The short answer
- Public liability insurance is the cover that matters day to dayIt pays out for accidental damage or an injury a carer causes while working, and every carer’s contract on PrimeCarers requires them, if you ask, to take it out and produce proof.
- Employing a carer directly brings a legal duty of your ownYou must buy employer’s liability insurance of at least £5 million if you employ a carer as your own staff, unless they are a close family member.
- Ask to see the certificate, not just be toldPrimeCarers does not check a carer’s insurance before their profile appears, the same way it does not check a driving licence. Ask to see proof yourself.
- Your own home insurance is worth a phone call tooTell your insurer that someone works in your home regularly and ask whether accidental damage, or an injury to them, is already covered.
PrimeCarers is an introductory service, not a care agency and not registered with the CQC. This page is general information, not insurance advice; a carer's own insurer or a regulated broker is the only source that can confirm what a specific policy covers.
The cover that matters
The five kinds of cover behind the word insurance
Insurance is one word standing in for several different policies, and knowing them apart matters more than knowing the word on its own. These are the five that come up when a family arranges private care: what each one protects, and whose job it is to arrange it.
Public liability insurance
The cover that matters day to day
What it protects
Pays out if a carer accidentally damages your relative’s belongings, or if your relative or someone else is injured because of something the carer did.
Whose job it is to arrange
The carer, from a reputable insurer. Every carer’s contract on PrimeCarers requires them, if the client asks, to take out and maintain adequate cover for the length of the arrangement.
Employer’s liability insurance
Only if you employ a carer directly
What it protects
Pays out if the carer is injured or made ill by the work itself, for example a strained back from helping someone stand.
Whose job it is to arrange
You, by law, for at least £5 million, if you employ a carer as your own staff rather than booking a self-employed one. The only exemption is a close family member.
The carer’s own accident and income cover
The carer’s own business insurance
What it protects
Replaces some of a carer’s income if they cannot work after an accident or illness of their own, wherever it happened.
Whose job it is to arrange
The carer, for themselves. It is not something you need to arrange, though it is part of why an experienced, properly insured carer’s rate covers more than just the hours worked.
Your own home insurance
A phone call, not a legal duty
What it protects
Confirms your existing policy still pays out if a regular visitor working in your home causes accidental damage, or is hurt because of something in the house.
Whose job it is to arrange
You. Most insurers are used to the question; say that someone works in your home regularly and ask whether anything changes.
Vehicle insurance for client transport
Only if a carer drives
What it protects
Covers a carer driving your relative to appointments or outings, whichever car is used.
Whose job it is to arrange
Whoever’s car it is, with business use added and sometimes hire and reward cover as well.
On PrimeCarers, every carer's contract requires them, if you ask, to take out and maintain adequate public liability insurance with a reputable insurer and produce proof. That is separate from the checks PrimeCarers runs before a carer's profile appears: an identity check, a right to work check, an enhanced DBS check and an online interview. How we vet every carer sets those out, and background checks for private carers covers what each one does and does not confirm. If you found a carer another way, public liability insurance is not a legal requirement for a self-employed carer, so it is worth asking about directly rather than assuming it is in place.
Whose job it is
Whose job it is to arrange cover, depending on how you arrange care
The section above answers what each cover does. This one answers who has to arrange it, and that changes with how you found your carer.
| Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers | You employ a carer directly | A care agency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public liability insurance | Required under the carer’s contract, if you ask; ask to see proof before the first visit | The carer’s own responsibility to arrange; ask to see proof, as you would with anyone working in your home | Included in the agency’s price |
| Employer’s liability insurance | Not applicable; carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed | Yours, by law, at least £5 million, unless the carer is a close family member | The agency’s responsibility |
| The carer’s own accident and income cover | The carer’s own choice, alongside the public liability cover required by contract if you ask | The carer’s own choice; not your legal duty | The agency’s responsibility |
| Vehicle insurance for client transport | Ask to see it; PrimeCarers does not check driving licences or car insurance | Yours to check, the same as with any driver you engage | The agency’s responsibility |
| Who answers for the arrangement | PrimeCarers introduces; it is not the employer or the insurer | You, as the employer | The agency, which is CQC-registered |
Public liability insurance
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- Required under the carer’s contract, if you ask; ask to see proof before the first visit
- You employ a carer directly
- The carer’s own responsibility to arrange; ask to see proof, as you would with anyone working in your home
- A care agency
- Included in the agency’s price
Employer’s liability insurance
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- Not applicable; carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed
- You employ a carer directly
- Yours, by law, at least £5 million, unless the carer is a close family member
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility
The carer’s own accident and income cover
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- The carer’s own choice, alongside the public liability cover required by contract if you ask
- You employ a carer directly
- The carer’s own choice; not your legal duty
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility
Vehicle insurance for client transport
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- Ask to see it; PrimeCarers does not check driving licences or car insurance
- You employ a carer directly
- Yours to check, the same as with any driver you engage
- A care agency
- The agency’s responsibility
Who answers for the arrangement
- Self-employed carer on PrimeCarers
- PrimeCarers introduces; it is not the employer or the insurer
- You employ a carer directly
- You, as the employer
- A care agency
- The agency, which is CQC-registered
Checked against gov.uk and the PrimeCarers client-carer contract on 5 September 2026.
If you are not sure whether the way you have arranged care counts as employing someone, can I employ a private carer? sorts the question, and employing a private carer sets out the whole list of duties that comes with it, insurance among them. Care agency or private carer? compares the three routes on cost as well as on cover.
Why it matters
What proper cover gives you, and what its absence costs you
None of this is about worst cases that never happen. Carers help people move, cook and get in and out of the bath, and small accidents are an ordinary part of the job. What differs is whether a genuine mishap becomes a claim an insurer handles, or an argument between your family and the carer over who pays.
What proper cover gives you
- A claim handled by an insurer, not an argument between your family and the carer
- Repairs or replacement paid for without it falling on your own household budget
- A carer who can show you a certificate, not just tell you they are covered
- Continuity of care, because a carer who can put a genuine accident right is more likely to keep coming
What its absence costs you
- Any accidental damage or injury claim landing on your family to resolve and pay for yourselves
- Employing a carer directly with no employer's liability insurance in place, which is a real cost, not a remote risk: the fine is up to £2,500 a day
- A carer who stops coming because they cannot afford to put right a genuine accident
- Assuming a carer is covered because nobody has raised a problem yet
Checking it yourself
How to check a carer's insurance before the first visit
None of the checks PrimeCarers runs before a carer's profile appears cover insurance, in the same way they do not cover a driving licence. This is one you check yourself, whichever route you used to find a carer.
Before you agree the first visit
0 of 4 ticked
Before you agree the first visit
Once care has started
A written care plan is a natural place to note that cover has been checked and when. Building a care plan with your carer has a starting template.
Your own policies
Checking your own home and vehicle insurance too
Two of your own policies are worth a look before the first visit, because a carer's insurance is not the only cover in the room.
Tell your own home insurer
A phone call, not a legal duty
What car insurance does a carer need? goes through both classes of cover in full, including whose car needs which and what it costs to add.
Getting started
From this page to a carer who is already covered
Four steps, and the first is free.
- 1
Search carers near you
FreeEvery profile shows a carer’s rate, experience and reviews, alongside confirmation that their identity, right to work and enhanced DBS have already been checked and their online interview completed. - 2
Ask to see their public liability certificate
Before you bookTheir contract requires them to take it out and produce proof once you ask, so ask to see it in the same message you use to arrange the first visit. - 3
Tell your own home insurer
A phone callMention that someone will be working in your home regularly, and ask whether anything about your cover changes. - 4
Book the first visit with a written care plan
Week 1Note when you checked the insurance alongside the tasks the carer is there to do, so nothing is assumed on either side.
Questions
Questions families ask about private carer insurance
No. PrimeCarers checks a carer’s identity, their right to work, and runs an enhanced DBS check on the Update Service, and every carer has an online interview before they appear. Insurance is required under the carer’s contract if you ask for it, rather than checked before listing, in the same way a driving licence is not checked. Ask a carer to show you their certificate before the first visit. How we vet every carer.
It pays out if a carer accidentally damages your relative’s belongings, or if your relative or somebody else is injured because of something the carer did while working, including the legal costs of defending or settling a claim. It does not cover the carer’s own injury, which is what employer’s liability insurance is for if you employ them directly.
Yes, from the day you become an employer, for at least £5 million, unless the carer is a close family member. The fine for not having it is up to £2,500 a day. Employing a private carer covers this alongside the rest of an employer’s duties.
Check rather than assume. Most insurers are used to being told that a professional works in the home regularly, and it is worth a phone call to confirm that accidental damage caused by a visitor, or an injury to them, is already covered. This is general information, not insurance advice; your own insurer is the only one who can confirm what your policy says.
No. Unlike employer’s liability insurance for somebody you employ directly, there is no law requiring a self-employed carer to hold public liability insurance. On PrimeCarers it is required by the contract every carer agrees to, if you ask, and it is reasonable to ask any carer, however you found them, to confirm they hold it before the first visit.
Yes, if driving is part of the job. Ordinary social and domestic car insurance does not include driving to and between clients, and charging for mileage adds a further requirement called hire and reward. What car insurance does a carer need? covers both in full.
With proper cover in place, the carer’s insurer handles the claim: repairs or replacement for damage, and compensation and legal costs for an injury claim. Without it, the cost and the argument over who pays can fall on your family, which is why it is worth checking cover before anything goes wrong rather than after.
Ask for the certificate or policy schedule directly, in the same message you use to arrange the first visit. It should name the insurer, a policy number and the dates it runs between. A carer on PrimeCarers is required to provide this under their contract once you ask; a carer found another way should be just as able to.