Do Private Tutors Need Insurance in the UK? (2026)

UK law does not require a self-employed tutor who works alone to hold public liability or professional indemnity insurance. The insurance business.gov.uk lists as legally required is employers' liability, once people work for you, and motor insurance if you use a vehicle for the business. The cover insurers sell to tutors is public liability, for injury and damage, and professional indemnity, for claims about your teaching or advice.

Facts checked on 5 November 2026 from GOV.UK, business.gov.uk, nibusinessinfo and the insurers' own pages. General information, not advice: read the policy wording before you buy.

Teamlilit makes software for tutors. We do not sell insurance, we have no arrangement with any insurer named here, and nobody paid to be listed.

What the law requires

Employers' liability, once you employ someone. In England, Scotland and Wales, GOV.UK says you must get employers' liability insurance "as soon as you become an employer", for at least £5 million, from an authorised insurer. The duty comes from the Employers' Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969, which applies to "every employer carrying on any business in Great Britain". GOV.UK says it is not needed if the only person you employ is a family member, or someone based outside England, Scotland and Wales. The fine is £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured, and £1,000 for not displaying the certificate where employees can see it.

Not everyone who works with you is an employee. If you bring in other tutors on a self-employed basis, GOV.UK says "the rules are different" for freelancers, consultants and contractors. Check each person's employment status before you decide what cover you need.

Northern Ireland has its own rules. nibusinessinfo, the official business guidance there, gives the same £5 million minimum and a fine of up to £2,500 for each day without cover. It also exempts a business that is not a limited company where you are the only employee or employ only close family members.

Motor insurance for business use. If you drive to students' homes, business.gov.uk counts motor insurance for business use among the insurance you are legally required to have, "including if you use your personal vehicle for business purposes". Tell your car insurer.

Teaching only online changes none of this. The employers' liability rule turns on whether you employ anyone, not on where you teach.

Public liability insurance for tutors

business.gov.uk describes public liability insurance as cover against "claims that a member of the public was injured, or their property was damaged, because of your business activities". It lists it among the insurance your business may need, especially if:

• you work with the public;
• you visit clients, or clients visit you;
• a venue or client you work with requires it in a contract.

Simply Business's tutor page gives the kind of claim it means: "your student trips over some of your books", or "you accidentally damage something in your student's house". Hiscox makes the same point for any setting, whether you "teach piano lessons full-time from your home or tutor French part-time in another premises".

It matters most when students come to your home, when you teach in families' homes, and when you hire a room. Public liability does not usually cover your own equipment: Simply Business lists "your business equipment such as your laptop or teaching materials" as something you need additional cover for.

Professional indemnity insurance for tutors

business.gov.uk describes professional indemnity as cover against "claims that your advice, work or services caused a client financial loss". In tutors' terms, Hiscox says it "can cover you if someone claims you provided negligent services or advice". PolicyBee lists claims of "negligence, breach of confidentiality, dishonesty, libel and slander".

Simply Business's examples are the ones a tutor recognises: "your student claims you haven't taught them the right information", or "you don't cover the full syllabus when you teach".

If you prepare students for exams, entrance tests or university applications, a claim that your teaching or advice cost them a result is the kind of claim these policies are written for. Check the limit: Morton Michel lists professional indemnity up to £100,000, Suited prices £100,000 of cover, and Protectivity offers £100,000 to £1 million.

Teaching from home

business.gov.uk says to "update your existing insurance policies if you use your car or your home for business purposes". GOV.UK's page on running a business from home warns that "home insurance may not cover your business (such as stock, computers, customers visiting your premises)".

So tell your home insurer that you teach at home, and ask two things: whether students visiting are covered, and whether the laptop and materials you teach with are. Professional Saver's tutor page says "home contents insurance rarely covers working kit", and the tutor policies we read sell equipment cover as an extra.

Online, abroad and specialist teaching

• Online lessons. Hiscox says "insurance needs are similar for online and in-person teaching".
• Students or work abroad. Policies set their own territorial limits. Professional Saver includes "temporary work abroad for up to 14 days (excluding the USA and Canada)", and Protectivity sells an overseas extension for up to 30 days a year, also excluding the USA and Canada. The dyslexia association Patoss tells members that "different policies have different rules about residency". If you teach students in other countries online, ask your insurer whether a claim brought there would be covered.
• SEN and dyslexia specialists. Patoss requires professional indemnity to list a member on its Tutor / Assessor Index. It also notes that union policies "tend to be for Personal Injury and Public Liability, rather than for Professional Indemnity".
• School teachers who also tutor. Cover that comes with a school job may not reach private work. Edapt, for example, supports staff "employed by a school, LA, trust or other body rather than self-employed tutors".

When a client will ask for it

• Venues, schools and agencies. business.gov.uk's own test for public liability includes "venues or clients you work with require it in a contract". A room you hire, a school that brings you in or an agency that places you may make it a condition, so read the contract before the first lesson.
• Associations. Patoss requires professional indemnity for its index, as above. The Tutors' Association promotes a member scheme with Morton Michel, which gives members "a 10% discount on your insurance premium". The insurance is bought from Morton Michel, not included in the membership.
• Platforms. None of the tutoring sites' pages we read for our First Tutors guide required insurance. Tutor Hunt's terms make families "responsible for checking the credentials, expertise and insurance policies" of a tutor. TuitionList "may review" insurance with a tutor's other details.

What tutor insurance costs

These are the "from" prices on each insurer's or broker's tutor page, with what the page says the price is for. Quoted from each page on 5 November 2026, in alphabetical order. Not a recommendation and not a quote for you.

AXA, Everywhen and Morton Michel show no price on their tutor pages; Morton Michel lists public liability up to £2,000,000 and professional indemnity up to £100,000. The figures are not comparable with each other: some are the cheapest tenth of customers, one is an average and one is a single quote. Compare like with like by getting quotes for the same cover and limits.

Records that help if a family complains

Insurance pays for a claim. Records help you answer a complaint before it becomes one, because they show what was agreed and what happened:

• Written terms the family agreed to before the first lesson. The free tutoring agreement template writes them.
• A cancellation policy they saw in advance. Use the cancellation policy template, and our UK cancellation policy guide explains each part.
• Lesson notes and attendance, dated, for each student: what you covered, what you set, who was there. Our guide to what student records private tutors should keep goes through them.

Teamlilit keeps those records in one place: a record for each student with their family contacts, lesson notes for each lesson, the attendance register, and invoices drafted from that attendance, which you review and send.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need insurance to tutor from home?

The law does not require it of a self-employed tutor who works alone. But business.gov.uk says to update your existing insurance policies if you use your home for business, and GOV.UK warns that home insurance may not cover your business, such as customers visiting your premises. Tell your home insurer that you teach at home, and consider public liability insurance if students come to you.

Is public liability insurance a legal requirement for tutors?

No. business.gov.uk lists employers' liability insurance (if people work for you) and motor insurance (if you use a vehicle in your business) as the insurance you are legally required to have, and public liability among the cover your business may need. A venue, school or client can still make it a condition of a contract.

Do online tutors need insurance?

The legal position is the same: no general requirement unless you employ someone. Insurers still sell public liability and professional indemnity to online tutors, and Hiscox says insurance needs are similar for online and in-person teaching. If you teach students in other countries, ask your insurer whether the policy covers claims brought there: the tutor pages we read describe limits for working abroad, and two of them exclude the USA and Canada.

How much does tutor insurance cost in the UK?

On 5 November 2026 the monthly "from" prices on the tutor pages we read ran from £4.47 (Protectivity, based on one quote from its website) to £10.96 (PolicyBee, for public liability and professional indemnity together), and Professional Saver started from £55 a year. Each figure means something different, so read the footnote under the price. Your own quote depends on the cover you choose and the work you do.

What insurance do I need if I employ other tutors?

Employers' liability insurance, as soon as you become an employer. In England, Scotland and Wales GOV.UK says the cover must be at least £5 million from an authorised insurer, you can be fined £2,500 for every day you are not properly insured, and the certificate must be displayed where employees can see it. GOV.UK also says the rules are different for freelancers, consultants and contractors, so check each tutor's employment status first. Northern Ireland has its own rules with the same £5 million minimum.

Does the Tutors' Association include insurance?

Not as part of the membership itself. The Tutors' Association works with Morton Michel, which offers its members a 10% discount on its tutor insurance premium. The policy is bought separately, from Morton Michel.

Changelog

• 5 November 2026: first published. Prices and links are due to be checked again by 5 May 2027.

Corrections

If you work for one of these insurers or bodies and something here is out of date, write to support@teamlilit.com. We correct verified errors within 5 working days and note the change in the changelog above.