You will need public liability insurance which covers the role of a community and in home disability support worker. Despite this insurance existing, the insurance policies rarely cover all the activities that might be expected to be performed by a community disability support worker, meaning that some activities that you participate in with Members may not be covered in case of damages. What this means is some of the shifts you undertake with Members won’t be covered by insurance, and you will need to assess for yourself if you will take this shift and hence this risk.
The common exclusions in community disability support worker insurance can be seen below, but you will need to check with your insurance policy to confirm for certain the nature of your policy.
The following is a typical insurance Exclusion for insurance policies for community support workers:
Anything arising directly or indirectly from or in respect of any patient participation in outdoor, dangerous or physically strenuous activities, other than the below listed activities:
What this means is that any situation where damages occur outside the scope of these environments, public liability insurance may not cover the damages. This policy isn’t designed to cover activities like:
While these activities might be requested during a shift, it will be your responsibility to decide whether the risk is worth taking, and you should acknowledge that you may not be covered in case of an accident. The insurance of the recreational workshop facility, campsite, or other such service provider may be able to cover damages, however if they are not found liable, you may be personally liable