Nursery insurance

Q: How much does nursery insurance cost?

This depends on your nursery or playgroup, and which insurer is providing your cover. Prices start from £6.79 a month for our nursery customers – we work this out by taking the highest price from the bottom 10 per cent of all our customers paying in monthly instalments (based on data from 1 July - 31 December 2020). Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Join over nearly a million customers (including nurseries like yours) – we offer public liability cover from £4.95*

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10% of customers pay the equivalent of £4.95 a month*

Why is playgroup insurance important?

In the baby room or supervising preschoolers – wherever childcare takes you, accidents, slip-ups, and unexpected events can hit hard. From public liability insurance for nurseries, built to support you through a costly injury or property damage claim, to employers’ liability cover for your staff, our insurance works to protect the invaluable work you do.

nursery insurance, UK-based claims and customer service team
rated 4.8/5 based on 39.9K public liability customer reviews
peace of mind, letting you focus on the children, not the what-ifs

What does nursery school insurance cover?

From young babies to preschoolers preparing for reception, you know your children and sector best. So we put you in charge of your nursery insurance policy, providing options for different risks and priorities. Most nurseries, playgroups, and crèches start with public liability insurance and add other specific cover for their employees, equipment, legal fees, and personal accidents, depending on their nursery business set-up.

Public liability insurance for nurseries

In case your nursery causes an injury or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your nursery or playgroup.
Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to your essential kit.
Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your business.
Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.

Public liability insurance for nurseries

In case your nursery causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your nursery for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your nursery
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- a child gets injured during an activity while under your supervision
- you drip paint from an activity onto a parent’s bag while they’re visiting, causing a permanent stain
What you’ll need additional cover for
- If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance

In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your nursery or playgroup.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your nursery for:
- an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:
- one of your employees trips while carrying sensory materials into the toddler room, fracturing his elbow
- your deputy manager falls down some stairs in the nursery that are being redecorated, injuring her lower back
Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to your essential kit.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft of the equipment you use to operate, from your tablet to your garden play equipment
- loss of your equipment
- flood, fire, or accidental damage
For example:
- someone breaks into the nursery over the weekend and steals your room leader tablets, which you use to communicate with parents
- your new fridge and freezer are damaged during a flood, and you can’t prepare meals for the children
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs attributed to your nursery
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass and associated legal costs
- HMRC, tax, and compliance issues, if they come up
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation as a trusted nursery and childcare provider
For example:
- one of your families is refusing to pay their fees during an ongoing complaint case – you need to pay for legal representation
- a member of staff raises a claim against you for providing an unsafe working environment, and you need to pay court expenses
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
- lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
- you’re reaching onto a top shelf for some teaching materials and an old printer falls onto your shoulder, causing a serious injury
- a key worker for your baby room trips and falls on a steep beach path while on holiday, breaking her leg and arm – she needs at least six weeks off work
Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does nursery insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £4.95 per month

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

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The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £59.34 or less annually between 1st Feb – 30th April 2025. Equivalent to £4.95 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 82% of customers have a £1 million limit and 18% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.

Example nursery insurance quotes, real prices

£9.00 /month

£70.03 /year

Ofstead registered childminder with one employee

2-3 years’ experience
Sole trader
No employees
Based in Liverpool

Public liability

£1,000,000

Employers’ liability

Not included

Contents & business equipment

Not included

£164.70 /month

£1,463.99 /year

Ofstead registered childminder, working in her own home

5+ years’ experience
Limited company
1 employee
Based in Exeter

Public liability

£5,000,000

Employers’ liability

£10,000,000

Contents & business equipment

£2,500

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 13/08/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover	Lowest excess	Highest excess
Public liability	£100	£2500
Employers’ liability	No excess	No excess
Tools	£60	£500
Stock	£100	£500
Business and office equipment	£50	£750

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

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Only pay for what you need

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How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Does nursery insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.
Does nursery insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider private tutor insurance or teachers insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am – 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am – 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am – 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am – 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am – 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am – 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

83% of claims were settled in 2023

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. “Settled” covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 26/02/2025.

Example claim

Having nursery or crèche insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Ipek saved more than £51,000

Ipek (not her real name) received a call from one of her nursery staff, following an overnight break-in and arson incident. Three play rooms, a bathroom, flooring and play equipment were damaged, as well as multiple other items. The cover in Ipek’s nursery school insurance policy helped pay the repair and replacement costs.

Insurance payout

£51,847.12

Covering the cost of fire damage

Insurance payout

Covering the cost of fire damage

Chosen by nearly one million small business and landlord customers

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then, with nearly a million customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

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Nursery and preschool insurance FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about nursery or preschool insurance costs, and other aspects of your cover. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

How much does nursery insurance cost?

What insurance does a nursery need?

Public liability insurance will be a key protection for most nurseries and playgroups – it’s built to cover you for injuries and property damage, if your student or another member of the public makes a claim. It also provides clients and regulating authorities with the reassurance and proof that you have appropriate cover in place, if a case is made against you.

In addition, if you employ anyone (including contractors or temps), employers’ liability cover is usually a legal requirement, and you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee who’s not covered correctly. £5 million is the minimum level of insurance required by law, but many insurers offer £10 million, as standard.

Can I add cover for a different trade or profession to my business insurance policy?

Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a plumber, you may also do building work on certain jobs – you’ll need additional cover for this, but you can have it all on the one policy. When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy. If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 043 8527 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.

What’s the difference between paying by Direct Debit and paying in one lump sum?

You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

one-off credit or debit card payment
BACS payment
Direct Debit

If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

Does public liability insurance cover my business for the actions of my employees?

This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Nursery insurance

Why is playgroup insurance important?

What does nursery school insurance cover?

Public liability insurance for nurseries

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Employers’ liability insurance

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Business and office equipment insurance

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

Legal expenses insurance

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

Personal accident insurance

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

How much does nursery insurance cost?

Prices start from £4.95 per month

Example nursery insurance quotes, real prices

What kind of excess should I expect?

How it works

Pick what goes into your policy

Get prices from a range of insurers

Buy online in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Does nursery insurance cover my work correctly?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Talk to an expert

Online

Phone

FAQs

How do claims work?

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

Example claim

Ipek saved more than £51,000

Compare and buy in minutes

Rated 4.5/5

Here to help

24/7 claims

Nursery and preschool insurance FAQ