Why is private tutor insurance important?
There are two aspects to a tutor profession. One is the physical contact with students and the other is the fact that your job is all about advice and guidance which can be life changing for some of your students.
Let’s start with the advice part. Many students, whether young or mature, seek and follow the advice of their tutors. It of course depends on the subject you teach but some tutors are instrumental to their students’ future choices of a career or path in life.
When the student’s dreams and aspirations don’t come true or feel that they’re inadequately equipped for whatever they have selected to do, they or their parents might try to blame you.
That happens from time to time and doesn’t usually end in more than a bad review but occasionally it can lead to an accusation resulting in a legal claim with a demand for financial compensation.
And then there are other risks. As a private tutor you spend a lot of time alone with your students. It is not practicable to have a third person sitting in all the time therefore it is not surprising that tutors often end up facing accusations of professional misconduct. This type of situation can be career ending and it is crucial that you protect yourself. That includes having adequate legal cover, should you become in need of qualified legal professionals to help defend your case.
Professional indemnity insurance for private tutors
This is the key cover for all self employed and private tutors, whether they teach remotely or meet their students in person. It’s there to protect you from accusations of professional negligence, failure in duty of care or saying something wrong.
If a situation arises with a student or their parents, all kinds of accusations start flying around and it is very easy to quickly find yourself in deep waters. Professional indemnity insurance for tutors is a legal cover that provides two benefits.
Firstly it is the legal support you will receive as soon as you receive the first unhappy email, phone call or text threatening to sue you or demanding a financial remedy for your conduct.
Your insurers will appoint the right legal aid to review your situation and advise you what you should do next. In many case they will take the communication over from you or help you draft the right response. Cases handled at the early stage by a professional tend to go away.
The second benefit of professional indemnity insurance for private tutors is the fact that all the legal costs are taken care of by the insurers straightaway.
In other words there is no need for you to pay anything at any point unless you insist on using your own solicitor. If you do, your insurers will need to approve them first and only pay you back when presented with settled invoices.
Public liability insurance for tutors
Public liability is also a legal cover, intended to protect against accidents that might end up in an injury or property damage. It is particularly useful to tutors who work from their own premises or visit the homes of their students.
Personal injury claims are on the rise in the UK and even if the chance of causing an injury seems remote to you, it is worthwhile to look into this cover. It usually costs a few pounds a month and it eliminates a potentially costly risk.
The risk of property damage is also hard to imagine and, unless you're a clumsy person, probably quite unlikely. And yet if you host a group of students at a third party premises, damage to the premises can occur. Naturally, the venue will look to you to take care of any remedy.
