Education consultants’ insurance

Why do education consultants need professional indemnity insurance?

Running a school isn’t easy. It’s a sign of the times that there’s as much focus on budgets and strategies as there is on teaching and learning. Throw in training, Ofsted, leadership, marketing etc too and it’s a full timetable.

It’s not surprising that some schools need all the help they can get. If it’s you who’s helping, you’ve got a big responsibility – there’s a great deal at stake. And giving bad advice or a losing a confidential document can spell expensive trouble.

So it’s likely what you do will be closely scrutinised, with a focus on results. The problem is, that leaves you vulnerable to allegations and claims you’ve not done what was asked, or that you’ve made a damaging mistake.

Naturally, you’re professional and conscientious and it’s unlikely you’ll get into trouble in the first place. But spurious allegations happen every day and, if you do find yourself with some explaining to do, education consultants’ insurance helps by appointing a legal expert to do the explaining for you (and paying them to do it). If it turns out you have done something wrong, it pays to fix your mistake and/or compensate the school too.

You need it because it’s reputation-saving protection, with the added bonus of legal expertise and deep pockets thrown in.

What could be better than that?

How much professional indemnity insurance do I need?

With no statutory or legally-required minimum level of cover, it’s difficult to know where to start. Sometimes it’s decided for you by the contractual demands of the school or LEA, which helps. But sometimes it isn’t.

The first thing to remember is you can’t have too much cover. When you’re dealing with unknown quantities, it really is better to err on the side of caution.

Consider what you do, who you do it for and how much it’s worth. Think about worst-case scenario and what could go wrong. What’s the most expensive mistake you could make (or be accused of making)?

The second thing to remember is that your cover is just that. It protects your business. Think about the nature of the work you do, who you do it for, and what can go wrong. To be blunt, what can you be sued for and how much is it likely to cost?

Reading this guide might help. Feel free to call us if you’re still not sure.

What does professional indemnity insurance cover?

Negligence claims and allegations made against you by clients and third parties, because of mistakes you’ve made and things you’ve failed to do.

Specifically (but depending on the policy wording):

• Defamation
• Intellectual property infringement
• Loss of documents or data
• Negligent misrepresentation or misstatement
• Employee dishonesty
• Virus transmission
• Breach of confidentiality
• Failure of third-party equipment

But that’s not all. Some professional indemnity policies can fix a mistake before your client is even aware of it, thereby preventing a claim in the first place.

Clever stuff.

What else do I need?

Public liability insurance is for when you go out and about to schools or other offices. It’s for claims of physical damage to property and people. Useful if you’re clumsy.

Employers’ liability insurance covers your business if an employee sues it for damages. Claims are usually because they’ve suffered injuries and illnesses as a consequence of working for you. It’s a legal requirement for UK businesses with employees.

Office and property insurance covers the things in your office (furniture, plants, fixed IT equipment etc) and portable insurance covers gadgets and technical equipment away from the office (laptops, tablets, projectors etc). If you’re not sure it’s worth insuring, add it all up – it’s probably worth more than you think.

Business interruption insurance means you can still work when your office is out of action. Be it flood, fire or flea infestation, you’re covered for the costs of setting up elsewhere and for any lost revenue in that time.

Directors’ and officers’ insurance covers your company bosses. Anyone from regulators to shareholders to competitors can accuse you of not running a business with due care. Worse, directors are personally liable for their actions. The good thing is this insurance covers your defence costs and any compensation you have to pay. So you can put away your chequebook.

Why choose us?

We know time’s a luxury most small businesses and self-employed peeps don’t have. That’s why we make buying insurance as quick, easy, and fuss-free as possible.

Not to blow our own trumpet, but our platinum-rated feedback shows our customers really like how we do things.

Like how we give them the option to get their quote online, or pick up the phone and speak to us one-on-one. Whatever they’re comfortable with.

As our customer, you get the insurance know-how you need, when you need it. Whether that’s by speaking to our friendly team or browsing our advice hub.

You get extra perks and benefits, like a free “I’m insured” badge for your website, money off legal services, and a reward when you recommend us.

Lastly, you get a broker behind you who a) understands what you do, and b) works as hard for you as you do.

You can’t put a price on that.