Running a nursery is certainly an invigorating experience. 101 decisions to make and 1001 things to think about! But there are also those moments of calm, when the doors close after a long day, or when the children are all asleep for an afternoon nap and peace descends. Those are the times when you can take stock in peace.
Moments of peace are perhaps rare in childcare. Your nursery is never going to be still and calm for long. With that in mind, your insurance shouldn’t be left to stand still either. As your nursery changes and grows there are some potential insurance pitfalls to watch out for, to ensure you have the cover you need to maintain your peace of mind.
Underinsurance
You need to know that when you claim on your insurance, the payment you receive will be enough to put things right. After all, that is what you are paying your premium for. However, if you are not careful, you can find yourself underinsured; that is paying the premium appropriate for less valuable assets.
For example, the market value of your property might change dramatically over time, but if your premium was not updated, you may only insured for the original value. Another easy mistake is to insure the market value of your property instead of the cost of rebuilding, which may be much more. If this happens, in the event of a claim, your insurance company may apply a modifier to your payment, meaning you do not receive as much as you need.
You can avoid underinsurance by keeping your insurance company up to date with the value you need to cover. It can be a good idea to periodically have your property professionally valued, including a rebuild cost.
Claims Occurring vs Claims Made
Another potential pitfall that it is worth double-checking is the basis on which some kinds of insurance are provided. In particular, whether it is on a ‘claims made’ or ‘claims occurring basis’. For the most part, a ‘claims made’ basis is all you need, but in some cases, such as cover for abuse, you may want to consider ‘claims occurring’ instead.
All this means is that rather than your insurance only covering claims made while you have the policy, the cover will keep running into the future. This ensures that if an historical allegation is made, perhaps decades from now, both your interests, and those of the person making the allegation can be properly protected, giving you peace of mind
Managing your Excess
Finally, it is worth making sure you are familiar with the excess that may be applied to your insurance claims. When taking out insurance, it is all too easy to get into a mindset that it will never be used, and this can mean details like excess falling through the cracks.
As part of your financial planning, it is always advisable to read your policy documents carefully and speak to your insurance company about anything you are not sure about. That way, if you need to make a claim, you can ensure you maintain enough money in your emergency reserves to get everything up and running again as quickly as possible, minimising the disruption to your setting.
In a hectic sector, taking the time to make your way around what pitfalls there are will help maintain your peace of mind, and that is what insurance is all about. In an ideal world you will never need to claim, but – when the unexpected is always a possibility – it is good to know it is ready and waiting to step in and save the day.
For more information visit www.mortonmichel.com/NurseryCare/. You can also contact the Morton Michel team on 020 8603 0944 or email nurserycare@mortonmichel.com.
FREE INSURANCE REVIEW
Get a FREE, no obligation, comprehensive insurance review for your setting with Morton Michel!
