Do I need teaching insurance?
If you work full-time or part-time in a school, you don’t need teacher insurance.
If you’re a private teacher or tutor who works from home or in pupil’s homes, teaching insurance can provide you with valuable protection and peace of mind. However, it isn’t a legal requirement.
Teaching may not be considered a particularly high-risk occupation, but mistakes and accidents can happen. For example, a student trips over and hurts themselves in your home or you fail to deliver the tuition your student needs: by failing to complete the syllabus.
Having teaching or tutoring insurance to cover you could reduce the financial impact of unforeseen events like these, and even help restore your professional reputation and get you back on your feet.
If you’re considering tutoring work through an agency, you may also need to have insurance before they’ll put you on their books.
What does teaching insurance cover?
Teacher insurance is a type of business insurance policy, which can be made up of several types of cover. This means you can build your own tailor-made insurance package to cover the risks associated with teaching and tutoring.
Cover types you may want to include with your teaching insurance include:
Employers’ liability insurance for teachers
If you employ other tutors or anyone else as part of your business, you’re required by law to take out employers’ liability insurance. This could cover you if one of your employees becomes ill or is injured as a result of working for you. If you employ one or more people or are a limited company with multiple directors, it's a legal requirement to have cover. If you're not a limited company, it's not a legal requirement to have employers' liability insurance if the employees are immediate family members, though if a policy is in place it would still cover immediate family members working for you.
Professional indemnity insurance for teachers
Professional indemnity insurance, also known as PI insurance, could cover legal expenses and the cost of compensation claims to a client who has lost out as a result of your service, advice or a mistake you made.
It also applies to acts of defamation. This is when your reputation is damaged by something written (libel) or spoken (slander) that isn’t true.
Public liability insurance for teachers
If you teach students in your own home, their home or premises you’ve hired for teaching purposes, you need to consider public liability insurance for students.
This can cover you for personal accident claims resulting from a student being injured while in your care or any damage you cause to someone else’s property. For example, a student falls downstairs in your home or you accidentally spill coffee on their laptop.
Business contents insurance
If you use laptops, tablets, textbooks and other teaching aids in the course of your work, business contents insurance could cover them against damage, loss or theft.
There are other options too. If you work from home, an existing home contents policy could protect your business property. Check the details of the policy or contact your insurance provider if you’re not sure. Or you may get the cover you need with specific business equipment insurance.
If you own a dedicated space used specifically for teaching, any furniture, fixtures and fittings may also be covered by business contents insurance, but always check with your insurance provider and read the policy’s small print.
Small business insurance
As the name suggests, small business insurance is designed specifically for small businesses rather than large corporations. Talk to your insurance provider about what they offer.
How can I protect my income if I’m self-employed as a tutor or teacher?
If you’re self-employed, the following types of insurance for private tutors could protect your income should the unexpected happen:
Income protection insurance – can provide an alternative income if illness or injury stop you working.
Critical illness insurance – usually a tax-free, one-off payment if you develop a serious illness that’s covered by your policy.
Business life insurance – supports your business financially if anything happens to you or your employees.
How much does teaching insurance cost?
How much your teacher or tutor insurance costs will depend on several things, including the types of cover you add to your policy, along with the level of cover you insure yourself for.
As a starting point, you could get public liability insurance for £7.36[1] a month.
To find out how much teaching insurance costs, start by comparing business insurance with us at Compare the Market.
[1] 51% of our customers were quoted less than £7.36 per month in October - December 2024 for their public liability business insurance based on the monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment, excluding any interest charged on instalment payments.
How do I choose teaching insurance?
With us at Compare the Market. Whether you’re looking for individual insurance or a complete business package in one policy, our price comparison service can help you find the right insurance for tutoring you need.
Compare business insurance quotes in minutes to find cover for your teaching business.
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FAQs
Am I covered if I teach students abroad?
es, you can get teaching insurance cover if you work abroad, but you must state this to providers when taking out cover.
If you don’t, there’s a risk that you won’t be covered for your teaching abroad.
Are there any restrictions on teaching insurance?
Here are some examples of when you may not be able to get teaching insurance cover:
Teachers employed by a school — full time or part time
Supply teachers
Nursery teachers
Breakfast club and after-school club teachers
Music teachers
Sports instructors — this could be yoga and Pilates instructors, personal trainers or sports coaching
With almost 15 years’ experience in the insurance industry, Mubina is an expert from one end to the other. From leading the introduction of new products, marketing them, innovating them, all the way to handling claims with customers. At some point in her career, she’s done it all.
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