Insurance: news

Insurance costs 2024/25

Hertfordshire County Council continues to offer all types of insurance. The Council ensures that as far as possible the cover offered remains competitive. A marginal increase of 3% will be applied to property insurance from 1 September 2024 and 3% to liability insurance. The rate for computer insurance remains unaltered. Engineering insurance rates are dependent on increases to the Average Weekly Earnings (AWE). The Insurance Team will provide details of the cost of insurance for your school on receipt of your enquiry.

Please note: The Risk Protection Arrangement (RPA) offered to academy status schools by Central Government/DfE is available to all Local Authority Maintained schools. The rate from 1 April 2024 has increased by 8.7% to £25 per pupil.

Please be aware that the RPA does not provide engineering or motor insurance; however, HCC can continue to offer this cover to schools.

Cyber cover

Although the RPA are offering some limited cyber insurance cover it is subject to the school complying with all of the following four conditions:

1) You must meet the Department for Education’s Cyber security standard relating to backups. The standard states:

“You should have at least 3 backup copies of important data, on at least 2 separate devices, at least 1 must be off-site.”.

2) National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) training: All Employees or Governors who have access to the school’s information technology system must undertake NCSC training annually. In the event of a claim the School will be required to evidence that any Employee or Governor involved in the claim has undertaken the NCSC training. NCSC training to be completed by start of the Membership Year.

3) The School must register with Police CyberAlarm.

4) The School must have a Cyber Response Plan in place

The Council’s insurance team are currently exploring the possibility of offering some form of cyber cover.

School trees and their risk

Trees on school grounds are recognised to hugely benefit school children and allows them to enjoy discovering nature and greatly enhances the school environment.

However, schools also have a duty to maintain and manage the risks that the school trees and vegetation pose. These risks include safety to pupils, parents, staff, to property and our neighbours property.

The Insurance Team receive a variety of claims as a result of school trees, which include personal injury, damage to cars, inside and outside the school grounds and damage to neighbouring property including subsidence to neighbouring property. This can be costly to both the school and Hertfordshire County Council.

As we all know, climate change is a hot topic of conversation, and due to the extreme weather conditions that we are experiencing, we are seeing an increase in claims received with trees falling and causing injury and damage including subsidence claims. In view of this you need to ask yourselves the question: How do we look after our trees? Are we able to demonstrate the maintenance of our school trees to help defend the schools position should a claim be received?

Therefore you have to be mindful of the above, and ensure that you are actively managing and maintaining these risks. This can be done by ensuring that you have regular inspections and a maintenance plan in place to maintain the trees on the school site. Having this documented and in place will help the Insurance Team successfully defend such claims.

If you have any further questions please email insurance@hertfordshire.gov.uk