What kind of insurance does a daycare need

Preschool and daycare facilities focus on keeping their staff and the children in their care as safe as they can possibly be, however accidents do happen. In the unfortunate event that a preschooler is injured while on school grounds, or when participating in a covered school event, the school’s preschool and daycare insurance policy from The Hartford can help cover the medical expense costs associated with the care and treatment of the injured child. Coverage includes things like hospital trips, doctor appointments, bandages, casts and medicine to prevent illness or infection.

Preschool and daycare insurance from The Hartford helps protect students, teachers and supervisors when they are involved in a covered accident that occurs on school grounds or during supervised school activities.

The types of schools and programs that are eligible for coverage under The Hartford’s preschool and daycare insurance program include the following:

  • Kindergartens
  • Nursery schools
  • Licensed daycare centers
  • Project Head Start

All registered students or enrollees of the insured school are included in the coverage. Teachers and Head Start supervisors may be insured at the option of the policyholder. If the policyholder chooses to cover teachers and Head Start supervisors, all teachers and Head Start supervisors employed at the school must be included in the coverage.

Preschool and daycare insurance from The Hartford covers students, teachers, Head Start participants and supervisors:

  • While participating in daycare activities that are sponsored and supervised by the policyholder school.
  • While traveling with a group in connection with such school activities or while traveling directly between school and home.
  • While traveling in a vehicle designated by the Head Start program director and driven by an appointed licensed driver.

Key coverages available with preschool and daycare insurance from The Hartford include:
 

  • Accident Medical Expense (AME) pays for the reasonable expenses incurred by an insured person, in excess of the deductible amount, for medical care due to injury.
  • Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) helps pay a benefit to the insured parties in the event that a death or dismemberment occurs from a covered accident.

All daycare children must be included in The Hartford’s preschool and daycare insurance program. Though a name list is not required, a premium must be paid for each person to be insured. Those persons joining the group while the policy is in effect are automatically covered until the policy expiration date – without an additional charge. The total premium for the policy is payable when the insurance becomes effective.

The Hartford’s preschool and daycare insurance program can provide coverage for children age 7 and older for after school day care center activities only, provided the number of children age 7 and older does not constitute a substantial portion of the total number of children to be covered. It is not the intent of this program to provide coverage for the age 7 and older age group while they are participating either in normal school time activities in public or private schools, or in after school "latchkey" activities.

The Hartford does offer insurance programs for preschools that either specialize in the care of children with disabilities, or where children age 7 and older make up a substantial portion of the total enrollment. Ask your insurance professional or a representative from The Hartford for more information on these programs.
 

The Hartford understands the dangers that are present when working with children. Whether they’re safely learning in a classroom, playing on a jungle gym or enjoying exploring during a supervised field trip, the risks of an accident happening are real. If an accident does occur, The Hartford’s preschool and daycare insurance policy can help cover the expenses associated with the care and treatment of the injured child, teacher or supervisor.

The Hartford offers some of the most sought after coverage options and among the highest rated customer claims teams in the industry. Our dedicated customer support representatives are available to answer your questions and guide you through the claims process as quickly and easily as possible.

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., (NYSE: HIG) operates through its subsidiaries, including Hartford Fire Insurance Company under the brand name, The Hartford,® and is headquartered at One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155. For additional details, please read The Hartford’s legal notice at www.thehartford.com. All benefits are subject to the terms and conditions of the policy. Policies underwritten by the underwriting company listed above detail exclusions, limitations, reduction of benefits and terms under which the policies may be continued in force or discontinued.

Español

Do you run a small daycare out of your home? If you do, or you’re thinking about starting one, here’s what you need to know about insurance.

What kind of insurance does a daycare need

  1. In Texas, taking care of up to three unrelated children in your home for at least three hours a day, three or more days a week, is considered a listed family home. Because a listed family home is a business, homeowners insurance won’t cover losses related to your home daycare.

  2. You need to be covered if something happens to a child while in your care, either at your home or elsewhere. Liability insurance helps cover injuries and accidents. In Texas, a listed family home or other daycare must have at least $300,000 in liability insurance to cover each child in your care involved in an incident of negligence.

  3. There are exceptions, including daycares that can’t find a company to insure them or that have used up the limits of a $300,000 policy. If your business qualifies for an exception, you must give written notice to every parent or guardian with a child in your care. There’s a form you can use to do that.

  4. For a listed family home to operate in Texas, you need to get a listing from Child Care Licensing at the Texas Health and Human Services. A good way to start is to create a Child Care Regulation online account or contact your local Child Care Licensing Office.

For more tips like these:

What kind of insurance does a daycare need
    
What kind of insurance does a daycare need
    
What kind of insurance does a daycare need
    
What kind of insurance does a daycare need

So how much does it cost to insure a daycare? Quotes, costs & coverage for in-home (licensed or unlicensed), commercial child care centers, before and after school programs, nursery schools, and preschool liability insurance.

What kind of insurance does a daycare need

With the rise of families who have two working parents and single parent families, the need for child care is constantly increasing. In fact, studies have found that more than 60 percent of children under the age of 5 require childcare, and nearly 33 percent of those children receive the care they need at a daycare.

Given the increased demand for childcare, operating a daycare service - whether in your home or commercially - can be a wise business decision. However, given the fact that you are caring for other people's children and the myriad of things that can go wrong, including accidents, injuries, and illnesses, it's important to safeguard your daycare business with the right type of insurance. So how much does it cost to insure a daycare?

What Type Of Insurance Coverage Does A Daycare Require?

Since there are so many types of mishaps that can occur at a daycare facility, it is important for daycare operators to properly insure themselves and their business. The type of insurance coverage you will need depends on the type of daycare facility you are operating. Some of the types of insurance policies that can benefit daycare providers include:

Renters or Homeowners Insurance. If you operate a daycare in your home, your renters or homeowners insurance policy may cover your business (it's rare). However, it is important to note that you do need to add your daycare business to your policy, and doing so will involve any additional fee on top of what you are already paying. Many companies don't offer this coverage. Additionally, even if you do add your childcare business to your renters or homeowner's policy, the coverage you will receive will be limited. For example, it will not offer coverage for child abuse.

General Liability. This type of insurance policy will offer you broader coverage. It can, for instance, cover things like child abuse and any mishaps that may arise while on or off premises; while on a field trip, for example. Or a parent slips and falls and is hurt on premise. General liability insurance can provide this broader type of coverage at no additional cost.

Professional Liability (errors & omissions insurance). This type of insurance policy will provide daycare owners and operators with coverage for negligence. It can safeguard your business against things like negligent supervision of the children in your care, among other claims that daycare providers are often held liable for.

In short, if you operate an in-home or commercial daycare center, you are going to want to have some sort of liability coverage because when you charge to care for children at a commercial daycare center or in-home location, you face many liability risks.

How Does Childcare Insurance Protect Me?

You have a legal obligation to act with "reasonable care" while supervising children at your location. When a daycare fails to provide reasonable care, & a child becomes sick or gets injured - the provider can be accused of acting negligently and can be sued for negligent supervision.

Believe it or not, lawsuits are filed against child care providers - even when injured child's parents just think you liable - whether that is true or not. Even frivolous claims need a lawyer to defend, and if the claim is covered by the daycare insurance policy, the insurer pays the defense costs and legal fees. If you don't have insurance you pay out of pocket to defend yourself - which could cost you thousands to prove you did nothing wrong.

To protect your business you should:

  • Have a clear, wee thought out and written safety program.
  • Abide by all licensing requirements with the agency which licenses or registers your child care.
  • Buy the right daycare insurance policy. You can also get unlicensed daycare insurance. But how much does it cost to insure a daycare?

Should someone take legal action against you when a child has become sick or injured under your care and the claim is covered by your liability insurance, the insurance provider will cover the costs of the damages, including the cost of legal defense, as well as settlement fees, should you be found negligent for any claims that are brought against you.

How Much Liability Insurance Do You Need?

The amount of liability insurance you need is dependent on your specific needs. In some states, daycare providers are required to have liability insurance to get inspected and licensed. If that's the case, the state will establish a minimum amount of insurance coverage you will need.

How Much Does Insurance For Childcare Cost?

Insurance providers take various factors into consideration when determining the cost of liability insurance for a daycare. These factors include whether the service is provided in-home or in a commercial setting and the amount of children being cared for, zip code among other things.

To find out how much a liability policy will cost for the daycare you own and operate, speak to a reputable insurance broker. Also, don't forget to shop around for quotes before agreeing to a policy. And, remember that price shouldn't be your deciding factor: a policy that costs less may not provide the coverage that you need, which could end up costing you way more in the long run. Daycare insurance requirements, child care business insurance cost, 3 types of home daycare insurance, how much does it cost to start a daycare business, state farm daycare insurance & dci daycare insurance.

How Much Does It Cost To Insure A Daycare? - The Bottom Line

We hope this article on how much does it cost to insure a daycare? was informative. Daycare and childcare providers are liable for the well-being of the children that are in their care. A multitude of things can occur - from injuries to negligence - that could result in a parent or guardian filing a legal claim. To avoid financial turmoil, it is in your best interest to get the best liability insurance possible.

Further Reading On Daycare Insurance

Insurance Classification Of Daycares

Insurers classify childcare businesses using several coding systems. You can wind up paying more for your insurance if your childcare is not properly classified - like an in-home daycare being coded as a commercial center. Below are the three most commonly used coding systems for commercial daycare insurance:

  • ISO General Liability Codes: 41715, 41716
  • NAICS CODE: 624410 Child Day Care Services
  • SIC CODE: 8351 Child Day Care Services
  • Suggested Workers Compensation Code: 8869

SIC Code 8351 - Child Day Care Services

Here is the official OSHA SIC code description for daycare:

Establishments primarily engaged in the care of infants or children, or in providing prekindergarten education, where medical care or delinquency correction is not a major element. These establishments may or may not have substantial educational programs. These establishments generally care for prekindergarten or preschool children, but may care for older children when they are not in school. Establishments providing babysitting services are classified in Industry 7299. Head Start centers operating in conjunction with elementary schools are classified in Industry 8211.
  • Child care centers
  • Day care centers, child
  • Group day care centers, child
  • Head Start centers, except in conjunction with schools
  • Nursery schools
  • Preschool centers