Dual expands social care offering with SEN school and children’s home product

MGA Dual UK has expanded its social care proposition with a new product designed for children’s homes and special educational needs (SEN) schools.

The firm said the product brings together property, casualty and business interruption cover – including abuse, public and employers’ liability, medical malpractice and professional indemnity protection.

It also said the offering had been “tailor built” for the care industry and reflected its “continued focus on providing specialist, well defined cover for complex care risks”.

The MGA suggested that ongoing pressure on the fostering sector had driven up the number of smaller children’s care homes in recent times, citing a March 2025 report from Ofsted that indicated the UK currently has 4,010 such establishments.

Complex sector

Dual’s response, said James Ramira, managing director of social care at Dual UK, was a “joined up solution for a complex, highly regulated sector, underwritten by a specialist team that understands the practical challenges these settings face”.

He continued: “Children’s homes and SEN schools operate under intense regulatory and safeguarding pressure and this enhanced proposition has been built specifically for environments where protection, regulatory scrutiny and continuity of care are critical.

“By bringing a number of strands of insurance together, we’re removing gaps and providing real reassurance for providers and brokers that the right protection is in place.”

Catherine Dixon, chief underwriting officer at Dual UK, added: “Dual is particularly well placed to innovate in specialist areas such as social care, driven by a close, day‑to‑day understanding of our markets.

“This expansion of our social care offering also reflects our ability to work collaboratively with our carrier partners to deploy capacity responsibly and support these vital services to children and young people.”