Social worker insurance
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Based on 39,770 reviews
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For 80% of settled claims
Why is social work insurance important?
From working with vulnerable people, to partnering with charities and organising events, being a social worker requires lots of skills across different areas. For social worker businesses, we usually build an insurance policy around public liability cover, with options to add protection for legal costs, employees, and personal accidents where required.
- social worker liability insurance, UK customer service and claims team
- pay monthly or annually, whatever works for your company
- trusted by over 900,000 small UK businesses for flexible, tailored cover
Insurance for social workers – what’s covered?
We’ll start with public liability insurance for social workers, covering you against accidents caused by your business – for example, if someone trips over your laptop charger cable and suffers an injury. You can also include insurance for business equipment, legal expenses, and employees, plus personal accident cover for an injury which could stop you working.
Public liability for social workers
In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your business.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you face legal costs in connection with your social work business.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or elsewhere.
Public liability for social workers
In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your social work business
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- you drop a box of files files on your client’s foot, breaking a toe
- your employee spills coffee on a client’s coat, causing a permanent stain
**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 business.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business 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:
- your employee catches her hand on a broken door lock in the toilets at your office, and needs stitches
- after heavy rainfall, the steps in your waiting area become slippery and your employee falls, breaking his leg
Business and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to equipment like your laptop or phone.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- theft of the equipment you use to run your social services business
- loss of your equipment
- flood, fire, or accidental damage
For example:
- your multifunction printer is damaged during an office move
- someone steals your phone and laptop from a table while you’re paying in a coffee shop
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you face legal costs in connection with your social work business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs attributed to your social services business
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
- access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis support to help you protect your professional reputation
For example:
- two of your part-time employees haven’t been classified correctly, and you need to pay legal costs as a result
- you begin to incur legal costs when an employee raises a discrimination claim aganist the business
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 or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
- lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
- your employee, who you’ve covered on the policy, falls at the weekend, breaking their collarbone
- you slip down the stairs in the office, breaking your arm in the fall – you need time off work for hospital treatment and can’t drive for six weeks
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 social services 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 £3.49 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
*The price is for £1 million of public liability insurance - 10% of customers paid £41.87 or less annually between 1st Oct 2023 - 31st Mar 2024. Equivalent to £3.49/month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). If you complete a quote more types of cover will be available, these all have additional costs.
Example social worker insurance quotes, real prices
£11.15 /month
£91.47 /year
A part time social worker specialising in working with local young offenders
- 1-2 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Leeds
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Professional indemnity
Not included
£37.82 /month
£336.16 /year
A family run ltd company that works with voluntary organisations and charities
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 1 employee
- Based in Cardiff
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Professional indemnity
Not included
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 16/08/2021). 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.
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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 social worker insurance cover my work correctly?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
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 social worker 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 speech therapy insurance or carers 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.
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered
Other types of insurance
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
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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.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Rated 4.7/5
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Social worker 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 insurance for social workers. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. 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 0146 683 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
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.
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
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