earlyyears.teachwire.net
87
nursery business
5 DISASTERS
YOU WEREN’T
EXPECTING
Morton Michel’s
Jerry Beere
explains
why good insurance is more vital to your
business than you might realise...
PUBLIC CHILDCARE
PROCEEDINGS
These are a little known aspect of the UK’s childcare
protection system, but they can be very expensive. If a child
suffers unexplained injuries, social services can convene
a Public Childcare hearing at which every adult who has
had responsibility for the care of the child – parents,
grandparents, nursery staff – could be called to answer
questions. Those called should have legal representation
since everyone else there will have it. Barristers don’t come
cheap. Will your insurance policy cover you for the cost of
legal representation? A good one will.
A
typical insurance policy will provide cover for all the misfortunes you
might expect could befall your business (floods, fires, thefts, etc.), but
what about the unexpected things? Here are five situations you may not
even have realised you need – and can get – insurance cover for...
JERRY BEERE IS DIRECTOR OF CHILDCARE INSURANCE SPECIALIST
MORTON MICHEL. VISIT
MORTONMICHEL.COM
1
Hidden perils of sports day
One of our larger liability claims in recent years
concerned a parent who, while attending sports day
at her daughter’s nursery on public property, stood in
a disused sprinkler hole, fell over and severely tore the
tendons and muscles in her ankle. She was off work
for many months and the liability claim ran into many
thousands of pounds. Your insurance policy should cover
activities away from the normal premises. Insurance
companies will place restrictions on the type of activities
– they are unlikely to cover abseiling or sea kayaking,
for example – but sports days in the local park should
be automatically covered. Note, however, that you always
have a duty of care to your visitors, wherever the activity
takes place. You must properly risk assess these activities
beforehand; if you haven’t, the insurance company could
void your policy in the event of a claim.
2
Reputational damage
A child manages to get out of your nursery and
is found wandering down the high street. This
is a nightmare – you have failed in your basic
duty to protect him or her. Before you have had
a chance to contact the parents, the story is
all over social media; soon the local press are
round, then local TV. All of them are shouting
questions at you, asking how this could possibly
happen. Later, Twitter users proclaim your
nursery the worst in existence...
You don’t know how to handle this. What you
need is the services of a PR expert. Some nursery
policies will now provide Reputational Risk cover as
standard under their policies. The PR expert comes
out, deals with the local press and TV, arranges to
write to all your parents and generally handles the
unwelcome publicity of this unfortunate event.
REPLACEMENT
WAGES
Imagine you are
inspected by Ofsted
following allegations of
child abuse. You have to
suspend a member of
staff on full pay pending
the outcome of investigations, but,
obviously you will need to hire
temporary staff for the duration
of the suspension. If you have the
right insurance policy, you will
have cover for replacement wages
in this situation, ensuring you are
not left out of pocket.
The Inland
Revenue
Ever had a visit
from the Inland
Revenue? Not pleasant. They can,
if they want to, go trawling back
through your accounts for years.
You would be best advised to
have your own accountants there
to help you deal with them. But
they don’t come cheap and they
charge by the hour. Fortunately,
a decent insurance policy will
have Tax Protection cover for full
and aspect enquiries, and will pay
accountant’s fees while you are
trying to sort out the mess.
4
5
