Care & Nursing - Insurance

&NURSING C A RE

A GUIDE TO CARE HOME INSURANCE

Introduction

But it’s sometimes difficult to know exactly what you need. We believe that getting expert advice on what’s right for your care home is paramount to safeguarding your future.

Our guide has been created to help you consider the insurance you need now and may need in the future. In the guide, we also take a look at how to avoid underinsurance, and explain why working with a broker can help you get the right cover for your specific needs.

If you choose us as your insurance

partner, we liaise with the insurer on your behalf to help you achieve an insurance solution that will bring peace of mind – and allow you to do what you do best –care for your patients or residents.

We specialise in the care sector and have helped many homes with their insurance, often when the solution is complex. We have a proven track record in securing comprehensive insurance protection, even if they have a less than ‘Good’ CQC rating.

Our partnerships with A rated marketleading insurers who operate in this

sector allow us to build robust solutions that meet the specific needs of the care home owners, managers and those who provide care services.

We hope that you will find the information in this guide helpful and would love to hear from you if you would like any help or support.

Paul Reid Managing Director Barnes Commercial

It is vital that you have appropriate insurance cover in place to safeguard your care business, should the unexpected happen.

A guide to care home insurance

Care home insurance falls into the specialist sector because there is no ‘one size fits all’.

Not only does your insurance need to protect the care you give, but you also need to consider the regulatory bodies you adhere to, protection for your staff, as well as covering the premises and its contents.

What’s more, care homes offer different types of care, from basic care and accommodation to respite, end-of-life and specialist care for dementia patients.

Let’s look at some of the covers that could be included in your care home insurance solution.

Liability

Liability insurance should be considered essential for your policy. Liability encompasses various types of cover:

• Employers’ liability is a legal requirement for anyone employing staff either paid or unpaid. If, for instance, one of your carers suffers an injury or loss due to your negligence or the negligence of the company, the carer may sue you. This covers you for any compensation costs and legal fees.

• Public liability although not a legal requirement, is

similar to employers’ liability, relates to injuries or losses to members of the public. For instance, a resident’s family member may slip on an upturned carpet, or their car may be damaged by something you should have considered. Public liability insurance will cover your legal liability to pay compensation if a claim is made against you.

Medical malpractice

Unlike clinical treatment, care in a nursing home or care home is often to do with judgement as opposed to factual and evidential action. Your carers will be skilled in what they do and usually have several qualifications, but their decisions are often determined by best practice to ensure the resident or patient is as comfortable as they can be.

Unfortunately, this means mistakes can creep in. A single mistake can have a disastrous effect, and the patient or their family may claim for medical malpractice. This cover aims to protect your team’s professional acumen, offering in-depth support and dealing with the legal costs.

Buildings and contents

Of course, your business is home for your residents or patients. Ensuring ample furniture is provided should be a necessity, from wardrobes and cupboards to tables and kitchen apparatus. If these are accidentally damaged you are likely to need to replace them. The building itself is just as important. If, for instance, the premises suffer a flood, how would the building hold? Would water cause damage to furniture? Would residents need to be temporarily rehomed? In extreme cases such as a fire or explosion, a total rebuild may be necessary, which would not only cost a considerable amount, but it could leave the business unable to operate and your residents in need of rehoming.

Business interruption

Business interruption insurance may also prove invaluable. This insurance is aimed at covering any increased costs of working or loss in gross revenue, as the result of an unexpected event. So, if you do suffer a flood or fire, sourcing an alternative

property to operate from or employing temporary staff can be covered. Business interruption insurance can help you to pay your bills, retain your staff, and maintain your supplier and client relationships.

Key Man Cover

Key Man Cover (or Key Person Cover) provides financial cover, should something happen to key personnel within your business. Most likely this is you as the business owner, or members of an executive leadership team who you class as crucial to the financial success of your business.

If you or a key member of your team is absent due to the onset of a long-term illness or a permanent disability, or unexpectedly passes away, this form of life insurance could be vital to ensure the longevity of your business. Having key man cover in place reassures your team and those living within your care facility.

By preparing for a worstcase scenario, you will be protecting your care home from potential risk and safeguarding its future – we believe that Key Man Cover is

an invaluable and affordable investment for every care home owner to consider. There are lots of other types of insurance which fit the nuances of your care home. We take the approach that every care home is different, requiring different types and levels of cover based on individual needs, so we make sure that you will have the right cover for your unique situation.

For an industry which works on prestige, reputation and word of mouth, the right insurance is essential. It maintains your biggest assets—your staff and the residents you care for—whilst supporting you should something go wrong.

Whether you want to take out a new policy for your care home, bolster an existing policy or simply want to find out why we are a great fit for your care home, you can learn more about how we support care home clients with expert broking advice here.

Specialist care home insurance

We arrange tailored insurance programmes for care and nursing homes, hospices and domiciliary care providers, for both staff and business owners. Our extensive knowledge of the care market will help to ensure you have the right protection in place for now and, for the future. Secure robust cover that’s right for your business.

The benefits of using an insurance broker

Getting the right insurance cover is fundamental to any business, whether legally required or not.

No one can tell us what the future holds but knowing that you are as prepared as possible for an unexpected event will ensure that you can recover quickly and continue to operate with minimal disruption.

There are several ways to purchase a commercial insurance policy. You can buy direct from the insurer, use a comparison website such as comparethemarket or utilise the services of an insurance broker.

We believe that the best way to secure reliable, suitable insurance for your business, is through an independent and experienced broker. And we’d like to tell you why…

Risk assessment support from experts

Understanding what risks your business may face is key to creating the right insurance solution. An independent insurance broker is best placed to help assess your risk exposure and explore the policies available to protect your business, presenting your situation in the most favourable terms to an insurer.

Finding a broker that knows your sector and can work with you to uncover hidden risks can save you from distress down the line.

Advice not price!

Many businesses are focused on price rather than the scope and relevance of their policy. A comparison website will

provide a quick, often lower cost quote, but there’s no one at the end of the ‘submit’ button that knows your business and your unique requirements. Without expert advice you may be missing key features or exceptions that leave your business exposed.

And of course, on a comparison website you only see the companies that have decided to partner with the aggregator, leaving you unable consider policies from insurers not on the website. Partnering with a specialist independent broker that really knows your industry, will ensure that you enjoy tailored advice and guidance on the best policy for your needs. Understanding exactly what you have purchased, and

the extent of the cover is part of the added value of using a broker.

A cheaper policy bought without advice may seem like a great idea initially, but if it lets you down in the event of an incident you could pay so much more – in money, reputation, loss of income, or possibly the loss of your business!

Access to a wide range of insurers

As we have mentioned, comparison websites do not allow access to the wider insurer market, limiting your choice of policies. This is also true of a policy secured directly with an insurer. Going directly to an insurer will allow you to benefit from advice, of which we are true advocates, but it will only be advice around their own policy offerings. The best way to explore solutions

for the right insurance cover for your business, is to use an independent broker. This means that they have no allegiance to any one insurer and can provide impartial advice to arrive at an insurance programme that will suit your unique requirements.

Reputable A rated insurers

When selecting your broker partner, it’s a good idea to make sure that they have aligned with A rated insurers. Whilst in the UK, there isn’t a legal requirement to acquire A rated status, the rating does reflect the financial strength of an insurer and its ability to honour its policies.

Knowing that your programme of policies has been placed with an A rated insurer brings with it the peace of mind, that in the event of a claim you will be protected.

A personal service

Partnering with a broker is the start of a new relationship. One that can be built over time on mutual trust and respect. A good broker will really get to know your business, so they can offer prudent advice on what will be best for your business. It’s more personal than contacting an insurer directly and certainly much more than a faceless comparison website!

Saving time

Independent brokers are likely to have a good network of reliable partners that they approach on your behalf to find the best solution for your needs. This saves you the time of contacting each insurer separately and trying to compare policy details.

Why spend hours trying to decipher the differences between one policy and another and then deciding which is better, when we can do this for you!

We will also contact you when your renewal is due, so you don’t have to worry about remembering the date.

Keeping you up to date

A further benefit of using an insurance broker is that they maintain an active and positive relationship with your insurer and the wider industry. They can advise of any legislative changes that are coming into force that may affect your policy, so you can discuss options and be prepared.

Securing insurance with an inadequate CQC rating

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) requires all care and nursing homes to have insurance, and without it, you will be unable to operate.

The mandatory insurance requirements from the CQC are Employers’ Liability and Public Liability cover. Any additional covers will depend on the type of care facility you own. If a care facility is unable to secure adequate insurance, residents will need to find alternative accommodation, and staff are likely to lose their jobs.

Many care homes have no difficulty in securing insurance but when a care home has an inadequate rating by the CQC, finding insurance can prove extremely challenging. Not all insurers are willing to provide terms for care facilities with an inadequate CQC rating, and when they do, premiums can be higher, and restrictions may be put in place, such as a limit to the number of service users (residents allowed).

According to the National Institute for Health and Care Research, around 1 in 5 care homes are rated ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’ in the UK, which can leave these care homes with only a small range of insurance options and in turn, at risk of closure.

Barnes Commercial has built strong relationships with an extensive panel of insurers, who specialise in care home insurance, including some that will offer terms to care homes with inadequate CQC ratings.

Case Study: Obtaining insurance with an inadequate CQC rating

Our client is the owner of several care homes in the southeast of the UK and is an example of how working closely with a broker can help secure favourable insurance terms, even with an inadequate

rating. Our client came to Barnes Commercial because he was unhappy with his current provider and their ability to find him an affordable insurance solution.

One of the care homes had an inadequate CQC rating but our client and his team had been working with the CQC to create an action plan for improvements. We shared this with potential insurers who wanted to see evidence of what work was being planned, by when, and what had already been done to improve the care home. Ensuring the action plan was up to date was vital in arranging the insurance. Find out more about how we helped arrange insurance for this client in our case study here

Areas to focus on to improve your CQC rating

When speaking with our care home clients whose facility had an inadequate CQC rating, they tell us that some of the most common reasons cited are poor record management and health and safety issues.

If these areas are not managed effectively, you could be putting your patients/residents, staff and your business at risk. Patient care will be at the heart of everything you do, so having robust systems in place will help you to perform at your best. For example, having a digital recording system in place, can provide you with greater governance, stronger compliance and help to ensure quality outcomes for those in your care. It can also mean recording of data will be faster, medication management will be safer and you are more ready for inspections. You can find out more information here on how you can improve your record keeping.

Health and safety hazards are also a regular source of inadequate ratings and an area that every care home needs to be on top of at all times. One of CQCs fundamental standards includes safety, which means providers must assess the risks to your health and safety during any care or treatment and make sure staff have the qualifications, competence, skills and experience to keep you safe. However, identifying all the risks in your care home can

sometimes prove difficult, that’s why we’ve collated information here on areas to look at when assessing your health and safety risks.

Our process to secure your care home insurance

Our specialist Care Home Insurance adviser, Luke Green, can support you with tailored advice on how to secure an insurance solution that will bring you peace of mind, whilst satisfying the CQC. He will take the time to get to know your business and its current situation, so he can fully understand how he can help. He will also help you to

gather and collate all your supporting documentation, including your action plan and any evidence to support your submission, for example, from your local authorities. He will then use these to advise a panel of insurers on your situation and what your business is doing to improve your ratings. Demonstrating your commitment to improving your situation will typically be positively received by the insurers and helps us to obtain an insurance quotation for you that will protect your business from commercial risk.

Why your care facility should consider cyber insurance

As our reliance on the digital world increases it is no real wonder that cybercrime is on the increase, and this has been clearly evident in the last few years.

For the opportunistic cybercriminal, it’s been a good time to commit cybercrime, as the pandemic forced us to move away from our usual routines and reliable systems, leaving an exploitable gap in our security as we quickly adapted to new ways of working.

Between April and June 2021, the ICO reported that there were 2552 data security incidents in the UK with 688 of those related to a cybercrime. The healthcare sector was one of the most affected with 607 data security incidents in total – 108 a direct result of a cyber-attack (More on types of cyberattack below).

The most common attack occurred through email or social media, and accounted for 53% of all attacks on businesses, leading to substantial multi-million pound losses. Healthcare, financial institutions, manufacturing, real estate, and education were the most targeted industries.

Whether a big or smallscale event, a cyber-attack

is likely to have serious consequences for any business – shutting systems, deleting data, preventing data access or stopping them from trading altogether. Dealing with the fall out of a cyber-attack can be complicated and stressful, not to mention time-consuming and potentially expensive.

Types of Cyber-attack

Cyber-attacks can take many forms, all engineered to get the victim to disclose information or take action, or to infect systems with malicious software. Phishing, malware attacks and ransomware pose a threat to all businesses.

It’s common to think that cyber threats against businesses come from unrelated hackers, cyberattacks or ransomware and are big events, but sometimes they can be more subtle and come from sources a little closer to home. The four categories that cyber threats against a business typically originate from are insider threats, human error or negligence, external threats

and third-party threats. Wherever the threat originates the bottom line is how you to respond. Have you thought about how you would continue to run your care home if you lost access to all your data? You could lose access to client records and supplier data, order information, diary appointments, financial data, your website and more. If you are held to ransom for access to patient files, the financial consequences could be significant.

Additionally, you may be affected by reputational damage, which could affect existing relationships and damage future prosperity. You may need to rebuild and replace lost systems or create a new website. And, if a data breach occurred you are likely to face significant fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office.

All of the above will require money, time and resources and need to be addressed in a timely manner to help you retain customers, employees, your reputation and may ultimately affect the future of your care facility.

Having a comprehensive contingency and business interruption plan in place along with adequate insurance will help you to address and quickly overcome any fallout from a cyberattack. A robust plan is vital to make sure you meet your legal obligations regarding data breaches and to reassure your customers.

The benefits of Cyber Insurance

Cyber insurance is a must

for any care home business because it provides you with protection and peace of mind, should the worst happen. It will help against denial of service, which may occur with ransomware, the recovery from computer virus damage, which may have resulted in a significant loss of data, and other data breaches such as the loss of a memory stick or laptop. Getting assistance quickly and from reputable, knowledgeable and reliable sources will be key in ensuring your business can continue to operate with minimal disruption.

If your care home holds data on a computer system, even with antivirus software in place, you can still be vulnerable to a breach. Cyber insurance is relatively inexpensive and will provide you and your business with complete reassurance in the face of a data breach crisis. Every business is different and will have specific needs, so make sure you get advice for your unique situation and requirements. Don’t wait until you have experienced a cyber-attack to put measures in place, be proactive and help protect your care facility now.

Is your care home at risk from underinsurance?

A recent article, written by Aviva, one of our insurer partners has highlighted some startling figures on commercial insurance among businesses in the UK.

Whilst your insurance may not be held by Aviva, the risks identified are likely to be reflected across many organisations and could be relevant to you and your care home.

You might not be aware, but underinsurance is often seen amongst small to medium sized businesses, and the global pandemic along with a challenging economic landscape has only intensified the threat. The reason for this is that to ensure long term survival, many businesses made changes to their operating models, which have not been reflected in their insurance cover.

According to Aviva’s data¹, only 20% of small and medium businesses had their policies changed in line with their new business models. This could mean that in the event of a claim, they may not receive the appropriate level of cover they now require, putting their business at unnecessary risk.

Are your Sums Insured at the right level?

They also noted that one in four firms had not made a material change to at least one Sum Insured in the last four years. The Sum Insured is the maximum amount of money that your insurance company could pay out in the event of a covered loss. With costs increasing in the construction industry, in raw materials as well as labour, checking your building sum insured is a great place to start.

For your building sums insured the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in association with the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) have created a simple and free to use rebuilding cost calculator.

Registration is simple; visit calculator.bcis.co.uk and follow the registration instructions. Once registered you will be asked for details about the property type, style, postcode, year of construction etc. and a calculation of the potential cost of rebuilding your property is provided immediately.

Consider Business Interruption cover

Further, they identified that 40% of clients with Business Interruption insurance did not have an adequately set indemnity period. This is the maximum length of time your insurance company is obligated to make payments to cover the losses insured under the policy. When the maximum indemnity period has been reached, then claim payments will cease.

Business Interruption insurance covers your operational costs in the event of a crisis. If your business suffered a total loss claim, you need to consider how long you would need the cover to last whilst you rebuild or relocate. As a care home owner or operator, following a total loss event, the cover period required is likely to be long, as you’ll need to rebuild or refurbish your property. You will also need to relocate your residents whilst this is

happening, which may also result in a temporary change in staffing and supplier requirements.

When cover is not reviewed regularly and doesn’t reflect new operating models, your business may be at an increased risk from gaps in cover and underinsurance. Is it time to review your insurance?

There is no time like the present to take some time to review your insurance cover levels. With so much economic uncertainty driven by the pandemic and Brexit, we would advise making sure your risk management plans are firmly in place, which

includes adequate insurance. You should talk to an experienced broker who can help you to take a look at the bigger picture and ensure that you have the right insurance in place for your specific needs. As an independent commercial broker, with access to a wide panel of A rated insurers, we can advise on what’s right for your business, bringing you peace of mind.

¹ Data is based on Aviva held small to medium sized business, excluding fleet November 2021 – modelling 80% of the account and extrapolating the total.

Why you should partner with Barnes Commercial for your insurance solution

We caught up with Head of Insurance, Nick Long and asked him some questions about how we help businesses in the care sector:

Who is Barnes Commercial and what services do you provide for the care sector?

Barnes Commercial is an independent, family-owned commercial insurance broker, helping clients in the care sector to secure the right insurance for their business by offering impartial advice and guidance on how to manage business risk. We have in-depth knowledge of this sector, which allows us to support a variety of businesses and organisations including care homes, nursing homes, domiciliary care firms, children’s homes, care related charities, and those providing care services.

We can arrange a wide range of insurance covers from standard liabilities, buildings and contents, legal

expenses and machinery breakdown, to refrigerated drugs, abuse cover, residents contents, medical malpractice (for private work), cyber liability and more. And because we understand the needs of the businesses within the care sector, we can secure industry specific wording and extensions, for complete peace of mind.

What benefits do your products bring to clients in the care sector that your competitors do not?

It’s how we bring the right insurance covers together in a comprehensive solution with honest and impartial advice and guidance, which differentiates us from our competitors.

We know that some brokers are leaving customers without cover at a moment’s notice, and that renewal terms can be left until just a few days before renewal, a situation we never want our clients to experience. Our approach of managing client relationships means that we try to always be engaged in our clients business activities, because we want to be more than just an insurance broker, we want to be seen as an extension to their management team.

Barnes Commercial clients receive a highly personal service from a broker who has expert knowledge of the care sector. As an independent broker we are not tied in to any one insurer or policy, so our clients can be reassured that our recommendations will be just what is needed to protect their business from commercial risk. We start the insurance review process early, to make sure nothing is missed, to discuss any changes to the business since the last quotation, to check for over or underinsurance on a previous policy, and allow the time to approach our insurer partners for the right solution. Our aim is to make sure that our clients have the right level of insurance at the right premium to protect their business.

We recognise that every care home is unique with its own set of challenges, so by developing a closer relationship we naturally build a trusted partnership – our

clients know they can rely on us to help whenever they need us.

What’s your advice for a care home owner looking for insurance?

We recommend anyone looking for commercial insurance to make sure they give themselves time to work with their broker, to find the best solution for their specific needs. A good broker will want to look at all areas of the business and build an insurance programme that provides robust protection for the business now and also looking to the future.

The cheapest premium might look attractive initially but not actually cover everything adequately and if the worst should happen and you need to make a claim, you could find the cover isn’t as extensive as you need it to be, or there’s no cover at all.

It’s a good idea to carry out an annual insurance review at each renewal. Your circumstances might have changed and insurance covers available may also be different. Keeping in touch with your broker and sharing information helps to build a good relationship, which will make your next renewal even more straightforward. They will understand your needs and will be able to advise of any anticipated changes to the insurance market or legislation changes that may affect future policies, availability of cover and changes to premiums.

We’d welcome the opportunity to

carry out a no obligation review of cover levels, even if the renewal date isn’t for a while. Understanding any areas of concern and being prepared for conversations with your broker and insurer will facilitate a smooth renewal process and help to ensure the right level of cover at the right premium.

How do you work with your clients in the care sector?

We look to assess our clients’ needs based on business set up and their specific exposure to risk. We’ll then look at insurance products, which we believe will best protect them from the identified commercial risks associated with their business.

These can include general insurance covers such as public and employers’ liability, buildings and contents insurance and legal expenses cover, to business interruption, abuse cover and specific domiciliary care cover. Our specialist insurer partners allow us access to industry specific wordings and extensions that can prove invaluable in a crisis situation.

We deal with our clients on an individual basis, so our recommendations for covers and any specific extensions will be particular to each business’s needs, to help safeguard the future of the care facility should the unexpected happen.

You can find out more about the covers available for the care sector on our website here.

What types of organisations can you help in the care sector?

We can help a range of organisations in the care sector including the following:

Care homes, nursing homes, care charities, domiciliary care entities, hospices, alcohol and drug rehabilitation centres, care and day centres, children’s homes, retreats.

We would be pleased to hear from companies regardless of their CQC rating, because we know that change can happen very quickly and are able to consider solutions for all variants of rating.

Why should we choose Barnes Commercial?

As specialists in the care sector, you can be assured that the advice and guidance we provide will be relevant to your specific needs. We put you and your business at the heart of everything we do, supporting you with honest advice and providing tailored insurance solutions that will bring complete peace of mind.

From typical buildings and contents insurance, or public liability and employer liability insurance, loss of licence and residents’ effects, we will help you to manage potential risk. We provide freedom from worry, allowing you to focus on running your business and providing an outstanding care service.

T: 01480 272727

E: enquiries@barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk

W: www.barnesinsurancebroker.co.uk