Thursday, June 21, 2007

Childcare Costs continue to rise but what about Nursery Insurance?

Protection, safety, education and care for children seemingly comes’ at a price as childcare costs for pre-school children continues to rise. This article looks at what nurseries, day cares, kindergartens’ and out of school clubs can do to help keep their costs under control by saving money.

According to the Daycare Trusts Childcare Costs Survey 2007, childcare costs for pre-school children in England continue to steadily rise. An example being that for a child under the age of 2 in England, the typical cost of a full time nursery place has risen by 6% in the past year to £7900 per year (or £152 per week).

And the typical out of school club is now £38 for 15 hours in England and Scotland with the cost £34 for out of school clubs in Wales.

So if parents are having to pay more for child care facilities it would seem logical that nurseries and other child care providers would look at making sure they remain competitive by making sure their own expenditure is constantly reviewed and kept in order.

On such way in which nurseries can possible make savings (which in turn could be passed onto customers) is to reduce the amount they pay for nursery business insurance. And yet with so many insurance companies and insurance brokers all trying to secure business (with offers of low cost insurance) it can sometimes be hard for nurseries and nursery owners to know in which direction to turn to ensure they not only get the right premium but also the right cover, service and experience from their insurance provider.

Help is now however available to nurseries in the form of specialist nursery insurance products available from the likes of Northern Counties Insurance Brokers. Specialist nursery insurance policies allow nurseries to benefit from business insurance cover tailored to their exact needs. This means that nurseries, day care, pre-schools, kindergartens and out of school clubs can pick and choose exactly what cover they want (rather than having cover they don’t really need). The result being that they can save time (as an insurance broker like Northern Counties will search the market for them) and ultimately save money on their nursery insurance.

Another benefit of using a specialist nursery insurance broker is that because they have experience of the pre-school sector they can offer you advice and guidance on health and safety and risk management that could not only reduce your exposure to risk but once again reduce your nursery insurance premiums.

Nursery Insurance Brokers like Northern Counties often also employ dedicated in-house claims managers so if you and your nursery so suffer a loss and need to make a claim they will work on your behalf to make sure it is settled as quickly and as favourably as possible.

So with fast nursery insurance quotes available online or on the phone it has never been easier for nurseries to see how much they can save on their nursery insurance. A simply visit to a website or phone call could see massive insurance savings, expert advice and a fast and friendly service.

Whilst other forms of insurance are very often only decided on price the benefit of using a nursery insurance expert is that you don’t have to sacrifice quality for a lower premium. If anything the opposite is actually true as many nursery experts have years of experience and knowledge of the pre-school sector so you can quality all the way.

And with parents looking for more in terms of service and quality from nurseries, there is no reason why nurseries shouldn’t also look for the same from their service providers.

Just because the cost of childcare continues to rise it doesn’t mean the cost of your nursery business insurance has to as well so shop around, find an expert and see how you and your nursery can benefit.

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