Daycare Insurance from Massachusetts Specialists

Roger Keith & Sons

What is daycare insurance?

Providing childcare services presents risks that are commensurate with the responsibility of watching kids. The consequences of an injury or worse could be devastating for everyone involved. Daycare insurance won’t prevent anything from happening, but it can provide Massachusetts businesses with financial protection if they experience a covered incident.

Daycare insurance provides specialized commercial insurance for child care businesses. These policies usually have multiple coverages, which allows the policies to protect against many risks.

What Massachusetts businesses need child care insurance?

Most Massachusetts organizations that offer child care services should have child care insurance. This includes individuals, businesses and nonprofits. Some specific examples of businesses that might need this type of insurance are:

• Large child care facilities
• Small child care facilities
• At-home child care providers
• Public early childhood programs
• Preschools
• Daycares

Businesses in other industries occasionally offer child care services. Ski resorts may have day programs for kids, colleges may have daycares, and grocery stores may have short-term child care for customers. Day care insurance might also be needed in situations like these.

Businesses that aren’t sure whether they need child care insurance should speak with an insurance agent who knows these policies well. A specialized agent will be able to check whether a specific situation necessitates one of these policies.

What protections are available through daycare policies?

Depending on terms and conditions, a daycare policy might offer some or all of the following coverages:

• General Liability Coverage, which might cover basic accidents on a daycare’s property and a few other risks
• Corporal Punishment Liability Coverage, which might cover alleged instances of corporal punishment by employees
• Abuse and Molestation Liability Coverage, which might cover alleged instances of inappropriate contact by employees
• Commercial Property Coverage, which might cover a daycare’s building, fixtures, equipment and toys
• Commercial Auto Coverage, which might cover business and/or personal vehicles that are used to drive children around

Policies may also offer workers compensation coverage. This coverage normally protects against workplace injuries and illnesses. If it’s not available through a daycare policy, it can be purchased separately.

What limits should child care businesses choose when purchasing insurance?

The potential cost of a claim involving one or more children can be extremely expensive. For this reason, many child care businesses choose high limits that afford a lot of protection. Every business must ultimately decide what limit it wants, however.

A knowledgeable insurance agent can help businesses choose limits that are appropriate for their situation.

Is insurance still needed if parents sign waivers and/or affidavits?

Many child care businesses have parents sign waivers and/or affidavits. While this might indeed be a smart practice for legal reasons, these documents don’t protect against risks in the same way that insurance policies do. 

Businesses generally should procure insurance regardless of whether they have parents sign waivers.

How much are premiums for daycare policies?

The premiums charged for daycare policies vary, as they’re based on numerous different inputs. A few details that can impact cost are a business’s location, facility, services provided and claims history. The staff’s training, children’s ages and many other factors also come into play.

Even with variance among premiums, these policies tend to be affordable. Paying premiums is almost certainly more affordable than facing a major claim without protection would be.

How can Massachusetts child care providers get daycare insurance?

For help finding daycare insurance in Massachusetts, contact the independent insurance agents of Roger Keith & Sons Insurance. Our agents will work closely with you to identify coverage needs, and then we’ll help you find the best available policies that meet those needs.