NEW Insurance Program – Insurance for Residential Care Facilities
Charity One Insurance Agency is proud to launch our new insurance program specifically designed for Residential Care Facilities! After over 19 years of providing insurance coverage to Nonprofit & Social Service Organizations, we are proud to have a program focused on Residential Care.
Our program focuses on providing coverage to the following homes:
– Group Homes for Children
– Senior Housing
– Transitional Living
– Halfway Houses
– Adult Residential Care Facilities
– Homeless Shelters
– Assisted Living
– Shelters
– Recovery Homes
What kind of insurance coverage does a Residential Care Facility Need?
If your organization is contracted to receive residents from a Government Entity or other Organization, they may impose insurance requirements. Please review your contract to determine the coverage that is required to accept clients.
At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that insurance requirements mandated by contract may not cover all of your exposures. Please review the following list of minimum requirements we recommend for Residential Care Facilities:
General Liability
Professional Liability
Abuse & Molestation
Directors & Officers
Employment Practices Liability
Workers Compensation
Hired and Non Owned Auto
Business Personal Property
Are Residential Care Facilities Required to Carry Workers Compensation?
Please refer to your Contract Insurance Requirements to determine if Workers Comp is required. California State Law requires employers to carry Workers Compensation upon hiring their first employee. Harsh penalties will be imposed by the state if a Worker is injured and the business did not have a Workers Comp policy to cover their on the job injury.
What type of risk is associated with Residential Care Facility operations?
Resident neglect. Abuse & molestation between residents or staff. Accidents while transporting clients. Theft of property. Slip and fall. General negligence. Liability on the board of directors for decisions that they made while serving. Claims surrounding hiring and firing staff. Harassment and wrongful termination of staff. Liability of volunteers or employees driving their own vehicle on behalf of the business. Injuries to staff or residents while transporting. Fire damage. Theft of money and securities. Speak with an agent to determine the best risk mitigation plan for your residential care facility.
Can I combine all of my residential care facilities into one insurance policy?
Depending on the organizational structure you may be able to combine all homes onto one insurance policy. If the ownership is the same throughout all facilities then combining all homes onto one policy will be simple. If the ownership varies please speak with an agent about your options.
How long does it take to obtain a certificate of insurance?
The quoting process takes an average of 5 days to obtain options with all of the required information provided. Rush quotes can be obtained if needed. Once the organization has selected a quote option, provided payment and all bind conditions then a certificate of insurance will be released within 24-48 hours.
If you require Additional Insureds on your policy, please let your agent know as soon as possible as this could affect pricing and turn-around time. Providing the insurance portion of your contract will also help your insurance agent quote the required coverage, issue the certificate correctly and minimize errors.
What information is required to obtain a quote for my residential care facility?
We can obtain quotes with minimal information obtained during a 15 minute phone call. The insurance company will rate the organization based on a number of factors including:
-Location Address
-Number and Type of Residents
-Number of Employees
-Annual Operating Budget
-Payroll
-Number of Years in Business
-Owner/Operators Experience
-Claims History
-Building and Property Values/Information
-Vehicles Information
Please be prepared to share details regarding the business operations to properly underwrite and protect your organization.
How do I select the best insurance company for my residential care facility?
The best place to start is to find an Insurance Agent or Brokerage Firm that you can trust. It helps to find a Company that specializes in insuring your operations. The reason this is important is because a specialized Agent will have access to multiple insurance companies that provide products for your type of operation. Each insurance company will have a different “appetite” or business types that they prefer to work with. Each insurance Agent will work with a different group of insurance carriers. It is in the clients best interest to have quote options from multiple insurance carriers to ensure they are receiving the best products, price and service.
Once you have multiple quotes from various insurance carriers, you can select the lowest quote but be sure to review the terms and conditions, including the following items:
-Insurance Coverages Included
-Limits of Insurance (also check sublimits which can narrow down coverage)
-Deductibles (also known as retention)
-Coverage Type (Claims Made vs. Occurrence Form)
-Retro Date/Full Prior Acts (if moving a claims made policy)
-Quote Conditions
-Exclusions
-Definition of a Claim
-Defense inside/outside of the limit
-Rating Details (locations covered and rating factors used)
-Risk Management Services/Additional Product Benefits
Reviewing quotes simply based on price may leave you with limited coverage or missing out on access to free or low-cost risk management products that other carriers offer. Speak with a licensed professional to review your options in depth.
Charity One Insurance Agency specializes in insurance for all types of Residential Care Facilities. Contact our office for a free consultation today!