If you’ll be using your car to drive the children, you need to have proper insurance in place. Having the correct car insurance is essential if you transport children as part of your role.
Please note - if you do not inform your insurance provider about using your car for your role, this may also mean you won’t have insurance protection through the Public Liability insurance policy that Koru Kids pays for on your behalf. Click here to find out more about the Public Liability insurance we pay for on behalf of our nannies.
Your current car insurance policy almost certainly covers you only for regular usage - social, domestic and pleasure use, and perhaps commuting to and from one place of work as well. As driving children is part of your work, you also need to make sure to have cover for business use as well. Most insurance companies will charge extra for this so we suggest checking with your insurance company to find out what the charge will be.
Who needs to pay for this addition to your insurance?
This depends -
If the family asks you to use the family’s car to drive the children (rather than your own), it is the family’s responsibility to add you to their insurance and to pay for this.
If the family doesn't mind you using public transportation or walking, but you prefer using your own vehicle to drive the children, it is your responsibility to make sure to have proper insurance in place and pay for it.
If the family has asked you to use your own car to drive the family’s children, you will need to make sure you have proper insurance in place (as explained above), and the family should reimburse you on this expense.
Please note - this is a taxable benefit. This means that the family can’t just pay you back. The family’s reimbursement will need to be added to your pay, and you will pay tax and National Insurance on these earnings.
We suggest that you discuss this with the family and explain how the process works so you both can make an informed decision:
You will need to provide the family with a quote for the additional premium from the insurance company so they can agree (or not) to this payment
Once agreed with the family, you need to make the necessary arrangements and pay the insurance company for this addition
You need to notify Koru Kids about this and provide us with proof as to the amount paid. We will contact the family to make sure everything was agreed by both parties
Koru Kids will then invoice the family and you will receive the reimbursement in your salary. As mentioned above, this is a taxable benefit
Another option is for the family to pay for the policy directly to the insurance company. We will then add that cost to your earnings and will deduct national insurance from the total and provide you a P11D form. You may need to declare this on your personal tax return.