Free fact finder · United Kingdom
Children's services insurance fact finder
Built from DUAL's care risks form for children's services. Every question is asked once in plain English, from Ofsted registration and safeguarding to the home's building. Your client's answers fill each insurer's form.
- No login needed
- Fillable PDF with your logo
- 119 questions
- Written for UK rules
What it asks
The questions underwriters ask, in plain English.
Each one comes with a line saying why it's asked, so your client answers fully the first time.
- 1Is the service registered with its regulator (such as the CQC, Ofsted, the Care Inspectorate or CIW)?Insurers only cover a registered service. They also read the latest inspection.
- 2How many beds are you registered for?Beds are how insurers measure the size of a home.
- 3Is there a policy to stop a member of staff being left alone with a single child?Insurers see this as one of the main protections against abuse claims.
- 4Would you like cover for abuse claims?Most liability policies exclude abuse unless it is added, often with its own limit.
- 5What experience do the owners have in care?Experienced owners get better terms.
- 6Are hot water and radiator or pipe surfaces kept to no more than 43°C?Scalds are a common claim in residential care.
The service
Entity, people, wage bill, turnover and the owners' experience in care.
Registration and children
Ofsted or other registration, registered beds and children with complex needs.
Staff and safeguarding
Lone working, signing in and out, induction training and abuse cover.
The home's building
Kitchen ducts, hot surfaces, subsidence history and what to insure.
Claims and cover
Past claims, money controls, cyber security, current insurer and the limits needed.
How it works
- 1
Open it and try it
Answer it on the page as your client would. Follow-up questions appear as you go. Nothing is saved.
No login
- 2
Send it, or download the PDF
Send your client a link to answer by form or chat, with reminders sent for you. Or download a fillable PDF with your logo.
PDF free, no email
- 3
Fill the insurers' forms
When your client answers, one click starts each insurer's form with their answers in, and drafts the demands and needs for you to finish.
Free 14-day trial
Minimum cover
Compulsory cover for children's services
Ofsted asks for insurance before a children's service starts operating. The law also sets a minimum for employers.
- Ofsted
- A children's social care service must have a certificate of insurance covering death, injury, public liability, damage or other loss before it starts to operate. Ofsted sets no amount.
- Employers' liability (GOV.UK)
- Most employers must hold employers' liability insurance from an authorised insurer covering at least £5 million, from the day they take on staff. GOV.UK lists the exemptions.
A summary, not advice. Local authority placement contracts usually set the public liability and abuse limits, so check each one.
Free tool or a free trial
The fact finder is free. A trial does the forms.
Free, no login
Everything you need to use it.
- The whole fact finder, answered as your client would
- How much of each insurer's form it fills
- Fillable PDF with your firm's logo
With a 14-day free trial
Your client answers once. No card needed.
- Send it as a link: answered by form or chat, with reminders
- Upload a PDF your client filled in and the answers are read in
- Start each insurer's form with your client's answers in
- A first draft of the demands and needs statement
- Next year, your client only confirms what changed
Before you ask
Questions about the children's services fact finder.
- Is the children's services fact finder really free?
- Yes. Answer it on the page as your client would, then download it as a fillable PDF with your logo, with no login and no email. Sending it to a client as a link comes with a free 14-day trial.
- Which insurers' forms does it fill?
- DUAL's care risks form for children's services. It also fills general cyber and management liability forms, from insurers including CFC, Chubb, DUAL and Travelers. The page shows how much of each one it fills.
- Is there a minimum limit for children's services?
- Ofsted asks for a certificate of insurance before a service starts operating, but sets no amount. Employers' liability must be at least £5 million by law. Local authority placement contracts usually set the public liability and abuse limits.
- Does it ask about children with complex needs?
- Yes. It asks whether the service takes children who may be aggressive, have a history of offending, are detained under the Mental Health Act or are seeking asylum. Then it asks how they are cared for safely.
Ask once. Fill every form.
Open the fact finder, try it as your client and download the fillable PDF. No login needed.
Open the fact finder