Public Sector Insurance and Risk Financing

Protect your organisation and communities

Our specialist team is focused on meeting the unique risk management needs of public sector organisations and the communities they serve.

Public sector insurance products are highly specialised, designed to manage the risks unique to public entities. Gallagher is one of the leading providers of public sector insurance, with a dedicated team focusing solely on serving this sector. Where insurance is not the answer we can also offer risk financing solutions.

Our service offering is designed to support any organisation funded by the public purse, encompassing the entire public sector, from the largest public entities to smallest organisations. We will work with you to identify the traditional and emerging risks your organisation must navigate, and to design an appropriate solution for you.

Our extensive access to the wider insurance market and the strength of our insurer relationships enables us to find the appropriate solutions for your organisation that will deliver best value for your stakeholders.

All of this is underpinned by the practical support we offer our clients, including insurance fund audits, insurance programme optimisation from our dedicated Public Service actuary, operational and strategic risk management, property valuation services and claims management services.

Central Government and NDPB

Anticipating and managing change is key to working in central government and with non-departmental Government bodies (NDPB), and so it is important to have a partner who understands your unique risk financing and risk management needs. Our team can build flexibility into your risk financing and insurance programme to meet the changing needs of your organisation. We understand that contractual reviews and appropriate risk allocation are important in your world. We can help with both and, where needed, optimise your insurance programme to control and ideally lower your total cost of risk.

Local Authorities

We provide insurance and risk financing and risk management solutions for all tiers of local government including county and district councils, unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs and London boroughs as well as, more recently, combined authorities. As specialists in public sector insurance we will build a unique risk financing and insurance solution for your local authority while recognising your budgetary challenges. We can advise on your internal risk management, identify your risks and their potential impact in a continually changing risk landscape. With adequate protection in place for the insurable risks you choose to cover, you can focus on serving the people and communities who rely on the important work you do.

Local Councils Insurance

As a local council, the autonomy in the decisions you make together with the vast number of public services you provide – from children’s services to transport to housing – presents a need for specialist public sector insurance expertise. Whether it’s a liability claim from someone who has slipped on a pavement or a cyber-attack causing disruption to your services, your insurance cover needs to cover a multitude of risks. We can provide comprehensive cover for the council, its councillors, clerks and volunteers – building a policy that meets your needs. This can include commercial legal expenses, officials’ indemnity, key person cover and employers’ liability insurance.

Gallagher is the most turned-to insurance broker across local government, and the only broker serving the town and parish council market that has the strength of a global broker behind them.

NHS and Foundation Trusts

The NHS is exposed to risk every day, from compensation claims to cyber liability, building and equipment damage to reputational damage. Your priority is to serve your patients and your community, so knowing that you have protection in place can help you focus on your day-to-day demands and responsibilities. We will work with you to create an insurance programme to cover those risks which fall outside of the protection provided by your risk pooling scheme.

We will consider all aspects of your service delivery model when recommending an insurance programme, utilising our access to specialist products in the insurance market. We understand the need to control costs and will always aim to keep your premium and total cost of risk as low as possible.

Blue Light Emergency Services

Police authorities, fire rescue services and the ambulance service each require bespoke insurance solutions and, more latterly, bespoke alternative risk financing solutions to meet their unique demands. We work with underwriters and actuaries who understand the challenges and risks faced by the emergency services, not just for those who work on the front line but also the more strategic risks such as the elevated scrutiny of police actions and the increased risk of public and employee litigation. Taking the time to understand your needs, we will help to ensure you have options and the solution you choose genuinely protects your organisation and the men and women within it who dedicate their lives to protecting their community.

Why choose Gallagher?

Gallagher has been helping public sector organisations to manage and mitigate risk for over 20 years. We understand the risks your organisation faces and the need to get the most from your budget when it comes to your insurance protection and risk financing decisions.

We have established relationships with insurers and underwriters who also specialise in this sector, and so cover can be tailored specifically for your organisation, with policy wordings to reflect your risk exposure.

We invest in our team continually through our in-house Public Sector and Education academy so that we remain at the forefront of risk management in this sector, and our ethical way of working clients has earned us an Ethisphere award year after year. We are the only insurance broker who has been awarded this accolade.

The way we look after our clients’ needs is also reflected in the dedicated service of our claims management team – there to lessen the stress and financial impact on your organisation and people in the event of a claim.

Our expertise in this sector means we really do understand the risks you face and the cost challenges you experience every day. Contact us today to see how we can help protect your organisation.

A copy of UK Retail’s Crown Commercial Services Carbon Reduction Plan, as at December 2023, can be found here.