Ofsted Children’s Home Insurance Guide 2026
Opening a children’s home involves considerable planning, including the property, staffing, registered manager, safeguarding arrangements, statement of purpose, policies and regulatory registration.
Insurance and Registration Explained for New Children's Home Providers
Insurance should be considered as part of this process rather than being left until the home is ready to open.
SRS Insurance specialises in arranging insurance for children’s services, including new children’s homes progressing through the Ofsted registration process.
This guide explains when to approach an insurer, what cover to consider, what information underwriters are likely to request and how insurance confirmation may work during the registration process.
Important: SRS Insurance provides insurance advice and broking services. We do not provide legal or regulatory advice or determine whether a service requires Ofsted registration. Regulatory requirements should always be checked against current Ofsted/GOV.UK guidance.
Opening a Children's Home?
Can I Get Insurance Before My Children's Home Is Ofsted Registered?
Potentially, yes.
Specialist insurers may consider a proposed children’s home before the Ofsted registration process has been completed.
The insurer will normally want to understand exactly what is being proposed.
This can include:
- Number of children
- Age range
- Statement of purpose
- Type of placements
- Registered manager
- Directors’ experience
- Staffing levels
- Qualifications
- Safeguarding
- Recruitment procedures
- DBS checks
- Behavioural risks
- Property
- Fire safety
- Previous experience
- Previous claims
- Expected opening date
Terms remain subject to the insurer’s underwriting and acceptance.
Do I Need Insurance for My Ofsted Application?
Need Insurance Confirmation for your Ofsted Application?
Current Ofsted registration guidance should always be checked because regulatory requirements can change.
Where Ofsted requires insurance evidence or written confirmation as part of an application, SRS Insurance can discuss the proposed service with specialist insurers and determine what documentation can be provided, subject to underwriting and insurer agreement.
Registration Guidance – Ofsted/GOV.UK
What Insurance Does a Children's Home Need?
A children’s home has specialist exposures that may not be appropriately addressed by a generic commercial insurance policy.
A children’s home insurance programme can potentially include the following.
Employers' Liability
Children’s homes employ registered managers, residential support workers and other staff.
Employers’ Liability provides protection against certain legal liabilities arising from employee injury or illness.
A £10 million limit is commonly provided, subject to insurer terms.
Public Liability
Public Liability provides protection against certain claims involving injury to third parties or damage to third-party property.
For children’s homes this can involve children, visitors, professionals and other members of the public.
Commissioners or contracts may specify particular minimum limits.
Abuse Cover
This is an especially important area to examine carefully when comparing children’s home insurance policies.
Do not simply check whether the schedule says “Abuse – Included.”
Consider:
- Limit of indemnity
- Aggregate limit
- Definitions
- Defence costs
- Exclusions
- Retroactive date
- Historical allegations
- Whether the limit is shared with another section
Two policies showing abuse cover can provide materially different protection.
Professional Indemnity
A children’s home and its employees make important professional decisions concerning the young people in their care.
Professional Indemnity can provide protection against certain allegations of professional negligence, errors or omissions.
Check the policy wording and retroactive date carefully.
Treatment Liability
If employees undertake treatment or healthcare-related activities, the insurer needs an accurate description of those activities.
Treatment cover should not automatically be assumed to be included within standard Public Liability.
Buildings Insurance
If the children’s home operator owns the property or has responsibility for insuring it under a lease, Buildings Insurance may be required.
The building should be insured for an appropriate reinstatement/rebuilding value, rather than simply its market value.
Contents Insurance
Consider:
- Furniture
- Fixtures
- Office equipment
- Computers
- Specialist equipment
- Service-user related contents where applicable
Business Interruption
If insured property damage makes the children’s home unusable, Business Interruption insurance can help protect against certain resulting financial losses.
The indemnity period needs to consider how long it could realistically take to:
- Repair/rebuild the property
- Obtain planning/approvals where necessary
- Replace specialist facilities
- Satisfy regulatory requirements
- Return the service to normal operation
Legal Defence Costs
Specialist policies may provide certain legal defence protection.
The scope and limit should be checked carefully because regulatory and criminal defence costs are not automatically covered in every circumstance.
Loss of Registration
Certain specialist insurers may offer Loss of Registration cover.
This is not automatically available.
Availability may depend upon:
- Registration status
- Inspection history
- Rating
- Previous regulatory action
- Insurer criteria
Do not advertise this as guaranteed cover.
Cyber Insurance
Children’s homes can hold significant quantities of confidential and sensitive information.
Cyber insurance should therefore be considered for risks involving:
- Data breaches
- Cyber incidents
- System interruption
- Cybercrime
- Incident-response costs
The exact protection depends upon the policy.
What Will a Children's Home Insurer Ask Me?
New Children's Home Underwriting Checklist
Prepare the following before requesting quotations:
- Company name
- Directors
- Trading history
- Previous businesses
- Expected turnover
Company
Children's Home
- Address
- Number of beds
- Age range
- Proposed opening date
- Ofsted registration status
- Statement of purpose
Management
- Registered manager
- Manager's CV
- Qualifications
- Previous children's-home experience
- Directors' experience
Young People
- Age range
- Placement criteria
- Behavioural profile
- Learning disabilities
- Mental health needs
- Criminal justice involvement
- Sexualised behaviours
- History of arson
- Violence/aggression
- Missing-from-care risk
Insurers may ask additional questions depending upon the service.
Staffing
- Number of employees
- Wage roll
- Staff-to-child ratios
- Qualifications
- DBS checks
- Agency staff
- Recruitment procedures
- Training
Risk Management
- Safeguarding
- Behaviour management
- Risk assessments
- Medication
- Fire safety
- Lone working
- Missing-from-care procedures
- Incident reporting
Insurance History
- Previous insurer
- Claims
- Incidents
- Complaints
- Regulatory action
Having this information prepared can significantly improve the quality of an underwriting presentation.
Will an Insurer Cover Children With Challenging Behaviour?
This depends upon the insurer, the proposed service and the individual risk profile.
The underwriter may ask about:
- Violence
- Aggression
- Self-harm
- Criminal histories
- Bail
- Sexual offences
- Arson
- Damage to property
- Missing-from-care incidents
- Restraint
- Mental health
- Substance misuse
These questions should be answered accurately.
A specialist broker’s role is to understand the service and present the risk accurately to appropriate insurers.
Insurance for Supported Accommodation Aged 16–17
Supported accommodation for 16 and 17-year-olds should not simply be presented to an insurer as though it were identical to a children’s home.
Important information includes:
- Type of accommodation
- Number of young people
- Support hours
- Overnight staffing
- Staffing ratios
- Lone working
- Placement criteria
- Behavioural risks
- Criminal justice backgrounds
- Safeguarding
- Agency staff
- Property ownership
- Multiple locations
- Local authority arrangements
For further information:
Read our Supported Accommodation Insurance Guide
When Should I Arrange Children's Home Insurance?
Do not leave insurance until the final day before the proposed opening.
A more practical process is:
Children’s Home Business Established
↓
Property Identified
↓
Registered Manager / Management Structure
↓
Statement of Purpose & Service Model
↓
Ofsted Application
↓
Approach Specialist Insurance Broker
↓
Underwriting Information Submitted
↓
Insurance Terms / Appropriate Confirmation
↓
Registration Process Completed
↓
Insurance Incepted Before Operations Begin
The precise order can vary depending upon the circumstances and regulatory requirements.
Children's Home Insurance FAQs
Specialist insurers may consider a proposed children’s home while registration is still in progress. Terms remain subject to underwriting and insurer acceptance.
Where appropriate, SRS can approach specialist insurers to establish whether the necessary insurance terms and supporting confirmation can be provided. Any confirmation remains subject to insurer agreement and underwriting.
There is no single standard price.
Premiums can depend upon matters including:
- Number of beds
- Service-user profile
- Activities
- Turnover
- Wage roll
- Management experience
- Property
- Claims history
- Limits of indemnity
- Cover required
The correct way to establish the premium is to submit the individual risk to suitable insurers.
Specialist policies may provide abuse protection, but the extent varies considerably. Check limits, exclusions, aggregation, definitions and retroactive provisions carefully.
Potentially, yes. Underwriters may instead place greater emphasis on the experience of the directors, registered manager and staff, together with safeguarding and risk-management arrangements.
Check the lease.
The landlord may insure the building, or the lease may place particular insurance obligations on the tenant. Do not assume responsibility without reviewing the contractual arrangements.
Opening a New Children's Home?
SRS Insurance can assist providers at different stages of the process:
- Planning
- Property Secured
- Preparing Ofsted Application
- Awaiting Registration
- Registered and Preparing to Open
- Established Children’s Home
- Multi-Site Children’s Home Operator
Get a Specialist Children's Home Insurance Quote
Last reviewed: 26/08/2026