The short answer
Staffing agency insurance is a set of covers for temporary staffing, contract and recruitment firms. It usually includes liability for what placed workers do at client sites, employment practices cover for claims by workers and candidates, professional liability for placement errors, and crime cover for theft by placed staff. Workers' compensation runs through the provincial board, not a broker. A licensed broker reads your client contracts and matches the package to them.
- Temporary staffing agencies placing light industrial, warehouse or clerical workers
- Permanent placement and executive search firms
- Healthcare, IT and engineering contract staffing firms
- Agencies acting as employer of record for clients who direct the work
- Recruiters who supply workers to clients in more than one province
1 licensed broker in the network handles this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for staffing agency insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Liability for placed workers at client sites
Claims that a temporary worker damaged a client's property or injured a member of the public while working under the client's supervision. Policies vary on whether they respond when the client directs the work, so ask how the wording handles it.
Employment practices claims
Allegations from placed workers, internal staff or rejected candidates of discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination, including claims naming both the agency and the client. Ask whether candidates who were never hired are included.
Professional liability for placements
Claims that the agency placed someone without the qualifications, licence or background check it promised, and the client lost money or was harmed as a result. Common in healthcare, IT and finance staffing, and often written separately.
Crime and client property
Theft by a placed worker from the client, such as stock, cash or data. Ordinary employee-theft cover may protect only the agency's own money, so ask whether losses suffered by clients are included.
Vehicles used on assignment
Workers who drive client vehicles or their own cars on assignment raise auto questions an agency may not expect. Ask who insures each vehicle and whether the agency has cover if it is named in a crash claim.
Contractual liability
Client agreements often ask the agency to indemnify the client for anything a worker does. A policy may not follow those promises in full, which is why brokers want to read the master agreement.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- A breakdown of placements by type: light industrial, clerical, healthcare, IT, drivers or skilled trades
- Annual payroll for placed workers and for internal staff, shown separately
- Your workers' compensation account details and the industry classification the board uses
- Sample client agreements and any master service agreements with large clients
- Your screening steps: reference checks, credential checks and criminal record checks where lawful
- Any provincial licence or registration your agency holds as an employment or temporary help agency
- Which clients ask placed workers to drive, operate machinery or handle cash
- Employment complaints, human rights matters or claims from the past several years
- The provinces and countries where workers are placed
A broker will ask
- Who issues the workers' pay and deductions: your agency, the client or a payroll provider?
- Which industries do you place workers into, and do any placements involve heights, heavy equipment or driving?
- Do you place workers into healthcare, childcare or financial roles where credentials and checks matter?
- What do your client contracts say about who indemnifies whom for workers' acts?
- Do placed workers have access to client cash, stock, systems or private homes?
- How do you handle harassment complaints from workers placed at client sites?
- Do you use sub-vendor agencies to fill orders you cannot staff yourself?
- Have there been human rights complaints, employment claims or theft allegations in the past five years?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A light industrial agency after a forklift accident
An agency in Leduc placed a temporary worker at a distribution centre, where the client's supervisor told him to move pallets with a forklift. He struck a delivery driver's truck, damaging it and injuring the driver, and both the client and the trucking company are now naming the agency.
First steps. Gather the client agreement, the job order describing the duties, the worker's training records and the incident report. Report the claim to the broker promptly, and ask how the policy responds when the client directed the work and whether the contract's indemnity clause shifts the cost.
A nursing agency asked to prove its checks
A healthcare staffing firm supplies registered nurses and care aides to private long-term care homes. A new client contract asks the agency to verify every licence and background check, carry professional liability, and accept responsibility for any harm a placed worker causes.
First steps. Bring the contract, your written screening procedure and a sample of the records kept for each placed worker. Ask the broker whether claims of abuse or neglect by a placed worker are covered or excluded, how the responsibility clause compares with the policy, and what certificates the client expects.
A recruiter named in a candidate complaint
A permanent placement firm in Calgary screened a candidate for an engineering role and did not put her forward. She has filed a human rights complaint alleging the decision was based on her age, naming both the recruiter and its client.
First steps. Keep the job brief, the screening notes and every message with the candidate and the client, and send the complaint to the broker before replying to the commission. Ask whether the policy covers claims by candidates who were never placed, and how defence is shared with the client.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Employer of record
- The business legally responsible for paying a worker, making payroll deductions and meeting statutory employer duties, even when another business directs the daily work.
- Temporary help agency
- A business that employs workers and assigns them to perform work for its clients for a period. Some provinces use the term in their employment standards rules.
- Hold-harmless clause
- Contract wording in which the agency promises to protect the client from claims or costs arising from a worker's acts. Its reach can exceed what the agency's policy covers.
- Third-party crime cover
- Protection against theft by your employees from your clients' premises or accounts, rather than from your own. Staffing contracts often ask for it by name.
- Sub-vendor
- Another agency that fills part of a client order for you. Its workers may still be your responsibility under the client contract, so its insurance matters to yours.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Assuming the client's insurance covers temporary workers because the client supervises them every day.
- Signing a client agreement that makes the agency answer for anything a worker does, without checking whether the policy follows.
- Classifying placed workers as independent contractors to avoid payroll obligations, which can backfire with the board, the tax authorities and insurers.
- Leaving driving, childcare or healthcare placements off the application because they are a small part of the business.
- Relying on employee theft cover that protects only the agency, when the client's stock is what a worker can actually reach.
- Ignoring a complaint from a worker at a client site because the client's manager was the one accused.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles staffing agency insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
Who is the employer of a temporary worker in Canada?
Usually the agency that hires and pays the worker is treated as the employer for payroll and many statutory purposes, while the client directs the day-to-day work. Courts, tribunals and boards can still find that both share duties, especially for workplace safety and human rights. The answer varies by province and by the facts, so ask a lawyer about your arrangements and show the broker your contracts.
Does the staffing agency or the client pay workers' compensation?
In many provinces the workers' compensation board treats the agency that pays the worker as the employer for premiums and claims, although the client can still have safety duties and may feel the effects of a claim. Rules differ by province and change over time. Ask the board where workers are placed how it treats temporary help agencies, and keep its answer on file.
Does general liability cover what my temporary workers do?
It may, but there are traps. Some policies exclude injury or damage caused while workers are under a client's control, and some contracts make the agency answer for everything regardless. Wording written for staffing firms addresses this. Ask the broker to walk through a sample incident, such as a placed worker damaging client equipment, and to show you which clause responds.
Do staffing agencies need employment practices insurance?
Staffing firms handle more hiring, ended assignments and workplace complaints than most employers, so employment claims are a central exposure. Policies differ on whether they cover claims by placed workers, internal staff and rejected candidates, and claims where the client's supervisor is the one accused. Bring your complaint history and ask the broker how each past case would have been handled.
Do recruiters and temp agencies need a licence?
Some provinces license or register employment agencies, recruiters or temporary help agencies, and some prohibit charging fees to workers for finding them jobs. Requirements can be stricter for recruiting foreign workers. Rules change, so check with the employment standards or licensing office in each province where you recruit or place people, and tell the broker which licences you hold.
What is a fidelity bond for a staffing agency?
It is a form of crime cover that protects against theft by employees. For staffing firms the key question is whether it protects the client, whose cash, stock or data the placed worker can reach, and not just the agency's own money. Some clients require it by contract. Ask the broker whether it is written as a bond or within a crime policy.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.