HR and Recruitment Insurance
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra

An agency may advertise recruitment while also providing reference checks, psychometric assessments, salary advice, outsourced HR and workplace investigations. Describe each service and who signs off on the final decision. Explain whether the client employs the successful candidate directly or the agency supplies workers under a labour arrangement. The difference affects the questions a broker needs to ask about professional services, workplace responsibilities and the insurance arrangements for people working at a client’s premises.

Give particular attention to sensitive information. Candidate files may contain identification documents, referee comments, health information and details of disputes with previous employers. Map the systems used to collect, store and share those records, including recruitment platforms, assessment providers and offshore support. Explain who can export candidate lists and how access is removed when a recruiter leaves. If an agency uses automated screening or AI-assisted reports, describe the review process and how inaccuracies can be challenged. The insurance discussion should reflect the decisions being influenced and the information involved, rather than simply the number of recruiters employed.

The engagement should distinguish a search assignment from an assurance that a candidate has every qualification or characteristic a client wants. Record the checks commissioned, the sources consulted, any limitations and the client’s own responsibilities before appointment. If a client chooses to proceed before a reference arrives, preserve that instruction. A clear report can separate confirmed information from a candidate’s statement and identify any unresolved issue without making an unsupported conclusion about the person.

Ask the broker about placement guarantees, replacement services, refunds and contractual indemnities. These commercial commitments may operate independently of professional indemnity protection. Outsourced HR projects need a different scope again: policy drafting, investigation, disciplinary recommendations and implementation should not be treated as one undifferentiated service. Consider who communicates findings and retains the evidence. Where consultants or assessment providers contribute, keep their appointments and confidentiality terms. Discuss whether allegations involving discrimination, employment practices, privacy or worker injury belong under separate covers or exclusions, and how a combined allegation would be referred for assessment rather than assuming one policy handles everything.

A hypothetical recruitment complaint might begin when an employer says a qualification was not verified, then expand when the candidate disputes how personal information was shared. Preserve the job brief, candidate consent, checks, correspondence and presentation made to the employer. Restrict further circulation of the disputed information. Notify the broker about the relevant circumstances and ask which insurers or response services should be involved. Deleting a candidate profile to resolve the immediate concern can remove records needed to understand what happened.

Before renewal, review whether the agency has entered new sectors, supplied workers for the first time or begun giving more detailed employment advice. Compare the largest assignment and contractual liability exposure with the information previously declared. Check how long candidate and client records remain available after software changes or an acquisition. Business continuity should include a recruiter leaving unexpectedly with active placements and client deadlines approaching. Document handover arrangements and access to shared files. Professional indemnity, cyber and employment-related insurance discussions become more useful when the agency can show where its work starts, where decisions pass to clients and how concerns are escalated.

For retained searches, consider what happens when a client changes the brief midway through the assignment. Record the revised role, reporting line, remuneration and screening expectations before presenting further candidates. At renewal, explain whether the business has moved into executive appointments or high-volume temporary placements, as both can change the nature of the work even when overall fee income appears similar to the previous year.