Time running out for creche providers to get insurance

Childcare providers have been left with just days to find insurance solutions before they are forced to close.

One creche owner, who cares for 120 children, said she has been left scrambling after her quote jumped by more than 300% overnight and may have to tell parents this week the facility will not be operating in January.

Ironshore Europe — one of only two leading childcare insurers — recently announced that it is quitting the Irish market, leaving many of the country’s 4,400 facilities in a precarious position.

Claire McGrath who runs two creches in Tuam, Co Galway, that each cater for 60 children, said she initially found out about the issue through social media when other childcare providers began raising concerns online earlier this month.

The childcare provider then got a letter a couple of days later from the remaining insurance company offering cover.

However, her quote has soared from €3,000 a year for both facilities to almost €10,000 from the beginning of January which she said is not affordable.

“We’re in limbo because they seem to be just the monopoly now, they are the only ones and we have no option, it’s either close or we go with them,” Ms McGrath said.

We’ve had no claims, we’ve never had a claim. So you’d say fair enough if there was a claim or something pending, you’d expect an increase, but to have 300% to 400% of a jump overnight when we didn’t ask to move or didn’t ask to change providers — it’s shock to the system.

“The fact that it has jumped that much, one of our options is to close, another option is maybe to put the two [creches] together, but we are still looking at the colossal bill because the number of children would go up, and then another option is to raise fees, but we’ve always tried not to do that,” Ms McGrath said.

She added that other childcare providers in the area are full so the parents of the 120 children attending the creches could be forced to take time off work.

“If we were to close, if we were to turn around now and give notice before the Christmas holidays and say that we’re not opening again — we have 22 staff between the two buildings, they are all local.”

Ms McGrath added: “The timing of it is crazy right before Christmas.

“But there is nothing more we can do really, so we have to get on with the Christmas concert for the kids and Santa coming in, we have to keep the show going.

“‘We are afraid to mention too much to parents because we don’t know what way they might react, they might say ‘they are not going to open in January, maybe I better find another place’, and next thing we could lose a load of kids, if there is any doubt they will start to panic.

“But at the same time we need to be out in the public.”