As a speech & language therapist (whether in a private clinic, school, home-visits or online) you face a range of risks: working with vulnerable clients (children, elderly, people with disabilities), providing professional advice or treatment that might be challenged, equipment usage, data privacy issues and more. Having the right insurance cover is essential to protect your practice, your professional reputation and your financial security.
At Fraser Bond, we support speech therapists in understanding the insurance cover they should hold, how that fits with their regulatory obligations (especially in London’s dynamic healthcare market), and how to select a policy well-suited to their services and exposures.
Insurance for speech therapists is not one generic policy—it is a portfolio of cover types tailored for the clinical, advisory and service-based nature of your work. Key covers include:
Professional Indemnity (PI) / Malpractice Insurance – Protects you if a client alleges that your advice, therapy, assessment or treatment caused them financial loss or harm. For example, a therapy plan fails, a client claims delayed progress, or you’re challenged on the outcome of your treatment.
Public Liability Insurance – Covers claims arising from injury or property damage caused by your practice activities (e.g., a client slips in your clinic, damage occurs during a home-visit).
Employers’ Liability Insurance – Required in the UK if you employ anyone (assistants, administrative staff, therapists) to cover claims if an employee becomes ill or injured through their work.
Contents / Equipment Insurance – If you use specialist therapy equipment, tablets, assessment tools, mobile kit for home-visits, this covers theft, damage or loss.
Cyber / Data Liability (Optional but increasingly relevant) – If you hold sensitive client data (speech recordings, therapy progress data, personal health info) you may need cover for data breach, hacking or wrongful disclosure.
Business Interruption / Personal Accident (Optional Extensions) – If your practice suffers a disruption (clinic damage, forced closure) or you are injured and cannot work, these covers may be worth considering.
Operating as a speech therapist (especially in London or a busy UK setting) brings particular risk considerations:
You often work with vulnerable client groups – children, adults with neurological impairment, elderly with swallowing disorders – which increases the sensitivity of your services and the potential for serious claims.
Your professional registration (e.g., through the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)) may require you to hold “appropriate indemnity arrangements”.
If you work in private practice, as a contractor to schools, care homes or in home-visits in London’s high-density environment, you may face higher exposure: travel between clients, use of equipment in unfamiliar premises, working in multi-unit residential blocks.
Client contracts or venues may require proof of public liability, PI or equipment cover before you operate on site, within a school or a care home.
Without adequate cover, even a seemingly minor incident (e.g., a client suffers an injury during a session, or an equipment malfunction causes damage) could lead to significant legal fees or compensation claims. Insurance ensures you can operate confidently and professionally.
When choosing your insurance, these are the benchmarks and factors you should review:
Many providers show public liability cover starting from around £5.64 per month for UK speech therapists.
Typical public liability limits offered are £1 million, £2 million, £5 million or higher.
Professional indemnity/malpractice cover for speech therapists can vary, with specialist policies offering limits between £500,000 and £10 million depending on practice size, client base and risk.
Key cost-drivers include:
Nature of your practice (sole trader/private clinic vs school-contract vs multiple clients)
Whether you operate from home, travel to clients, variety of settings (schools, care homes, hospitals)
Value and mobility of your equipment (portable kit, home-visit gear)
Number of staff/assistants you employ or subcontract
Your claims history or previous incidents
Whether you handle sensitive data, supply products/devices, or offer therapy involving higher risk procedures (e.g., swallowing therapy)
Important policy features to check:
Does the PI/malpractice cover apply to your full scope of service (assessment, treatment, home-visits, schools)?
What is the retroactive date (covering work done before the policy start) – especially important if you are changing insurers.
Are your equipment, home-visits and travel included? Is there cover for devices you supply?
Are there exclusions for certain therapy types, remote/online work, or high-risk clients?
Does the policy provide run-off cover if you cease practice (for emerging claims after practice ends)?
Are your legal defence costs included, or separate? Are regulatory complaint defence costs covered?
Fraser Bond recommends this approach:
Define your practice model and risk profile – Are you a sole practitioner at home, a mobile therapist visiting clients, running a clinic, employing assistants?
Check regulatory and client/venue requirements – For example, if you are working in schools or care homes, they may mandate certain insurance levels for contractors.
Choose the cover types and limits aligned with your service exposure – At minimum public liability and PI; also equipment, data/cyber, business interruption if applicable.
Review the policy wording and exclusions carefully – Ensure your therapy scope (online, home visits, schools) is covered, understand what the policy does not cover.
Compare specialist insurers/brokers for therapists – Because speech therapy has unique exposures and vulnerable client groups, using a specialist provider ensures better alignment.
Ensure continuous cover – Especially for PI/malpractice, where a gap in cover or work done outside policy may expose you.
Maintain documentation and proof – Certificate of insurance, schedule, terms. Clients, venues or schools may ask.
Review annually – As your practice grows (more clients, new therapy types, employing staff, adding teletherapy) your insurance needs may change.
Fraser Bond offers advisory services aligned to professional therapy practitioners operating in London and the UK. Our value includes:
Insight into how your speech therapy business model interacts with risk, client vulnerability, therapy settings (home, school, clinic) and insurance needs.
Review of your existing insurance setup to ensure it aligns with your service scope, equipment usage, settings and regulatory obligations.
Advice on how to present your insurance credentials professionally (important when contracting with schools, care homes or clients).
Strategic advisory on growing your practice — as you hire staff, expand into new settings or offer online therapy, we help ensure your insurance keeps pace.
By working with Fraser Bond you’re not just acquiring insurance — you’re protecting your professional reputation, your practice’s stability and your future.
If you’re a speech & language therapist in London or the UK and want to ensure your insurance is properly structured and aligned with your practice, visit FraserBond.com or contact our London advisory team for tailored guidance on insurance for speech therapists, professional indemnity, liability, equipment cover and how to choose the right policy for your service model.
