If you own a home daycare facility then you will require home daycare insurance. Your home daycare insurance will provide cover against any kind of property damage or even physical injury caused to the children within the premises of your daycare facility. The home daycare insurance policies are different for licensed facility and unlicensed facility.
If you are operating an unlicensed facility, then in all probability, your homeowner policy will not provide coverage for your daycare facility. There are several insurance companies who include the option of providing selective or limited home daycare insurance within a homeowners or condominium insurance policy without any extra premium while there are others who will charge you additional premium for the same. Before you look for home daycare insurance, check with company who has provided you with homeowners insurance and find out if they are providing daycare cover under the current policy.
On the other hand, if you are operating from a licensed facility then you will have to purchase a business policy that will provide the required coverage for your daycare facility. One of the important reasons why you should go for a separate home daycare insurance policy is because not all the policies provide child abuse coverage.
Types of Home Daycare Insurance
Talking of home daycare insurance, there are basically three types of liability policy and they are:
1. Homeowner Insurance or renters insurance: These policies will provide you coverage for childcare within the premises but no child abuse coverage.
2. General liability insurance policy: This insurance policy will provide coverage for childcare in the premises or the facility and also cover field trips as well as child abuse at no extra cost.
3. Professional Liability/Errors and Omissions insurance: This policy will provide you with the maximum coverage possible within a home daycare insurance policy. Apart from the standard or general coverage, this insurance will provide coverage for negligence in child care. Some of the aspects covered under this policy include:
o Anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 for child abuse
o Personal injury
o Accidents in the swimming pool on the premises and even off the premises
o Field trips
o Auto liability related to transportation for the children
o Medical expenses due to accidents can be anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 per child
o Accidental death on premises
The home daycare insurance will also cover legal costs if parents sued you on the basis of injury or sickness caused to their child. One of the important things that you need to be aware of is the insuring forms. There are two types of insuring forms: an occurrence form and claims made forms. It is always advisable to choose the occurrence form as it will cover a claim that is reported even after your policy expires.
The bottom line is that home daycare insurance is essential to protect your business and your own interest.
© CG Groth Inc 2007
