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NDIS PROVIDER INSURANCE CASE STUDY

Registered NDIS Provider, Declined Six Times on Occupation

A small registered provider in regional NSW ran community access that included bike riding and bushwalking with participants. Six insurers declined the risk before it was priced. One wrote it, with the occupation noted properly on the schedule.

01

THE SITUATION

A registered NDIS provider in regional NSW came to Tank Insurance at renewal. The business traded as a partnership rather than a company, turned over around $380,000, and ran with two full-time and five casual staff.

The support mix was broad: community access with participants both one to one and in groups, in-home care including showering, dressing and shopping, occasional respite, household tasks like mowing and tidying yards, and peer mentoring and life skills work.

The existing policy described the business generically. The client's goal was not a cheaper premium. It was a policy whose wording and occupation actually matched what the business did.

02

OUR APPROACH

The submission described the support mix in full, including the part that makes insurers uncomfortable.

  • The physical activities went in up front: community access involving bike riding and bushwalking with participants, disclosed at the proposal stage rather than buried.
  • The structure was stated plainly: a partnership, two full-time and five casual staff, both partners working in the business as support workers.
  • Seven markets were approached for a business pack including contents, theft and glass alongside the liability sections.
  • Six declined on the occupation before pricing anything. One returned terms.

Where an insurer declines at the occupation stage, no submission detail changes the answer. The value in going wide is finding the market that writes it, and knowing that the terms you have are the terms available rather than the first ones offered.

03

THE CHALLENGES

Physical activity is the fault line on disability support risks. In-home personal care and drop-in community support are written by a range of insurers. Add bike riding, bushwalking or anything else with a participant on a bike or a trail, and most of the market steps back at the occupation stage. That is a category decision by each insurer rather than a judgement about this client.

The second issue was the description on the existing policy. A generic occupation on a schedule is fine until there is a claim, at which point the question becomes whether the activity being claimed on was within the business the insurer thought it was writing. Correcting that description was the actual point of the exercise.

04

THE OUTCOME

The business pack with liability was placed with Hollard at approximately $500 a year.

Final Solution: A business pack including contents, theft and glass alongside the liability sections, at around $500 a year, with the support work occupation and the physical community access noted properly on the schedule.

The client ended up with cover whose description matched the business rather than a policy that happened to be cheap. The premium moved very little against what was being paid before, which was never the point of the exercise.

This case records one historical outcome; current insurer appetite, premium, timing and terms depend on the complete risk at the time of application. Six declines on this submission says what those six insurers' guidelines were on that day, not what any other provider should expect.

For the wider buying context, see our NDIS provider insurance guide and what your registration auditor asks for.

NDIS PROVIDER QUESTIONS

What this placement answers for other NDIS providers

Why do insurers decline NDIS providers on occupation?
Disability support sits inside or outside an insurer's guidelines as a category, so the decline often arrives before anyone reads the detail. Physical activities with participants, such as bike riding, bushwalking, swimming or gym sessions, are a frequent trigger. A decline reflects that insurer's appetite on that day, not whether the risk can be placed.
Should I tell my insurer about physical activities with participants?
Yes, at the proposal stage. It changes the rating and it can change which insurers will look at the risk at all. It is better to be declined on a proposal and placed elsewhere than to have an activity argued over when a claim arrives. Non-disclosure is the one thing that turns a covered event into an uncovered one.
Does the occupation on my policy schedule matter?
It matters at claim time more than at purchase time. If the schedule describes a business narrower than the one you run, the insurer may question whether the activity being claimed on was within the risk it agreed to write. Getting the occupation and business description right is usually worth more than a small saving on premium.
Can a partnership get NDIS provider insurance?
Yes. The structure affects how the policy is issued and who is named as insured, and the certificate needs to name the entity that holds your service agreements and your NDIS registration. Where partners also work in the business as support workers, that should be stated so the liability responds for them.
Is a business pack different to public liability for an NDIS provider?
A business pack bundles liability with property sections such as contents, theft and glass. A provider working from a small office or holding equipment often wants both in one policy. A sole trader working entirely in participants' homes may only need the liability sections. What you need depends on what you own and where you work from.

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.

NDIS provider insurance overviewNDIS registration insurance requirementsWhat NDIS provider insurance costsPersonal care provider, bound before a contract start

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Been Declined on Occupation?

Physical community access takes most of the market off the table before anyone prices it. Tell us the activity mix and we will take it to the insurers that write it, with the occupation described properly on the schedule.

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