NDIS PROVIDER INSURANCE CASE STUDY

NDIS Personal Care Provider, Cover Bound Before a Contract Start Date

A personal care and support work company on the NSW coast had a contract signed and a start date five days away, with no cover in place. It needed $5 million professional indemnity and $20 million public liability before the first shift.

01

THE SITUATION

A personal care and support work company on the NSW coast contacted Tank Insurance with a contract already signed and a start date five days out. Nothing was in place.

The business expected around $600,000 in revenue in its first year. Two directors, four casual staff, and supports that put a carer with a participant around the clock: meals, personal care and general daily duties. The contract required $5 million professional indemnity and $20 million public liability.

Around-the-clock personal care is a heavier risk profile than the drop-in community access work most small providers start with. The carer is in the participant's home continuously, doing personal care, and the number of hours of exposure per participant is far higher.

02

OUR APPROACH

The submission went to market the same day the enquiry arrived, because the constraint was the contract date rather than the price.

  • The supports were described precisely: NDIS personal care to a standard support level, carer with the participant 24 hours, meals and general duties, two directors and four casual staff, with the revenue figure and the contract start date stated up front.
  • Four markets that write disability support were approached at the limits the contract required rather than at a limit the client might have preferred to pay for.
  • Terms came back across a wide band, from approximately $1,700 to approximately $2,500 for the same submission on the same day.
  • The placement was made at approximately $2,300 and bound the day before the contract started.

Casual staffing was disclosed at the proposal stage rather than left to be discovered. On support work risks the staffing structure changes how the liability responds, and a policy issued on the assumption of two directors working alone would not have matched the business.

03

THE CHALLENGES

The first challenge was simply the calendar. A contract with a fixed start date does not wait for a quoting cycle, and a certificate of currency that arrives the week after the first shift is worth nothing to the party that asked for it.

The second was the spread. The dearest term returned was around half as much again as the cheapest, on the same risk, the same limits and the same day. That is the argument for going to market properly instead of taking the first number.

The third was the limit combination. $5 million professional indemnity is high for a support work business of this size, and it was driven entirely by the contract rather than by a view of the risk. Asking the market for the contractual limit, rather than for what looks proportionate, is what makes the certificate usable.

04

THE OUTCOME

$5 million professional indemnity and $20 million public liability were placed at approximately $2,300 a year, bound the day before the contract commenced.

Final Solution: $5 million professional indemnity and $20 million public liability for an NDIS personal care company at around $2,300 a year, placed four days after the enquiry arrived and one day before the contract start date.

The client started the contract on time with a certificate that matched what the contract asked for, rather than a cheaper certificate at a limit the contract would have rejected.

This case records one historical outcome; current insurer appetite, premium, timing and terms depend on the complete risk at the time of application.

For the wider buying context, see our NDIS provider insurance guide and what NDIS provider insurance costs.

NDIS PROVIDER QUESTIONS

What this placement answers for other NDIS providers

How quickly can NDIS provider insurance be arranged?
With all the information in, as little as 24 hours, and usually 48 to 72 hours. In this placement the enquiry arrived five days before a contract start date and cover was bound the day before it began. What slows a support work submission down is an unclear activity mix or a staffing structure that has to be chased, not the quoting itself.
Why does an NDIS contract ask for $5 million professional indemnity?
Because the party writing the contract has set it, not because a rule requires it. The NDIS Practice Standards name professional indemnity, public liability and accident insurance without setting a dollar limit. The figures in your paperwork come from service agreements and host agency terms, which is why the insurance clause is the first thing to read before buying anything.
Is around-the-clock personal care rated differently to community access?
Yes. Continuous personal care in a participant's home means far more hours of exposure per participant, and physical personal care is a different activity to drop-in community support. Insurers price them differently, so describing the actual support pattern rather than a generic 'NDIS services' matters to both the price and the wording.
How much do quotes vary for the same NDIS submission?
On this submission the terms returned ran from approximately $1,700 to approximately $2,500 for the same limits on the same day. Terms on a support work submission can sit a long way apart, and on some submissions the majority of markets approached decline before quoting at all. Yours may fall outside that range entirely.
Do casual staff need to be disclosed to the insurer?
Yes, and the distinction between employees, casuals and subcontractors matters. It affects who the liability policy needs to respond for and whether workers compensation applies. In this placement four casual staff were disclosed at the proposal stage rather than left to surface later.

NDIS PROVIDER INSURANCE

Put this placement in context

Case-study results are historical and are not a promise of current pricing, capacity or policy terms. This page is general information only and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.

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