Insurance for Apprenticeship Providers: A Practical Guide for APAR and RoATP Members

The UK apprenticeship sector remains a vital industry when it comes to developing skills, supporting employers and career opportunities in various sectors. Whether you are an independent training provider, further education college, employer-provider or specialist training organisation, delivering apprenticeships brings about specific obligations and risks.  

Being a member of the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) or formerly Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP), having proper insurance arrangements can help protect learners, staff, assets and reputation of your organisation.  

In this guide, we take a look into insurance considerations for apprenticeship providers and show how our extensive insurance experience can help you identify appropriate insurances for your organisation.  

What is RoATP?  

The Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) was the register of organisations approved to deliver apprenticeship training funded by the government in England.  

RoATP members can work with:  

• Apprentices  
• Employers  
• Awarding organisations  
• End-point assessment organisations  
• Contractors and subcontractors  
• Government agencies and funding bodies  

As the process of delivering apprenticeships becomes more complex, apprenticeship providers become exposed to various risks.  

Why Apprenticeship Providers Are Exposed to Various Risks  

While many educational settings have certain similarities, apprenticeship providers tend to operate across various locations that include:  

• Employer premises  
• Training centres  
• Colleges  
• Workshops  
• Construction sites  
• Healthcare settings  
• Manufacturing environments  

Your staff and learners might be travelling between the sites, using various equipment or accessing sensitive data. All these things create exposures that are not always addressed by your business insurance. The insurance requirements for your organisation will depend on the industries your organisation supports, locations where the training is provided and services that are delivered.  

What’s more, you may be exposed to: 

• Contractual obligations and insurance requirements  
• Hidden Contractual Liability  
• “Hold harmless” agreements 

All of which may result in claw back of funds. 

Key Insurance Considerations for Training Providers  

What types of insurance will you need to consider? We’ve listed some of the key types of policy here, and the team at Trainsure can help make sure you get the most appropriate policies in place for your needs. It’s also worth bearing in mind that Trainsure arranges policies that cover your legal liability to learners regardless of status or location. 

Employers’ Liability Insurance  

If your organisation employs any staff, the Employer’s Liability Insurance is a legal requirement in the UK. This insurance can help protect your organisation against any claims arising out of your learners’, trainees’ or employees’ injuries or illnesses due to their work.  

Public Liability Insurance  

Training providers interact with learners, employers and visitors on a regular basis. Public Liability Insurance might provide the necessary protection in case one of third parties suffers from injuries or damages to their property caused by your organisation’s activities.  

Professional Indemnity Insurance  

Apprenticeship providers provide various types of advice, guidance, assessments and training services. Professional Indemnity Insurance can help protect your organisation against claims related to professional errors, omissions or negligence.  

Cyber Insurance  

Training providers tend to collect and store huge amounts of data including personal and sensitive data. Your learners and employees data, documents related to funding, assessment evidence and employer’s data all are potential cyber targets and cyber insurance can help to manage cyber risks.  

Business Interruption Insurance  

Unexpected events might affect your organisation’s income and cause operational issues. The correct Business Interruption Insurance can help to recover from such events.  

Common Challenges Faced by RoATP Members  

Many apprenticeship providers find themselves facing various pressures including:  

• Regulatory Compliance: Funding, safeguarding, audit and other requirements should be fulfilled.  
• Data Protection: Large amount of personal data is collected by training providers and it should be protected in compliance with data protection rules.  
• Safeguarding: Providers should take care of their learners and make sure all appropriate safeguarding measures are implemented.  
• Subcontracting: Apprenticeship providers might use services of subcontractors and partners and this creates additional contractual and liability considerations.  

Selecting Insurance That Suits Your Organisation  

There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to insurance of apprenticeship providers. An organisation that delivers office-based business administration apprenticeships has completely different insurance requirements from an organisation that provides apprenticeship training in construction, engineering, healthcare or manufacturing industries.  

While assessing the insurance of your organisation, the following factors should be taken into account:  

• Number of learners  
• Number of employees 
• Locations of the training delivery
• Industries where your organisation operates
• Subcontracting
• Data handling Property and equipment exposures 
• Contractual obligations  

A tailor-made review will help to determine areas where cover should be reviewed or upgraded.  

How Trainsure Helps Training Providers  

Having a great deal of experience in dealing with training organisations and colleges, our team understands the challenges that face training organisations. Thanks to our extensive knowledge in the education and training sector, Trainsure can help you to assess the risks of your organisation and to explore insurance solutions that meet the reality of modern apprenticeships.  

Whether you are a new or established organisation, our experienced brokers will help you to adjust your insurance programme to your organisation.  

Looking for Insurance Advice as a RoATP Member?  

If you are providing apprenticeships in your organisation, it’s important to review your insurance arrangements regularly as your business grows and changes. Discuss your organisation’s activities with the Trainsure team and explore insurance solutions that are suitable for your organisation. 

Our experience in the education and training sector enables us to help organisations assess their risks and explore insurance solutions that reflect the realities of modern apprenticeship delivery. 

Whether you’re a newly approved RoATP member or an established provider reviewing your existing arrangements, our experienced guidance guidance can help ensure your insurance programme evolves alongside your organisation. 

Speak to the team at Trainsure to discuss your organisation’s activities and explore insurance options that may be appropriate for your specific circumstances.