I'm new here. Hi! Car insurance for childminders advice needed

[Goldilocks]

Hi all,

Im just setting up as a childminder and completed my corse. Just got to get all my paperwork ready now then apply to ofsted gulp! I'm preying it all goes ok

I have a question on car insurance. As a nanny which i was before you could use any insurance but needed to be business insurance to cover me and the children. I got a quote from Bluefin who say they specialise in childminding insurance but they were double my renewal quote. They have said I have to have a specialist childminding cover as they children wont be covered on any other insurance? Is this a sales pitch or genuine?

Sorry for the long post and any help would be appreciated.

Christina

[lynncjt]

Ignore - it's sales pitch.

Any insurance with business cover is fine as long as they know you are a childminder. Some insurances give different benefits though, eg do they cover the cost of replacement car seats? If you have replacement car cover, would it be big enough for all the children. You need to work out what actual cover you want/need and compare quotes on that.

I was with Direct Line, now with Admiral - both cover childminders.

[tulip0803]

Agree with Lynncjt

I have used Churchill, Direct Line, and swift cover. All covered me as a childminder.

[Richard]

There are lots of insurance companies that childminders can use to insure their vehicles.

However you need to be careful because although a standard policy with 'business cover' for you as a registered childminder will cover you to drive the vehicle it will not always cover if you are transporting any of your mindees. Some business cover policies may well cover this but you are in effect transporting your passengers for reward so need to check that you are covered to transport your mindees.

Some of the Bluefin policies give automatic cover for carrying your mindees and also provide other benefits such as a 7-seater replacement vehicle if you vehicle is off the road (even if your own vehicle wasn't a 7 seater) plus automatic replacement of car seats following any accident.

It's always best to shop around and ensure that you are comparing like for like cover when looking at the premiums.

[Goldilocks]

Thanks for all the info!

My insurance company I have been with for the last 3 years will cover me for a small charge on top of my renewal fee which is great! They are far cheaper than Bluefin so will stick with them :-)