Whether you deliver personal care, supported living, complex care or community-based services, we can arrange insurance for domiciliary care and supported living insurance that helps protect your organisation, your employees and the people you support.
ABOUT DOMICILIARY HOME CARE INSURANCE
Insurance for domiciliary care providers
No two care providers operate in exactly the same way. Some organisations provide a few hours of support each week, while others deliver 24-hour complex care, nursing services or supported living across multiple locations. The people you support, the environments you work in and the services you provide all influence the insurance your organisation needs.
Unlike residential care settings, domiciliary care presents unique risks. Your employees may travel between appointments, work alone in service users’ homes, administer medication, move and handle individuals, and often have access to keys, personal belongings and sensitive information. These day-to-day responsibilities create exposures that standard insurance may not adequately address.
As experienced specialists in domiciliary home care insurance, we have access to specialist insurance products for domiciliary care providers; we take the time to understand how your organisation operates before recommending appropriate cover. Naturally, all of our proposals will meet the requirements of the Care Quality Commission (or equivalent) and Local Authority contracts.
What insurance do domiciliary care agencies need?
Employers' Liability Insurance
Employers’ Liability insurance is required by law and covers the business against any legal action from employees in respect of an accident or injury suffered while at work. In home care, this could include injuries sustained while moving and handling a service user, slips or trips when visiting a property, or incidents involving work-related stress. The policy can cover legal defence costs as well as compensation, helping protect your organisation from potentially significant financial losses.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability insurance can protect your organisation if a member of the public or a service user suffers injury or property damage as a result of your activities. This could include accidental damage to a client's home or property, a visitor being injured during a care visit, or allegations relating to the care provided. Policies can also be extended to cover risks such as abuse allegations, where appropriate. Public Liability insurance helps cover legal defence costs and compensation payments.
Medical Malpractice Insurance
Medical Malpractice insurance helps protect your organisation against claims arising from negligent clinical or healthcare services provided to service users. This could include the incorrect administration of medication, failure to follow a prescribed care plan, delayed treatment or other professional errors that result in injury or illness. It can help meet legal costs, compensation payments and help to protect your organisation's reputation should a claim arise.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Professional Indemnity insurance helps protect your organisation if a client or service user claims they have suffered financial loss because of negligent advice, professional errors or omissions. For domiciliary care agencies and supported living providers, this may include allegations that care plans were inappropriate, assessments were inaccurate or advice given resulted in financial loss. The policy can cover legal defence costs, investigation expenses and compensation, where applicable.
Ready to protect your domiciliary care business?
Other insurance for domiciliary care providers to consider
Directors & Officers insurance
Directors’ & Officers’ (D&O) insurance can protect company directors, senior managers and trustees against claims made against them personally, rather than the business itself. Claims can arise from allegations of negligence, breach of duty, employment decisions, financial mismanagement or regulatory investigations.
Even where allegations are unfounded, defending them can be costly and time-consuming. D&O insurance helps cover legal defence costs and compensation, protecting the personal assets of those responsible for leading your organisation and allowing them to make decisions with greater confidence.
Legal Expenses insurance
Legal Expenses insurance can provide access to specialist legal advice and financial support for a wide range of disputes that can affect home care providers. This may include employment disputes, contract disagreements, property disputes, regulatory investigations or representation at coroner’s inquests.
Having expert legal support available can help resolve issues quickly while reducing the financial impact on your organisation. As policies can vary considerably, we will explain important conditions such as ‘prospects of success’ and policy exclusions, helping you choose cover that is appropriate for your business.
Cyber insurance
Home care providers hold large volumes of sensitive personal information, including care plans, medication records, health information and employee data. Cyber Insurance can protect your organisation against the impact of data breaches, ransomware attacks, phishing scams and other forms of cybercrime, while also potentially providing support with system restoration, business interruption, legal costs and regulatory investigations following an incident.
Our Care & Social Welfare team regularly shares practical guidance to help organisations strengthen their cyber resilience. Read our articles on Cyber Attacks in Social Care and How Care Providers Can Prepare for a Cyber Attack to understand the risks facing the sector and the steps you can take to reduce them.
Loss Recovery insurance
Making a significant insurance claim can be complex and time-consuming, particularly when you’re focused on maintaining continuity of care. Loss Recovery insurance gives you access to an independent loss adjuster who works independently, rather than for the insurer. They can help prepare and present your claim, negotiate settlements and provide expert advice throughout the process, helping you achieve a fair outcome while reducing the administrative burden of a claim on your organisation.
Buildings & Contents insurance
Although many domiciliary care providers deliver services within clients’ homes, many also operate from offices where they store IT equipment, care records, medical supplies, mobility equipment and other essential business assets. Buildings & Contents insurance can protect your premises and the equipment your organisation relies upon against risks such as fire, flood, storm damage, theft and vandalism.
Managing Risk in Home Care Services
Unlike residential care settings, domiciliary care providers deliver support in environments they don’t control. Every visit presents different challenges, from trip hazards and poor lighting to manual handling risks, aggressive behaviour, pets and administering medication within a client’s home. Employees also spend much of their day travelling between appointments and working independently, creating additional risks such as lone working, road traffic incidents and safeguarding concerns.
Effective risk management is essential to protect your employees, service users and organisation. Clear lone working procedures, regular welfare checks, robust care plans, dynamic risk assessments, ongoing staff training and well-defined reporting processes all help reduce the likelihood of incidents while supporting continuity of care. Combined with specialist domiciliary care insurance, these measures can help protect your organisation against liability claims, employee injuries and other unexpected events, allowing you to focus on delivering safe, high-quality care.
Business Continuity for Home Care Providers
Maintaining continuity of care is essential when unexpected events occur. Severe weather, cyber attacks, vehicle breakdowns, staff shortages or major incidents can all disrupt your ability to deliver care to vulnerable people, making effective contingency planning just as important as having the right insurance.
Business continuity plans should consider areas such as emergency staffing arrangements, communication with service users and families, access to care records, IT resilience and alternative working arrangements. Reviewing these plans regularly helps ensure your organisation can continue operating, albeit differently, during periods of disruption. When combined with specialist home care insurance and expert claims support, effective planning helps reduce downtime, protect your reputation and provide reassurance to commissioners, regulators and the people who rely on your services.
Why Choose McClarrons for Domiciliary Home Care Insurance?
Choosing the right domiciliary home care insurance is about more than comparing policies. It means working with a broker who understands the realities of delivering care in people’s homes, the regulatory responsibilities you face and the challenges of managing a mobile workforce.
Our specialist Care & Social Welfare team has extensive experience arranging insurance for domiciliary care and care provider insurance for organisations across the country. We work with insurers who understand the sector, helping enable us to recommend tailored insurance solutions that reflect the services you provide, the people you support and the risks your organisation faces.
Domiciliary Care Insurance Claims
In domiciliary care, maintaining continuity of service is critical, even when unexpected incidents occur. Our in-house Claims Team is here to support you throughout the claims process, providing practical guidance and managing communication with insurers and third parties.
Whether dealing with liability claims, employee incidents or property-related losses, we work to ensure your claim is handled efficiently and fairly. With an understanding of the challenges faced by care providers operating in the community, we aim to minimise disruption and support a swift resolution. Our goal is to help you continue delivering essential care services while we manage the complexities of any claims on your behalf.
A word from McClarrons' Head of Care & Social Welfare
Discover the McClarrons Care Network
The McClarrons Care Network brings together three specialist businesses who work in the sector and cater for care organisations, and who, through the network, are offering McClarrons’ Care & Social Welfare clients discounted or enhanced benefits that aren’t otherwise typically available.
Through this network, McClarrons hope to help you improve your organisation in relation to risk and service, allowing you to focus on what is most important, delivering high-quality care to those who need it most.
What our clients say
Contact a domiciliary care insurance specialist
You can start your enquiry by filling in the contact form and one of our specialists will be in touch.
Alternatively, you can contact the team on 01653 600477.
Supported Living & Domiciliary Care Insurance FAQS
What insurance do domiciliary care agencies need?
Domiciliary care providers typically require covers to protect their staff, business and service users. Essential policies typically include:
- Employers’ Liability Insurance: A legal requirement for businesses with staff, it can provide protection against claims made by employees who suffer illness or injury as a result of their work. (for example, they suffer a back injury while moving a service user).
- Public Liability Insurance: Helps protect against third-party claims if a service user or visitor, or member of the public suffers an injury or accident while in your care.
- Medical Malpractice Insurance: Can cover claims where a healthcare professional deviates from standard care due to a negligent act or omission (such as missing a medication prompt).
- Professional Indemnity Insurance: Designed to cover legal costs and compensation if professional advice or services result in a client’s financial loss.
Is domiciliary care insurance a legal requirement?
While an all-encompassing domiciliary care package is not bought as a single legally mandated product, certain components – most notably Employers’ Liability Insurance – are required by law if you employ staff. Additionally, comprehensive coverage is typically required to satisfy Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulations (or equivalent bodies) and local authority contracting terms.
What does public liability insurance cover for home care providers?
Public liability insurance can cover legal expenses and compensation payouts if a service user, visitor, or member of the public suffers injury, death, or property damage due to your agency’s operations.
Why do domiciliary care agencies need Cyber Insurance?
Domiciliary care organisations handle a high volume of sensitive personal data, care plans, and medical records digitally. Standard business insurance policies generally do not cover cyber threats. Cyber insurance helps protect against the severe financial and operational fallout of data breaches, ransomware attacks, and system downtime.
Can start-up domiciliary care agencies get insurance?
Specialist brokers like McClarrons cater to both new start-ups and established domiciliary care agencies, supported living providers, day-care operators, and nursing agencies, tailoring policies to fit your specific scale, services, and technology use.
Domiciliary care agency insurance not what you were looking for?
The McClarrons Care Network
Domiciliary Care insurance news
- Category: Care & Social Welfare Insurance News
- Category: Care & Social Welfare Insurance News
- Category: Care & Social Welfare Insurance News
- Category: Care & Social Welfare Insurance News, Care Homes
- Category: Care & Social Welfare Insurance News, Care Homes