Teachers and private tutor insurance: are you covered for the back to school season?
The summer holidays are drawing to a close and term time is fast approaching. The pressure to do well at school gets more intense each year, and tutors are in demand for academic subjects (especially science, maths and English) as well as extra curricular activities (such as musical instruments or sports).
This is good news for teachers and private tutors, who’ll see an influx of new students once term starts in September. But with more work comes more responsibility, and if you’re planning on offering private tutoring this academic year, it’s vital you have the right insurance cover in place. Without it, if a claim is brought against you, you will have to pay the costs out of your own back pocket – and with solicitors fees, travel expenses and court costs, you could be looking at a bill for thousand of pounds.
There are several covers available for teachers and private tutors which cover against different scenarios.
Professional indemnity insurance for teachers and tutors
Professional indemnity insurance is essential cover for teachers and private tutors. It covers the costs of defending a claim against you following allegations that you have made a mistake in your work or fail to provide an adequate service.
Let’s assume that you are engaged as a tutor with the intention of helping your student achieve the grades they need for an entrance exam, college or university. The student doesn’t achieve their grades and the parents are unhappy that they paid for your service yet had no positive outcome. As such, they make a claim against you to try and recoup some of their costs.
In this scenario, professional indemnity insurance would cover the costs in defending your claim, as well as any additional awards or compensation should the defence prove unsuccessful. We offer PI insurance for teachers and tutors from £6 a month – find out more about professional indemnity insurance.
Public liability insurance for teachers and tutors
If you visit students in their home, or they visit you at a hired premises, public liability insurance is vital. It covers you in the event you damage your client’s property, or if they injure themselves (for example, through a slip, trip or fall) while at your premises.
Let’s assume that during a lesson you accidentally knock a cup of coffee over a student’s laptop and smartphone, as well as staining the carpet. The cost to replace the smartphone, laptop and cleaning the carpet comes to over £1000. They make a claim against you for the damage caused.
Another situation would be if a student visits your premises and they trip over a bag you left lying around on the floor. They sprain their wrist in the fall, and see a no-win no-fee solicitor to claim against you.
Public liability insurance would cover the costs in defending these claims, as well as any additional awards or compensation in the event your defence proves unsuccessful. We offer public liability insurance for teachers and tutors from £5 a month – find out more about public liability insurance.
Business and portable equipment insurance
Regardless of whether you teach or tutor in your house, shared premises or at your students’ home, vital business equipment could be at risk.
For example, if a laptop was stolen during a break in at your home, not only would there be the cost of replacing the laptop, but also the software on it and any peripherals (e.g. external hard drives) that were taken with it. We can insure your business equipment at home, in your office or worldwide for loss, damage or theft – find out more about business equipment insurance.
Business interruption insurance
Imagine losing a laptop containing vital course material, or computer programme that conducts mock examinations with a student. You wouldn’t be able to go about your business in the normal way, and business interruption insurance can cover you against loss of income and/or increased costs of working in such scenarios, as well as various other disasters such as fire, theft or flood. Find out more about business interruption insurance.
Buying your teachers and tutors insurance
When choosing any of these covers, it’s important to make sure you choose a limit that won’t leave you underinsured in the event of a claim. If you need help arranging cover, feel free to speak to one of our teachers and tutors insurance experts on 0800 640 6600.
Find out more about teachers and tutors insurance or get a quote now.