Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Fact
Sheets for Shared Lives
prepared in conjunction with NAAPS UK Ltd
Please note that these fact sheets are for guidance only and are
not a substitute for advice from a qualified insurance broker.
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Fact Sheet 1
Public Liability Insurance for
NAAPS Shared Lives Carer Members
What is Public Liability Insurance?
Public Liability insurance protects you from claims arising from personal injury or
property damage by a third party arising from alleged negligence on your part.
Who is it for?
This Policy is for people approved by their Scheme to provide long term Shared
Lives arrangements and/or short breaks. This Policy:
• applies to SL carers who provide accommodation for 29 days or more in
any year and covers those Carers for any role undertaken as a Shared
Lives carer ie long term, day support, short breaks kinship.
• covers any support carers you use provided they are officially approved by
the scheme and are substituting for or working alongside you the main
carer. All members of the immediate family may be on the main Carer’s
policy where approved by the scheme as either joint main carers or support
carers and usually up to 2 additional, named support carers can be included
for the standard single SL members premium. For more you should refer to
Ellis Bates.
• covers you if you need to support service users with the completion of
benefit forms and other administrative jobs
What are you covered for?
The legal costs in defending you and meeting the compensation claim where you
are legally forced to pay as a result of a Civil claims (ie being sued) by the
service user (or their representative) or a member of the public in respect of
alleged injury or property damage (up to a maximum indemnity of £5,000,000).
This also includes costs incurred in defending you whether negligent or not.
Premiums
Shared Lives Carers Annual Premium - £110
Shared Lives Carers providing 28 day (or less) short breaks per year -£65 a year
We hope that this Fact Sheet is helpful to you. If you should have any insurance
questions then we would be happy to hear from you and will always help. Our
offices are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and the direct line number
for the Social Care team at 01423 724518.
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Fact Sheet 2
Community Services Public Liability Policy
What is Public Liability Insurance?
Public Liability insurance protects you from claims arising from personal injury or
property damage by a third party arising, from alleged negligence on your part
This policy is intended to capture services provided under a SL scheme other
than those offered by SL Carers including:
• Day Care for those (non-SL) carers who operate day care services.
• Support carers who work alongside or in addition to a main Carer whose
policy does not cover support carers.
• Carers who are not SL carers but who provide support for service users in
the service user’s own home or out in the community but under a SL
Scheme.
What are you covered for?
The legal costs in defending you and meeting the compensation claim where you
are legally forced to pay as a result of a Civil claims (i.e. being sued) by the
service user (or their representative) or a member of the public in respect of
alleged injury or property damage (up to a maximum indemnity of £5,000,000).
This also includes costs incurred in defending you whether negligent or not.
Premium: £85 per year for support carers and £65 for respite carers.
We hope that this Fact Sheet guide is helpful to you. If you should have any
insurance questions then we would be happy to hear from you and will always
help. Our offices are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and the direct
line number for the Social Care team at 01423 724518.
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Fact Sheet 3
Legal Expenses Insurance
NAAPS Shared Lives carer membership includes NAAPS own legal expenses
policy giving you access to
• 24hr legal advice help-line on any legal issues whatsoever.
• cover up to £100,000 (where there is considered to be more than a 50%
chance of winning the case) for:
Legal defence costs for criminal, discrimination, health & safety, data
protection actions or regulatory authority disciplinary hearings.
Representation costs in the event of a Scheme seeking to de-approve
or alter the approval status of a SL Carer.
Representation costs in the event of an appeal against a de-approval
or alteration of status of a SL Carer.
Legal advice and representation
Where the issues relate directly to being a Shared Lives carer, the Insurer has
agreed to employ solicitors selected by NAAPS (who are known to be familiar
with all aspects of Shared Lives) both to provide advice if you ring the helpline
and to directly assist if you require representation
We hope that this Fact Sheet is helpful to you. If you should have any insurance
questions then we would be happy to hear from you and will always help. Our
offices are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and the direct line number
for the Social Care team at 01423 724518.
4
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Fact Sheet 4
Home Insurance
What is Home insurance?
Carers who provide services in their own home may not have sufficient cover
under a standard home insurance policy. This is principally because such
policies normally cover domestic use of a house and the family that live there.
The Ellis Bates Care Sector Home Policy sidesteps the normal limitations in
cover that may exist providing NAAPS members with covers for resident clients,
accidental damage (including damage by residents) and multiple occupancy
without theft restrictions.
Who is it for?
Any NAAPS member can benefit from specially discounted insurance rates.
What does it cover?
The policy covers buildings, contents and items taken away from the home
including jewellery, watches, camera equipment. The cover also includes wheel
chairs and other disability aids. Cover includes belongings of resident or respite
service users.
Premiums
Premium levels depend on the amount of cover needed but the basic policy
covers up to 5 bedrooms with a generous level of £60,000 contents and
£500,000 buildings at very competitive rates.
We hope that this Fact Sheet is helpful to you. If you should have any insurance
questions then we would be happy to hear from you and will always help. Our
offices are open 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday and the direct line number
for the Social Care team at 01423 724518.
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers’ Frequently Asked Questions for
NAAPS Shared Lives Carer Members
The following is a list of frequently asked questions presented to Ellis Bates by
Shared Lives carers.
1. What should I look out for as a Shared Lives carer when buying a
home policy?
Where you are paid by the authority there can be problems with some home
policies as your insurer may regard you as carrying out a business as a Shared
Lives carer and not recognise the Service User as being a family member.
Business use at home on non-NAAPS policies can provide the following
restrictions.
(i) Accidental damage caused by non-family members for whom the
Shared |Lives carer is being paid to provide accommodation, is not
normally covered.
(ii) People cannot insure items that do not belong to them as they have
no ‘insurable interest’ (legal definition) so Service Users belongings
may not be covered on a non-NAAPS arranged Shared Lives carers
policy.
(iii) The belongings of support carers are not covered under the main
Shared Lives carer’s home.
(iv) Where insurers consider that a Shared Lives carer is using the home
for business purposes then theft claims may be paid only where there
has been a physical break-in. Homes not used for business purposes
are usually covered where thieves just walk in through open patio
doors and steal, providing the house isn’t unoccupied at the time. The
Ellis Bates Care Sector Home Policy specially arranged for NAAPS
members includes the ‘walk-in’ cover even though there is a ‘paid-for’
guest or two.
2. Is it easy to obtain travel insurance for Service Users?
Travel policies including medical expenses and carers need to consider particular
things such as:
(i) Medical expenses costs arising from pre-existing medical conditions
are excluded unless specifically declared. Even then, Insurers don’t
always cover costs arising from these conditions. Ellis Bates has
access to a scheme for Shared Lives Service Users that will often
grant cover for costs arising from pre-existing medical conditions,
sometimes for a higher premium to fairly reflect the higher risk.
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
(ii) It is always advisable to inform the travel agent and airline of any
medical conditions of the Service User so that they can be prepared
for any issues that might present themselves on the aircraft. It can
relieve stress at the airport and minimise restrictions in the ability to fly
that might ruin the holiday. It also aids the airline in completing their
pre-flight risk assessments.
3. What are the motor insurance issues for Shared Lives carers of
service users?
(i) Occasionally, vehicles may have to be modified to meet the needs of
passengers with disabilities and these modifications need to be
communicated to insurers.
(ii) Social domestic & pleasure use is not sufficient for Shared Lives
carers. Therefore carers should have personal business use cover
which doesn’t necessarily attract higher premiums.
(iii) Shared Lives carers are excluded from any requirement to register as
licensed car hire operators so long as they operate domestically.
4. What happens when I go on holiday and need respite/support?
The Shared Lives policy automatically covers for a support carer to replace
them for 28 days at any one time within the member’s own home, without
the need to refer to Ellis Bates. However, the support carer must be
registered with the Scheme and the holiday cover agreed with the Scheme.
5. How do I go about getting home insurance cover for more than one
address?
As a Shared Lives Carer, this would only apply if you were offering kinship
in two different properties or you were supporting people in your own home
but also offering kinship in an additional house. In these situations both the
properties have to be approved by the Scheme and, where you support no
more than 3 people in total across the 2 properties, you purchase 2 Shared
Lives policies, one for each location.
6. What if the service user is receiving direct payments?
The Shared Lives public liability policy covers Scheme-approved activities.
If a Service User receives direct payments and pays the carer for duties
outside of the Scheme, then the Shared Lives public liability may fall short
of those extra activities. The Shared Lives carer should consult with Ellis
Bates to find a suitable solution.
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
7. Does the Public Liability Insurance cover the consequences of
behaviour by people who are supported who display challenging
behaviour?
Yes but only where negligence applies. If injury is sustained by someone
then it doesn’t always follow that there has been negligence.
8. Are risk assessments essential to the insurance policy?
It is a condition of the Shared Lives public liability policy that written risk
assessments are carried out as part of the service user plan and are
followed.
9. What cover do I get under the Abbey Protection Legal Expenses
policy?
(i) The Abbey Legal protection policy has replaced the DAS legal
expenses policy from 2009.
(ii) Included in the cost of NAAPS membership is a 24hr legal advice
help-line on any legal issues whatsoever in addition to the following
covers up to £100,000 where there is considered to be more than a
50% chance of winning the case.
(iii) Legal defence costs for criminal, discrimination, health & safety, data
protection actions or regulatory authority disciplinary hearings.
(iv) Appeal costs against the scheme following de-approval, or unfair
alteration/refusal to alter the terms of registration.
10. What happens if I am late paying my premiums?
(i) There is now a maximum of 30 days past 1st September renewal date
by which you must have paid.
(ii) After the 30th day the cover is lapsed and regulatory compliance is
threatened. Re-instating the cover after this 30 day period will result in
a £30 administration charge to set up a new cover.
(i) Cover cannot be backdated once cancelled.
11. How can Service Users' property be best insured?
(i) Shared Lives carers are expected to ensure that service users’
property is protected and insurance is one way in which that may be
done.
(ii) Home insurance policies may be extended to include belongings of
the resident service user.
(iii) A Service User’s Personal Belongings policy in the name of that
person, from Ellis Bates covering £7,500 belongings on an All Risks
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU
basis for £75 premium per annum is also available if you have not
extended your own home policy.
12. What financial planning facilities are available to NAAPS members?
(i) Funeral Expenses policies are available for service users with no
medical underwriting to meet end of life expenses.
(ii) A full range of financial planning advice is available to NAAPS
members on life insurance and retirement planning.
13. Do I need Personal Accident Insurance?
(i) Personal Accident pays specific benefits to the insured person if they
have an accident. Public Liability insurance only pays compensation to
others when the carer is legally liable so the two covers are quite
different. As carers are self-employed they only receive payment when
they are available to provide the service so protecting their income
following accident or sickness could be important.
(ii) Currently, few NAAPS members have asked Ellis Bates to provide this
type of cover. Discounted scheme rates could be provided if at least
200 members grouped together to buy this cover. Individual
applications will still be considered.
14. What are the Ellis Bates insurance benefits of being a NAAPS Shared
Lives Carer member?
(i) NAAPS have negotiated a range of discounted rates for members.
Frequently, the premium savings from standard policies can exceed
the cost of NAAPS membership fees.
(ii) NAAPS understand the insurance needs of Shared Lives carers. All
policies provided are upgraded accordingly to provide covers specific
to carers needs.
(iii) Few legal expenses insurance companies have heard of Shared Lives
and so their understanding of the needs of Shared Lives carers
reflects this. NAAPS & Ellis Bates have selected solicitors with known
skills and experience in Shared Lives and have contracted Abbey
Legal Insurance Company to use those solicitors in the advice and
handling of Shared Lives issues.
We hope that these frequently asked questions are helpful. If you have any
comments or further questions that you consider ought to be added to this list for
the benefit of other shared lives carers, then please e-mail these to
steve.arthington@ellisbatesgroup.com or ring Steve Arthington on 01423 724519
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Ellis Bates Insurance Brokers Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority for the
transacting of general insurance. Company Registration Number: 3316860
Registered Office: Adam House, Ripon Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 2AU