This document discusses different types of liability insurance coverage that nurseries need. It explains that nurseries need public liability insurance to cover injury to visitors, employer's liability insurance for employees, and medical malpractice insurance to cover administering first aid or medicine to children. The document also recommends professional indemnity insurance to cover failures or negligence by nursery staff. It emphasizes that nurseries should have a single insurer provide all coverage types to avoid any gaps in protection from liability claims.

1. Your liability
L
iability claims can take many
forms, and nurseries can be
particularly vulnerable to
allegations from a number of
different sources. So, it is vitally
important that your insurance
policy will respond appropriately.
It is widely understood that
nurseries have a legal obligation to
their employees, and employer’s
liability insurance, which is
compulsory, is standard across the
market. But nursery businesses
clearly also need to protect
themselves against claims from
third parties.
In this case, the cover available is
more complex. There are three main
areas that you need to consider, and
we will look at each in turn.
Public liability
This traditionally covers your legal
liability for accidental loss or
damage to third party property, and
death or injury to persons other
than employees arising in the course
of your business. In the case of
nurseries, this will relate to children,
parents and any other visitors
attending the setting. The majority
of claims involving injury to people
or property will fall within this
cover.
Medical malpractice
This insurance is generally assumed
to apply only to people or
businesses working in the medical
profession. But we know that more
and more nurseries are providing
care for children with specialist
medical needs, which often means
staff have to be trained in the use of
EpiPens, feeding tubes and so on.
In addition, staff apply first aid and
administer both over-the-counter
medicines such as Calpol and
prescribed medicines.
All cover for these activities is
provided by the medical
malpractice section of your
insurance policy. This type of cover
will, of course, exclude activities
that require the approval of, or
referral to, a doctor, surgeon or
consultant.
It is worth mentioning that in the
case of nurseries, the scope of this
cover is wider than the name
suggests. Indeed, it covers ‘any
liability’ provided that it arises from
neglect, error or omission by
nursery staff in their performance of
their normal duties. So, it is not
limited to what we would consider
to be medical matters.
What’s more, unlike, public
liability insurance, it is not restricted
to liability arising from injury or
damage to property. So, the range of
claims is potentially wide-ranging.
Apart from medical issues, it could
cover:
G failure to identify any educational
needs of the children or specific
conditions
G failing to identify / report signs of
abuse
G disclosure of confidential
information.
Professional indemnity
Professional indemnity policies
cover your legal liability for loss or
damage to third parties arising out
of your professional negligence or
G Jackie Hyde is director of
insurance broker, dot2dot, a
specialist nursery insurance
provider.
T: 01204 570 390
E: Jackie@dot2dot.org.uk
W: www.dot2dot.org.uk
from a breach of professional duty.
Traditionally, the companies that
would buy this type of cover are
those that provide an advisory
service such as solicitors,
accountants and insurance brokers.
But, for nursery businesses, this
cover also applies to death or injury
to nursery children alleged to be
caused by the failure of nursery staff
in their professional duties. Claims
would typically arise from
allegations of inadequate
supervision or training of staff.
Last word
Unfortunately, there is not always a
clear distinction between these three
insurance covers, which means it
could be very difficult to decide
which cover would be appropriate if
an allegation were made. That is
why we always recommend that all
cover is provided by a single insurer
with the same limit of indemnity.
This will minimise the possibility of
any gap in cover.
But, as always, do read the
wording of the individual policies
very carefully, as it can vary greatly
– and be sure to check the cover you
have in place with your own
insurance advisor. I
nmtinsurance
54 NURSERY MANAGEMENT TODAY January / February 2015 www.nmt-magazine.co.uk
Liability cover can be complex, says Jackie Hyde, and it is
vital that you get it right, for if there are any loopholes,
your nursery will not be properly protected in the case of
what could turn out to be a tragic accident