insurers’ specialist care underwriters.
• Policies aligned with enhanced governance and training.
• Higher limits and tailored extensions where justified.
• Regular review as client mix and acuity change over time.

• The people you support in their own homes.
• The carers and office staff who deliver and coordinate care.
• Your registration, reputation and contractual relationships.
• Your finances and ability to recover from unexpected events.
• Your long-term plans to grow a stable, high-quality care service.

• CQC insurance expectations for registered domiciliary care providers.
• Local authority framework requirements and specifications.
• NHS and integrated care system contract clauses.
• Insurance limits and wording requested in tenders.
• Evidence of cover for brokerage, support planning and specialist services.