(Last reviewed 31/03/2025)
What Positive Aspirations foster carers need to know about insuring their home and their possessions
Insurance for Foster Carers
Insurance is particularly important for Foster Carers and each family needs to ensure that they have a valid insurance policy. For instance, if a foster child lost all their possessions in a house fire or a burglary the child, the child’s parents, the local authority and the agency would expect the Foster Carers to have contents insurance in place which would replace the lost items quickly. Replacement costs would be huge and this is without considering any losses the family itself suffered where there would be slightly more scope for replacing things slowly. Not having an insurance policy, would not be accepted as a good enough reason for not replacing the missing things.
Contents Insurance
- The agency expects all Foster Carers to take out domestic content’s insurance including accidental damage on their household possessions.
- Foster Carers must inform their domestic content’s insurance company in writing that they are fostering.
- Foster Carers must keep records, of the name of their insurance company, the policy number, the dates of cover, the date on which they told the company that they were fostering and update this information whenever the policy is renewed or insure with a new company.
- If their own or a Foster Child’s possessions are damaged, for instance if there is a burglary, a water leak or a domestic fire, the Foster Carer’s insurance policy should cover these losses.
- If a Foster Child causes significant damage to a Foster Carer’s possessions, the Foster Carers should in most circumstances be covered by their own content’s insurance.
- The agency has what’s called contingency insurance in place for the possessions of Foster Carers and Foster Children. This only comes into play if the Foster Carers own insurance company has rejected a claim – and this is for reasons connected with fostering. There is an upper limit on how much can be covered. This amount is likely to change from year to year, the agency cannot guarantee any particular amount. The agency’s insurance will not make up for any underinsurance on the foster carer’s policy.
- If the Foster Carer has no contents insurance then the agency cannot in any circumstances claim for damaged/missing items and will not be able to contribute to putting right the loss.
- If Foster Children’s possessions are lost, broken or stolen in circumstances where insurance might have covered the replacement/repair costs then Foster Carers will be expected to pay for this if they do not have the necessary insurance.
Buildings Insurance
- If Foster Carers live in rented accommodation the agency needs the written permission of the owners of the property/landlord, for the family to foster. Buildings insurance is the landlord’s responsibility. If the building is properly insured then the agency’s contingency insurance will cover losses where the landlord’s insurers reject a claim
- If Foster Carers own the property in which they live (whether or not they have a mortgage) the agency expects them to have buildings insurance. Foster Carers must keep records, of the name of their insurance company, the policy number, the dates of cover, the date on which they told the company that they were fostering and update this information whenever the policy is renewed or insure with a new company.
- So long as Foster Carers have proper buildings insurance in place, the agency’s contingency insurance will cover the repair/rebuilding costs if the Foster Carer’s own insurance company rejects a claim, for instance where a Foster Child deliberately damages a foster home. There is an upper limit on how much can be covered. This amount is likely to change from year to year, the agency cannot guarantee any particular amount. The agency’s insurance will not make up for any underinsurance on the Foster Carer’s policy.
