Do private tutors need professional insurance?

Professional liability insurance (in French, responsabilité civile professionnelle or RC pro) is a contract that covers the damage a private tutor causes to someone else while working: a student, a family, or their belongings. It pays out when your work harms a third party, not when something goes wrong for you.

Is it mandatory to teach?

In France, RC pro is required by law only for regulated professions: lawyers, healthcare workers, estate agents, and building trades, among others. Private tutoring is not a regulated activity. For most independent tutors, self-employed micro-entrepreneurs included, the cover is optional.

Optional does not mean pointless. A single accident at a family's home can cost more than a lifetime of premiums. The official rules and the list of activities that must be insured are set out on service-public.gouv.fr.

Three situations change the picture:

• You work through an agency or platform whose contract asks for proof of insurance.
• You teach at the family's home under a declared personal-services activity.
• You sign a written agreement with the family that mentions cover.

What RC pro covers

The contract pays the financial consequences of three kinds of harm caused to a third party:

• Bodily injury: a student trips over your bag during a lesson at their home and gets hurt.
• Property damage: you knock a cup of coffee onto the family's laptop.
• Financial loss: a mistake on your side makes a student miss an exam registration.

A water leak at a student's home, a fall, a broken device: these are real cases that happen, and the bill lands on you if there is no policy behind you.

What it does not cover

RC pro protects other people, not you. Your own equipment (laptop, tablet, textbooks) belongs on a separate policy. Your home insurance includes a "private life" civil liability, but it almost always excludes professional work: teaching paid lessons at home is not part of that section. Read the clause before you rely on it.

What it costs

For a private tutor, standalone RC pro usually runs between €90 and €200 a year, or under €20 a month. The price depends on your turnover, your number of students, and the breadth of the cover. Check two figures before you sign:

• The excess (franchise): what you pay yourself on each claim, often €150 to €300.
• The limits: the maximum paid per claim and per year.

Many insurers sell a "teaching" or "training" contract that is cheaper than a generic RC pro. Ask for at least three quotes before choosing.

Home, online, small groups

The risk is not the same depending on how you work:

• At the family's home: this is the highest exposure. You are on their property, among their belongings, and often with a minor. RC pro is strongly recommended here.
• Online: the physical risk disappears, but bad advice or lost data can still make you liable.
• Group lessons or holiday courses: more students means more exposure. Tell the insurer the real headcount.

Keep a clear record of who you teach, where, and when. A tool like Kadrella keeps your students and lessons in one place, which helps you describe your activity accurately to an insurer and, if a claim ever happens, document what took place.

How to choose a contract

Before you sign, check these points:

1. The declared activity matches "private tutoring" or "academic support" exactly.
2. Both home lessons and online lessons are included.
3. The limits would cover a real accident, not just a small breakage.
4. The excess stays reasonable against your turnover.
5. The gap between signing and the cover taking effect is short.

RC pro at under €20 a month is a small cost against the risk it covers. Spend an hour comparing quotes, keep the certificate to hand, and give it to any family or agency that asks, especially if you have signed a written agreement.

Sources

• Insurance of the micro-entrepreneur, service-public.gouv.fr
• Does a micro-entrepreneur have to be insured?, service-public.gouv.fr
• Insurance of the individual entrepreneur, service-public.gouv.fr
• Which insurance is compulsory for professionals?, economie.gouv.fr
• The official micro-entrepreneur portal, URSSAF