Issues of safeguarding and the prevention of abuse are a primary concern for care organisations, charities, non-profits and social businesses.
Staff are often lone workers with full caseloads, and usually travel in their own vehicles. This brings a host of “duty of care” responsibilities, not least checking there is adequate motor insurance.
Medical records are highly desirable to cyber thieves, with rich contextual information that can be exploited for use in social engineering or impersonation fraud. When combined with your regulatory requirements from CQC, OFSTED, ICO (GDPR) and others, your data policy becomes a key pillar of your insurable risk analysis.
Whilst safeguarding and abuse hold the headlines, employee injuries from lifting, or working with abusive patients, remain the major attrition losses likely to increase the cost of insurance on a sustained basis. Insurers are therefore heavily focused on your people movement processes and your staff training records.
Regrettably, deaths in care are a possibility. The increase in Coroner issuance of “Prevention of Future Deaths” (PFDs) requires early insurer engagement and representation at inquest, to support your representative through a traumatic event, and avoid insurers allocating inappropriately large reserve settlements.
Trustees and directors are also increasingly aware that their Trustees Indemnity or Directors and Officers liability cover is unlikely to include personal injury following abuse or malpractice. With claims often brought many years after the allegation, trustees and directors will be looking for assurance that the underlying abuse and malpractice cover is robust and sufficient.
10 considerations for charity and care organisations
- Documented training on restraint and lifting
- Detailed contemporaneous records of all incidents with photographs
- Making sure insurance is robust in areas of safeguarding, abuse and malpractice
- Relevant regulatory requirements should underpin all operations and thinking
- Duty of care to lone worker employees, with 24-hour response
- Duty of care to protect Trustees, and explain coverage to them
- Continuous claims reserve challenge and analysis
- Selecting an insurance broker who fits with your internal team
- An insurer who has an interest in your sector
- Ultra-sensitivity to death and serious illness in care
Charities & Care Practice Consultancy
Innovation Broking have been working closely with the Care Practice Consultancy of the insurer, Markel, and can now bring that service to you, whether or not you insure with Markel, and at significant discounts.
Markel Care: for Children, for Elderly, for Vulnerable Adults
Innovation Broking is practised at being part of, or leading, multi-disciplinary teams to bring together the skills required to support charities, care and non-profit organisations. We are highly experienced in areas of safeguarding, with the capacity to deliver optimal risk advice and the ability to work effectively with your internal team and external professionals. Innovation Broking is completely independent and non-aligned to any one insurer. Contact us today for further information or assistance.
Charlotte Rowe
Markel’s Care Risk Advisory Practice
It’s not just about PPE
Watch now
