Home daycare insurance is a crucial investment for any childcare provider. It can help protect your business and finances in case of unexpected events or accidents.
Liability insurance is a must-have for home daycare providers. This type of insurance covers damages or injuries to children in your care, as well as any property damage. The average cost of liability insurance for home daycare providers is around $200-$500 per year.
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Types of Home Daycare Insurance
Home day care insurance is a type of insurance that financially protects care providers from the unique risks at-home day cares may face.
For smaller home day cares, home day care insurance may be a special type of home business insurance that supplements a homeowners insurance policy.
Home day care insurance for larger day care centers is often small business insurance.
Professional liability coverage is a key component of home day care insurance, helping to protect care providers from claims of negligence or other professional mistakes.
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Business Coverage
Business coverage is essential for home day care businesses, and it's not just a nice-to-have, but a must-have. You can add a home day care endorsement to your homeowners insurance policy, but this may not be sufficient for every business.
General liability insurance is a necessary purchase for any business that allows the public onto its property, and it pays for accidental injuries and property damage to others. This type of insurance is especially essential if you're taking care of children because they tend to get injured easily.
Commercial property insurance can pay out if your business equipment or property is damaged due to a problem covered by your policy, such as a fire or theft. This type of insurance can also cover your business for claims of mistakes, such as a failure to provide an expected level of care.
Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, covers your business for claims of negligence or errors in the services you provide. This type of insurance can help pay for medical expenses and legal fees if a child is injured in your care.
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Here are some types of business coverage you may need:
- General liability insurance
- Commercial property insurance
- Professional liability insurance
- Commercial umbrella insurance
- Business personal property insurance
Keep in mind that you may need to purchase a separate business insurance policy if you run a larger day care operation, or if your home insurance company doesn't offer a home day care endorsement.
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Insurance Companies
If you're looking for home daycare insurance, there are several companies to consider. American Family Insurance, for example, offers a home insurance product that provides several coverages, including general liability and commercial auto liability.
Some of the benefits of American Family Insurance include online claims and 24/7 support. They also offer bundling discounts for those who combine their policies.
Other companies to consider are Assure Childcare, JMG Insurance Agency, Markel Insurance, and Next Insurance. These companies offer home daycare insurance quotes, but the specific details of their policies are not mentioned in the article.
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Markel
Markel offers a robust in-home daycare package that's perfect for childcare providers. This package includes general liability coverage, abuse and molestation coverage, and accidental medical insurance.
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The policy is occurrence-form, which means it covers incidents that happen during the policy period, even if they're reported later. This type of coverage can provide peace of mind for daycare owners.
One of the benefits of Markel's policy is that it allows for free additional insureds. This can be a huge advantage for daycare owners who need to add employees or volunteers to their policy.
Markel's policy can cover daycares with up to 18 children, making it suitable for small to medium-sized childcare providers. However, it's worth noting that commercial auto is not available through Markel.
Here are some key features of Markel's in-home daycare policy:
- Robust in-home daycare package
- Occurrence-form coverage
- Free additional insureds
- Flexible payment options
- Covers up to 18 children
- Does not offer commercial auto
American Family
American Family offers a home insurance product that provides several coverages for in-home daycares, including general liability, commercial auto liability, corporal punishment liability, and abuse and molestation liability coverage.
This product is specifically designed for in-home daycares with six enrolled children or less.
American Family provides online quotes, allowing you to quickly and easily get a sense of what your insurance costs might be.
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They also offer online claims and 24/7 support, so you can get help when you need it.
Their mobile app is highly rated, making it easy to manage your insurance on the go.
Here are some key coverages and features offered by American Family:
- Abuse and molestation, and corporal punishment coverage
- Commercial auto liability coverage
- Bundling discounts
- Online claims and 24/7 support
How We Chose the Best Companies
We chose the best insurance companies by evaluating several factors. We looked at the monthly search volume for "home daycare insurance companies" using Semrush, which helped us identify popular companies.
We also considered Google results for "home daycare insurance" to see which companies were consistently showing up. This helped us narrow down our list to companies that were well-known and reputable.
We looked at state availability, financial stability, customer satisfaction, and the ease of getting a quote and applying for a policy. We also considered the types of coverage offered, such as abuse/molestation/corporal punishment coverage, auto liability coverage, and workers compensation coverage.
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Companies that made coverage widely available, had a streamlined quote and application process, offered robust features, and had strong ratings for financial stability and customer satisfaction topped our list.
We used a range of resources to inform our evaluation, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Insurance Information Institute.
Here are the key factors we considered in our evaluation:
- State availability
- Financial stability
- Customer satisfaction
- Online quote and application availability
- Policy-specific features, including claim limits, cost, and coverage exclusions
Costs and Requirements
The cost of home day care insurance can range from $250 to $2,000 per year or more for a separate business insurance policy.
Your home day care insurance cost will depend on several factors, including the location of the home day care, the number of children you care for, the type of coverage you need, and your claim history.
You can expect to pay less than $100 per year if you add your at-home daycare business to your home policy, but this option may not be available or sufficient for every at-home daycare provider.
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To qualify for this option, you need to meet certain criteria, such as having no significant risk factors on your property, a valid childcare license, and caring for six to eight children or less.
Here's a breakdown of the costs and requirements:
Liability insurance is required for licensure in most states, and many parents will want proof of a policy as well.
Cost
The cost of home day care insurance can vary significantly, ranging from $250 to $2,000 per year or more for a separate business insurance policy. This cost will depend on several factors, including the location of the home day care, the number of children, and the type of coverage and limits chosen.
You can expect to pay between $450 and $1,350 annually for in-home daycare insurance, but this cost can increase if you need commercial auto insurance. Additionally, some home insurance companies offer home day care insurance as an add-on coverage to your homeowners policy, which can be a more affordable option.
Some home day care insurance policies can cost as little as $56 to $78 per month for general liability insurance, but you may need to add other coverages to your policy. It's also worth noting that adding your at-home daycare business to your home policy may not be as expensive as you think, with costs potentially under $100 per year.
Here are some estimated costs for different types of home day care insurance coverage:
Keep in mind that these costs can vary depending on your specific situation and the insurance company you choose. It's always a good idea to shop around and compare rates to find the best coverage for your home day care business.
Day Requirements
In Texas, daycares must have at least $300,000 in liability coverage for each child in their care. This is a crucial requirement for daycares operating in the state.
In California, you need signed affidavits from parents acknowledging your lack of home daycare insurance if you choose to forgo it.
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Policy and Coverage
Home day care businesses are not covered under standard homeowners insurance policies, which only cover up to $2,500 in business-related property damage and exclude liability coverage entirely.
You can add home day care insurance as an endorsement or insurance rider to your homeowners policy, but this typically requires having between three to six children under your care, depending on your insurer.
Some home insurance companies offer home day care insurance as an add-on coverage to your homeowners policy, allowing you to customize your coverage to fit your business needs.
You may not have enough coverage with your home policy, so it's essential to think about increasing your liability limit to the highest amount your home carrier can offer you, which is often $300,000 or more.
If a child dies in your care, $300,000 may not be enough to cover the damages, and you may have to pay the rest out of pocket, which is why increasing your liability limit to $1 million or more is a good idea.
A business owner's policy can provide general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and business interruption insurance in one convenient package, but you should choose a provider that allows you to customize your BOP to avoid unnecessary coverage overlaps with your homeowners insurance policy.
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Sources
- https://www.markel.com/us/industries/child-care-and-enrichment/in-home-daycare
- https://www.forbes.com/advisor/homeowners-insurance/home-daycare-coverage/
- https://www.investopedia.com/home-daycare-insurance-7099457
- https://www.policygenius.com/homeowners-insurance/does-homeowners-insurance-cover-home-daycares/
- https://horaninsured.com/blog/at-home-daycare-the-dos-and-donts-of-licenses-and-insurance
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