Does a Disability Support Worker Need Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Being a Disability Support Worker comes with a lot of responsibilities. You are entrusted with the physical, mental, and emotional care of your clients, oftentimes in their own homes. Unfortunately, there are numerous occasions where mistakes or errors could be made inadvertently. When this happens, your client could make a claim against you or your business to cover any damages as a result of the mistake.

These claims can cause serious financial burdens and stress on you. Fortunately, there are insurance policies that can help protect Disability Support Workers in such an event.

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

Professional Indemnity Insurance is a special type of insurance that is designed to protect professionals from financial implications from a lawsuit or claim made against their business if errors or mistakes are made while providing services or advice. These claims could come as a result of giving incorrect advice, failing to meet customer expectations, or making a decision that causes physical, emotional, or financial harm to your client.

These types of claims can be detrimental, especially for small businesses or independent contractors. Professional Indemnity Insurance helps cover any legal fees or payments that are awarded to the person making the claim so there are no financial implications to the business. In addition to financial protection, in the event of a covered claim, the insurance company will work with you by appointing specialist lawyers to provide guidance on how to best address any claims that are made.

Why Professional Indemnity Insurance is Important for Disability Support Workers

No matter how careful you are with the care of your clients, mistakes do happen on occasion. In most cases, mistakes are minor and can be fixed. However, sometimes errors could result in serious consequences. In those rare occurrences, you want to make sure that you have Professional Indemnity Insurance to protect you. This is especially important if you are a sole trader, or claimed against personally, since many claims allow claimants to come after personal assets like your personal home or savings account.

• Mistakes or Errors - In many cases, you are helping to make decisions on behalf of your client. If something goes wrong or you make a miscalculation, they could try to hold you accountable for any damages that come as a result of the error.
• Failure to Complete Your Duties - Your clients are counting on you to help provide care. If you have a family emergency or other matter that prevents you from taking care of your client, they could seek to make a claim against you.
• Unsatisfactory Service - In many cases, claims are made because a client is simply dissatisfied with the level of service they received. Professional Indemnity Insurance can protect you from these types of claims as well.

It’s important to note that Professional Indemnity Insurance doesn’t just apply to Disability Support Workers who work independently. In some cases, companies and agencies require their employees to carry their own insurance policies.

upcover offers insurance for disability support workers

Whether you are working as a full time, part time, contractor or freelance disability support worker, there are a range of activities that are included in the insurance that we offer. Visit our page for disability support workers for more information.

Let Us Help You Get the Protection You Need

Not sure where to get started with getting Professional Indemnity Insurance? Using our instant quote generator, you can get the coverage level that you need to feel confident that you and your disability support business are well protected.