Daycare Liability Insurance. Do You Need To Worry About It Or Not?!
Daycare Liability InsuranceCurrent trends and thinking on these issues, make it clear that when you deal with children and care of others, particularly infants, babies, toddlers, under-aged (under 12) children, there are many legal and insurance type angles that you need to consider more closely, at outset, throughout the business and life-cycles of your own company. Some of the costs might be deductible at tax time.
Many of us start with the pressing question of whether we should have day care liability insurance or not? If it is really a necessity? The quickest way to answer this question, is to state unequivocally in the affirmative. Anyone that operates a day care type or facility should have the necessary , required, sufficient and ample insurance. At the very least  to cover property damage and/or bodily injury to children in your care.
Policies and varying rates, specific clauses and custom options are available at competitive rates. If you opt as an owner/operator, to have and run an unlicensed facility, there is homeowner's, tenant's, or condominium policy insurance coverage that may or may not already include coverage for your day care operation. You do not necessarily need to work with or choose providers who are charging any additional premium. Some do not. Other companies will add the coverage as an endorsement. Some will even charge an additional premium for it. There are many options and variations open to you. Some carriers will exclude coverage for day care, in its totality. Find a specialist provider that can give you what you require, best-fit and customized to what your needs and requirements are.
The best advice for daycare owners/operators, private and/or public, will be to verify existing insurance, Checking out specifically what your policy states and covers and what may be added or included at an additional premium.
For a licensed daycare, even run from, out of your home, or an offsite location,  you will need a separate policy to cover the operation.
Paid services, for providing care or supervision for four or more children under the age of seven do have to have a license to operate a day care (from home or elsewhere)
Costs and getting accepted for coverage vary by state. Individual companies and insurers will have different rates. They also use different screening criteria and ratings factors. Here are some of what they look at : how long you have been in operation, how old the  company is, since inception, how many children fall under its care and what type of physical location, type of facility is being dealt with. Premise inspections sometimes form part of this process. Rates for unlicensed day care operations and home-basedorganizations, have liability limits in their home, tenant, or condominium policies typically. This does need to be confirmed, preferably in writing too.
How much coverage is pretty much up to you, in terms of what you can afford and/or think is necessary. You do need to take into account how many children you do have in your care at any given point in time, every day. Coverage extends to property damage and bodily injury to children in your care, to policy limits and legal culpability or responsibility by law. For how much can you be held liable is the question, if something does go wrong. That is why any and every day care owner/operator needs this type of coverage. You could also include some Medicaid, health and medical payments coverage. This does typically not cover things like travel, school and field trip, horses, motor vehicles, watercraft, or deliberate physical and/or sexual abuse. Exclusions and restriction type clauses will also be part of the policy.
Insurance company underwriting guidelines are sometimes really strict. Fencing, safety, security, fire extinguishers and smoke alarms will no longer be just a luxury or vague necessity, it will be a pre-requisite for licensing, inspection and operation. Clean and risk free environments will help you get more affordable rates from insure type providers. A real estate agent, business loans and many other professionals, might also be able to provide you with contacts and/or referrals, to find the best that the market has to offer.