Nursery insurance

Expert early years cover for pre-schools, kindergartens, Montessori schools, children’s centres and more

Get in touch

Provide childcare with confidence

Running a nursery can be rewarding, and there’s a lot to think about – not least creating a safe and secure environment for children, staff, and visitors. But if things don’t go to plan, you’ll want to know you've got the right insurance in place.

We’ve been protecting early years establishments for decades, covering a wide range of children’s activities and childcare settings (registered and non-registered). We’re ready to help build the insurance package you need, with your nursery’s risks and budget in mind. 

And beyond insurance, our specialist education insurance team will be here for expert risk advice and support, whenever you need it.

What is nursery insurance?

Early years education establishments like nurseries, preschools, Montessori schools, and children’s centres need to protect themselves from everyday risks.

From accusations of staff negligence to property damage, nursery insurance offers a range of commercial cover to protect your business financially if things go wrong.  

What does nursery insurance cover?

Nurseries buy insurance to protect their liabilities and losses for all sorts of activities and situations. When you get cover through us, we’ll create a dedicated insurance package to save you time and make things simple.  

Some types of covers are compulsory if they apply to your business, but whether you take out others depends on the risks you want to protect against. We explain some of the main types below.

Public liability insurance

If you’re a business offering childcare services – including nurseries, playgroups, crèches, and kindergartens – you’ll need public liability insurance.

This covers you for legal proceedings and compensation costs if a third party, such as a parent or visitor, is injured or dies, or their property is damaged, and they blame your nursery. For example, a parent slipping on a wet floor, or water spilt on a visitor’s laptop.

Product liability insurance, which covers you for claims relating to products you sell or supply (such as food) that cause someone harm, is also included.

Activities and outings you're covered for include:

  • Forest school
  • Beach school
  • Animal handling
  • Swimming
  • Bouncy castles
  • Trampolines
  • Fundraising events 

Employers’ liability insurance

If your nursery employs staff – whether paid, full time or part time – you need employers’ liability insurance by law. This protects your nursery if someone who works for you (including past employees) makes a claim for an injury or illness caused by their work. It can also cover volunteers, work experience, and trainees.

Contents insurance 

With so much financial and emotional investment in your nursery, it makes sense to cover your business’s belongings, such as computer equipment and furniture. Then, if unexpected events such as fire, flood, storm, theft, or accidental damage happen, you're covered for the damage or loss. 

Contents cover is included as standard with our nursery insurance. This includes protection for at your premises and in transit. We can also add buildings insurance for your bricks and mortar, if that hasn’t been taken care of by the property owner.

Business interruption insurance

This provides protection for loss of income or profit if your nursery can’t operate as usual after an unexpected event like a storm or a fire. It can cover lost income and other fixed costs during the interruption, such as bills and staff wages.

Your indemnity period is how long the support lasts – we can help you work that out when you arrange your cover. It should be long enough, and offer the right level of protection, to help you maintain turnover and return to business as usual.

Professional indemnity insurance 

If your nursery is accused of making professional mistakes that have caused someone loss, this covers legal defence costs and compensation awarded from a claim. The type of risks it covers include accusations of negligence, defamation, data loss, and breach of confidentiality by your business or its staff. 

Nursery owner and children playing
Woman sat typing at laptop

Dedicated claims team

If you need to make a claim, you’re in safe hands. Our in-house team of over 30 legal, technical and claims experts know how to keep things on track.

We’ll update you throughout, aiming to resolve issues swiftly, so you can get back to doing what you love with minimal interruption.

Make a claim

Ready to go?

Nursery enquiry form

To find out how we can best support your nursery please complete the enquiry form below, or alternatively call a member of our specialist team on 0333 234 1387 for a full review. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm.

* denotes required field

Your details

Nursery details

Product interest
Preferred time
CAPTCHA
2 + 3 =
​​​
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Nursery insurance FAQs

Typically, early years businesses might start with employers’ liability insurance, which is a legal requirement if you have staff in most cases. If you need it and don’t have it, you could face a fine of up to £2,500 for each day you’re not correctly insured.

You'll also need public liability insurance as protection if someone (other than an employee) sues your nursery for injury, illness, or property damage. 

Even if these covers weren’t an essential part of your duty of care, skipping them could mean facing unaffordable legal and compensation costs on a claim.

Other than this, the cover you need depends on the risks your nursery and staff face, day to day – and what’s affordable for you.  We’ll work with you to decide what you need, in line with your budget.
 

We can cover just about anything you need. The following can also be included in your nursery insurance, if you choose to add them to your policy: 

  • Legal expenses insurance covers legal services and compensation costs of pursuing or defending a claim. Examples include contract disputes, licence issues, and pursuing overdue payments. 
  • Employment practices liability insurance covers the cost of defending claims made by employees for legal issues such as unfair dismissal, breach of contract, and discrimination.
  • Directors’ and officers’ insurance (D&O) is protection for financial costs, such as fines, compensation, and legal fees, if key individuals such as directors are accused of wrongful acts. This includes neglect, errors, and misleading statements, and breach of duty and trust.
  • Goods in transit insurance covers the contents of your vehicle if they’re stolen, damaged, or lost while you’re getting from A to B. Includes loading and unloading, and accidents.
  • Personal possessions insurance is protection for loss or damage of personal property, such as clothes and jewellery, outside the home. It can cover belongings of nursery staff, officials, and children.  
  • Deterioration of refrigerated stock insurance offers financial protection for damage to your refrigerated or frozen stock after unforeseen events like power cuts and equipment failure. This cover can replace what’s lost or pay out its value.
  • Equipment breakdown insurance covers the unexpected mechanical or electrical breakdown of your important equipment. It includes repair or replacement, lost income, and other expenses while it’s out of action.
  • Loss of registration certificate insurance protects you if the certificate you need to run your nursery is suspended or cancelled by your local authority. It covers reduced income, any reduction in the value of your business, and related increased costs. 
  • Personal accident insurance pays out to employees or children if they are injured, permanently disabled, or die during your nursery’s activities (if the nursery is not at fault). 
  • Money insurance covers theft or destruction of physical money (including cash and cheques) held at your premises, or while in transit. 
  • Employee dishonesty insurance covers the cost of investigation, legal action, and losses after corrupt action by employees, such as theft or document forgery.
  • Crisis containment covers the cost of professional PR or marketing services to reduce damage to your business’s reputation after an incident. Examples include as failure of duty of care or staff negligence. 

Your premium will depend on a few factors. The types and levels of cover, and the specifics of your business – such as your claims history, number of employees, location, and annual turnover – all help insurers decide what you will pay. 

We understand that the childcare sector is experiencing financial pressures, and that value for money is crucial. When you get a quote through us, we’ll use our relationship with leading insurers to source the most competitive price we can for the cover you need. 

Professional indemnity insurance covers your nursery for negligence and other mistakes made by staff that have caused someone loss. This could include breach of confidential information, inadequate supervision, or other breach of duty, for example. 

Public liability insurance covers the cost of claims if a third party becomes injured or ill, or dies, or their property is lost or damaged, and they blame your nursery. In short: they both cover legal costs (such as solicitor and court costs) and compensation awarded if you’re sued, but they cover different risks.
 

A broker can help you decide the types and levels of cover you need and create an insurance package around that. This can save you time and give you the confidence that you’re correctly covered. They can also access a range of insurers, to find cover best suited to you, at a competitive price.

But it’s not just when you buy. We’ll take the time to get to know your unique challenges and offer expert risk management support as part of our service. And when it counts, you’ll have a supportive in-house team to fight your corner and keep you updated during any claims.