Why do training providers need insurance?
Accusations of causing an injury
As a training provider, you face potential lawsuits brought against you by clients if your instructions lead to an accident.
Compensation claims for bad advice
Your clients look up to you and rely on your advice and experience. If they feel you’ve failed to deliver, they might feel entitled to compensation.
Something you said is taken out of context
As a professional trainer, you spend a lot of time with your clients. You may say something that's interpreted the wrong way, and you’re facing a legal claim.
Damage to your work equipment
Most of us live online, using laptops, iPads or computers to document and store all our work data. Could you afford to pay for the repair or replacement?
Professional indemnity insurance for training providers
Professional indemnity insurance is a critical cover that protects training providers from accusations of professional mistakes, negligence, and other claims against you or your business.
Given the potential exposures trainers face, professional indemnity can be very affordable compared to the possible costs if you need to defend yourself.
What does professional indemnity insurance for trainers cover?
Professional Indemnity Insurance protects training providers from claims or allegations of wrongdoing from their professional advice or work product.
It could be as innocent as cracking an ill-considered joke that lands a trainer in hot water. More commonly, trainers find themselves in disputes over their skills and knowledge.
Cover includes:
- Providing the wrong advice or recommendation
- Failing your duty of care
- Making a mistake
- Acting negligently
For example, you may be facing financial demands from a client because:
- Your training doesn’t meet your clients’ expectations, they may feel entitled to compensation; this could be in a refund or extra work for free form.
- Depending on the type of training, you could be accused of causing an injury or property damage as a direct result of your instructions.
What type of training does professional indemnity cover?
It would be hard to give a complete list. Your area of expertise is relatively unimportant. You could be providing any or a mixture of the following:
- Training consultancy
- Business training
- Computer training
- Secretarial training
- Management training
- First Aid training
- Apprentice training
In essence, if you provide training, you give advice. As such, you’re likely to benefit from professional indemnity insurance for trainers.
What professional indemnity limit do training providers need?
The professional indemnity limit you need will reflect your particular training activities. When choosing a limit, consider several factors, including the value of your client contracts, your contractual requirements, and possible financial impacts if your training goes wrong.
Switching your professional indemnity insurance
Typically, in the UK, if you cancel a professional indemnity policy, you can no longer claim against it.
Therefore, if you switch your training provider insurance provider, be sure your new policy covers your past work; this is called “retroactive cover”.
Should I keep professional indemnity insurance if I train infrequently or close my training business?
It’s wise to keep your professional indemnity if you’re taking a break or retiring from providing training. Claims against professional misconduct can surface months or years after you delivered the work.
Remember: If you cancel your policy, your insurance coverage will end, including coverage for any previous work.
How long you keep your cover in place is up to you. Consider the type of training you did and the likelihood that a client might bring a claim against you.
Public liability insurance for training providers
Public liability insurance shields training providers from claims of injuries or property damage associated with face-to-face work.
Public liability is an inexpensive protection against unfortunate incidents such as slips, falls, or you causing damage to a third party’s equipment.
What does training provider public liability insurance cover?
Public liability insurance is valuable when faced with injury claims and compensation demands.
Cover includes:
- accidental injury or death
- accidental property damage
For example:
- A participant trips over the equipment you set up for the training.
- You visit a client site and damage equipment by knocking over a coffee
Other insurance training providers buy
Your need for additional training provider insurance may vary depending on your specific circumstances. Have you considered the cost of legal disputes? Do you depend on costly computer equipment for your income? What would happen to your business if you were to become ill? And do you have any employees to consider?
Commercial legal expenses insurance
Most commercial legal expenses insurance will protect training providers against various tax and legal issues you may encounter due to your profession, which are not covered by professional indemnity or public liability.
At Suited, we combined £100,000 of commercial legal expenses insurance with helplines and other tools to better assist training providers in dealing with these issues. We call this Business Legal Protect, and it’s part of your subscription.
Business Legal Protect offers qualified advice and assistance with:
- Legal and tax matters concerning your business
- Criminal prosecution
- Unpaid invoices (over £200)
For example:
- HMRC investigates your tax affairs
- You need tax or legal advice regarding your business
- You need legal help chasing a significant unpaid invoice
- You’re being taken to court for breach of contract
Electronic business equipment insurance
Electronic business equipment insurance is needed these days more than ever. Most trainers rely heavily upon electronic equipment to deliver their services. If this equipment is lost, damaged or stolen, it can seriously impact your business's bottom line.
Employers’ liability insurance
If you have anyone working for you, full-time, part-time, contractors or volunteers, employer’s liability insurance is required by law.
Training providers we insure
Suited offers comprehensive insurance policies that cater to the needs of a wide range of training providers, including:
- Business trainers
- Clerical trainers
- Computer trainers
- Fire safety trainers
- First aid trainers
- Management trainers
- NLP trainers
- Secretarial trainers
- and more..
Shopping for training provider liability insurance
Whether or not you decide to use Suited training provider insurance to protect your business, it’s worth keeping the following in mind:
Cheap training provider insurance
When choosing training provider insurance, don't just look at prices. Check how accessible and responsive the provider is. At Suited, we offer multiple communication options and prompt responses.
The insurer's reputation is important
Insurance needs to be there when you need it most. The payout reputation of an insurer is essential. Suited uses financially sound insurers with an A+ rating.
Many providers charge fees to amend or cancel
Low initial prices often hide additional charges to pay monthly, amend or cancel your policy. At Suited, we charge no extra fees, and you can cancel anytime with no more to pay.
Some policy wordings are restrictive or have a high excess
Some providers will offer attractive prices, but it is at the expense of cover given. Suited professional indemnity and public liability have £0 excess.
