Top 5 care sector claims trends and what organisations can learn from them

Over the past year, claims activity across the social care sector has highlighted the importance of strong risk management, effective staff training and robust record keeping. Understanding where incidents occur most often can help providers take practical steps to reduce risk, protect their people and improve outcomes.

Here are the five most common claims trends we’ve seen, along with practical actions organisations can take to strengthen risk management and reduce potential exposures.

1. Attacks on staff by care receivers (Employers’ Liability claims)

Attacks on staff remain one of the most common causes of Employers’ Liability claims, particularly in settings supporting people with complex needs, challenging behaviours or fluctuating mental capacity. These incidents can also create significant absence management and recruitment pressures at a time when workforce challenges remain high across the sector.

Common factors include the quality of behavioural support plans, lone-working arrangements, escalation procedures, staffing levels, training records and how effectively lessons from previous incidents have been embedded into care provision.

Risk management advice: Regularly review dynamic risk assessments, ensure staff receive ongoing role-specific training, document behavioural triggers clearly and ensure post-incident reviews drive continuous improvement.

2. Slips and trips leading to employee injury (Employers’ Liability)

Slips, trips and falls remain one of the leading causes of workplace injury. According to the Health and Safety Executive, they accounted for 30% of all self-reported non-fatal workplace injuries in 2024/25.

In social care settings, many incidents stem from everyday operational issues such as poor housekeeping, inadequate lighting, maintenance concerns or delays in addressing hazards. While common, they are often preventable.

Risk management advice: Treat cleaning, inspections and site monitoring as critical risk management activities, not simply operational tasks. Regularity of inspection, clear ownership of premises risks and prompt action when hazards are identified can significantly improve outcomes.

3. Injuries to residents, including alleged abuse (Public Liability and Abuse)

Injuries to residents, including allegations of abuse, remain among the most frequent and sensitive claims we see across the social care sector. These incidents can involve alleged physical injury or abuse and may lead to safeguarding investigations, regulatory notifications, reputational damage and, in some cases, criminal investigations depending on the circumstances and severity.

Given the continued focus from regulators on protecting service users from harm, providers should ensure concerns are identified, escalated and addressed without delay.

Risk management advice: Ensure care records are accurate, contemporaneous and complete. When concerns arise, early escalation, evidence gathering and clear communication are essential. Care plans, safeguarding records, body maps, witness statements, rotas training records, and post-incident reviews all play an important role in supporting investigations and defending claims.

4. Storm damage (Property claims)

Storm damage continues to be a significant threat to care providers with property exposure. With more frequent severe weather events and increasing claim costs across the market, organisations should take a proactive approach to property risk management.

With the Association of British Insurers reporting a 14% increase in claims costs during 2025 compared with the previous year, providers with property assets should remain alert to this growing risk and take a proactive approach to mitigation.

Storm claims can affect roofs, gutters, outbuildings, fencing, trees, landscaping and utilities, all leading to potential business interruption issues. Temporary relocation and loss of service capacity are often among the most challenging outcomes for providers.

Risk management advice: Planned maintenance and prevention strategies are key to reducing the impact of storm events. Actions such as clearing drains, carrying out roof inspections, securing external items, managing trees and regularly reviewing business continuity plans should all form part of a robust resilience strategy.

5. Breaches of regulatory duties and employee disputes

Completing our top five are claims relating to governance failures, health and safety breaches, safeguarding concerns and employment disputes. These issues can trigger multiple exposures, including regulatory investigations, management liability claims, employment practices claims and reputational challenges.

These can be some of the most complex claims to manage as exposures often overlap, involving management liability, employment practices liability, regulatory investigations, reputational management and, in some cases, civil claims. This highlights the importance of ensuring your insurance arrangements are broad enough to respond to a range of interconnected risks.

Risk management advice: Regularly review governance procedures, keep policies up to date, ensure managers are trained in effective documentation and reporting procedures, and maintain close alignment between HR, compliance and operational teams when concerns arise.

Key lessons from this year’s claims trends

While these claims differ in nature, common themes run through them all.

1. Organisations are in a stronger position when they can demonstrate that risks have been identified, appropriate controls are in place and incidents are managed promptly and effectively.
2. Good claims outcomes are rarely accidental. They are typically driven by strong risk management, clear accountability, timely notifications, accurate record keeping and open engagement with insurers and brokers.
3. Regularly reviewing incident trends with your insurance adviser can help identify opportunities to strengthen risk management, test whether documentation processes would stand up to scrutiny and highlight practical improvements that may reduce the likelihood of future claims.

How Partners& can help

Every claim tells a story. Understanding those trends can help you make informed decisions about risk, protect your people and strengthen the resilience of your organisation.

If you’d like to discuss your organisation’s claims experience, benchmark emerging trends or identify practical opportunities to reduce risk, our social care specialists are here to help.

Contact our specialist Care Sector team to start the conversation.