Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement for almost every UK care home that employs staff, under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, with a minimum limit of £5 million. Beyond that, the Care Quality Commission (and the equivalent regulators in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) expect registered providers to hold adequate insurance arrangements. Operating without appropriate specialist cover risks both regulatory difficulty and significant uninsured financial exposure.

Care home insurance includes specialist sections that standard commercial policies do not — typically medical malpractice and treatment cover, abuse and mistreatment protection, loss of registration cover and residents’ personal effects. These protections are essential for providers caring for older people, those living with dementia, children, or adults with disabilities or mental health conditions.

There is no standard price — premiums are calculated individually based on the size and construction of your property, the number of registered beds, the type of care provided, staff numbers, claims history and the sums insured and liability limits you need. As independent brokers we approach our panel of specialist care insurers to find cover that balances protection and price for your circumstances. Request a tailored quotation to find out what this means for your home.

Yes. Operators running more than one home can usually be covered under a single group programme — simplifying administration, aligning renewal dates and often improving how the overall risk is presented to insurers. See our care home group insurance page or contact us to discuss a group quotation.

£5 million is the common starting point for care homes, but many local authority and NHS framework contracts require £10 million — and some specify uplifted medical malpractice or professional indemnity limits as well. The insurance clauses in your commissioning agreements are the deciding factor, so it’s worth checking them against your policy schedule. Higher limits can usually be arranged where a contract requires them.

Claims-occurring cover responds based on when the incident took place, even if the claim is made years later. Claims-made cover responds only if a policy is in force when the claim is actually brought. Because care claims often surface long after the event, claims-occurring cover is generally regarded as the stronger basis for care liability risks — and moving between the two bases, or switching insurer, without run-off or retroactive cover can leave gaps. The basis of cover is stated in your policy wording.

Care home policies typically cover employed nurses under the treatment or medical malpractice section for the professional duties they carry out on behalf of the home. That cover generally does not extend to work a nurse does outside their employment. Policy wordings vary, so check how yours defines who is insured — particularly for agency staff and prescribing or diagnosing nurses.

Cyber insurance is not a legal requirement, but care homes hold unusually sensitive personal data — medical histories, medication records and safeguarding information — and increasingly run on digital care planning and eMAR systems. A cyber incident can disrupt care delivery and bring potential ICO enforcement under UK GDPR, so cyber cover is increasingly treated as a core protection for care providers rather than an optional extra.

Complete the short form on this page or call us on 0151 336 5881. We’ll gather the details of your home, then approach our panel of specialist care insurers — including schemes exclusive to Aldium — and talk you through the options in plain English. There’s no obligation at any stage, and you’ll always know where things stand.