Care operators are facing continued pressures and rising costs including insurance premiums, potential litigation, recruitment issues and a reduction in self-funded admissions. With certain insurance premiums rising, as potential risk increases and appetite for the sector diminishes, it’s more important than ever to work with an insurance broker that understands the sector.
Specialist health and care insurance broker, TL Dallas & Co Ltd (TL Dallas), works with many independent and corporate care home groups and domiciliary care providers across the UK and is offering an all-encompassing service, including access to a wide range of insurance packages, risk management and business advice, to help care providers reduce costs and plan for the future.
Headed up by two brokers, Rico Young and James Bright, who have almost 25 years’ combined health and care industry experience, TL Dallas understands the issues care providers face and can arrange tailored insurance packages, designed to meet individual client needs, covering all aspects of insurance and risk management, as well as cyber security and management liability. TL Dallas can also provide advice to providers that require CQC assistance and guidance, ranging from CQC applications to inspections and interventions.
James Bright said: “We understand that care providers have a lot on their plates! Often insurance is only something they think about at renewal time, or when they need to make a claim. However, partnering with an independent broker like TL Dallas, that takes the time to understand your business throughout the year, will ultimately help mitigate future risks.
“Over the years we have heard horror stories of care providers falling foul to incidents, such as personally being sued over employee claims, as they have the wrong level of directors’ and owners’ liability cover, only getting a percentage of re-build costs paid out as they were under-insured or falling victim to fraud with no compensation. The key to making sure that care providers are insured correctly, is taking the time to thoroughly understand the business.”
Rico Young added: “We can offer care providers a review of what policies they have in place at any point during their policy period, to ensure they have the right cover, not just at renewal, and can advise care operators that want a second opinion. A policy can appear cost effective, however, if it’s not addressing real issues in the business, it’s worthless.
“As a broker TL Dallas is not tied to a specific panel of insurers, which means we can approach a wider range of insurance companies. As such we are providing an unbiased solution, by placing business with the right insurers.
“We also work with a specialist risk management consultancy that can review a care providers business, helping identify what they can do if for example, the CQC has put them into special measures. We know of providers, where in extreme circumstances, insurance cover has been pulled overnight after a poor CQC rating, so having access to consultants who understand this process before that happens, is hugely valuable.”
TL Dallas works with care providers that are just starting out in the industry, as well as long standing industry leaders and everything in between. James added: “All clients need to feel reassured that their broker cares about them and their business. As times change, new risks emerge, such as cyber insurance, which care providers can’t afford to ignore. As care plans become digital, sensitive information is held on devices or in the cloud. What happens if the technology fails? We heard about one provider who held everything on a USB stick – the implications for the business if that was lost or stolen are vast!
“We work with key insurance providers that can offer a free review of IT systems to identify where the issues are through expert IT software analysis. Any problems can be addressed and certified, so an insurance company can see that the care operator has rigorous processes in place.
“If a provider is expanding their business, we can help plan for this. If they are struggling with recruitment and want to offer employees a package of benefits that will help attract people to their team, our sister company, TL Dallas Independent Financial Services can provide advice regarding this.
“It’s not just about the annual renewal for us, we do everything we can to protect clients as well as helping them grow and thrive. We discuss long-term agreements with insurers and negotiate rebates where there are low levels of claims.
“Insurance is a complex business, but we are here to make it as straightforward and as valuable as possible.”
