Regardless of the size of your healthcare business, you need the right business insurance in place to protect your assets, employees, and patients.
Here, we explain everything you need to know before buying homecare business insurance and answer some of the most frequently asked questions about what each will and will not cover.
Why does a homecare business need insurance?
Almost any type of business needs to buy insurance to cover their risks and liabilities.
Having the right level of home care business coverage means you are able to continue providing excellent care to your clients with peace of mind in knowing that you have protection should something go wrong.
What insurance does a homecare business need?
You need to buy comprehensive coverage for you, your caregivers, and your clients.
The work you undertake as a homecare business has a profound impact on the lives of your clients.
Alongside the vital work and support you provide, the companionship your caregivers provide is crucial to the happiness and wellbeing of your clients.
However, when you work with unwell, elderly, or frail clients, this can expose your business to a number of liabilities.
This is why you need to buy comprehensive coverage for your homecare business, so that you have the best insurance in place to support the work you do.
General Liability and Commercial Property Insurance for a Homecare Business
These are usually the first types of coverage that come to mind. You can buy them individually or combine them to form a business owner policy for your homecare business.
- General Liability will cover any of your third-party liability needs; should a person slip or fall and sustain an injury or have their property damaged, then this will cover any legal defense or settlement costs.
- Homecare business property insurance is designed to protect the physical structure of your leased or owned business premises, along with its contents. This may include your furnishings, inventory, equipment, and external business signage, fencing, and landscaping.
In some cases, but not all, business interruption coverage may also be included in a business owner policy. This provides additional financial assistance following a covered event under your commercial property policy and can help to replace lost business income.
Professional Liability Insurance for a Homecare Business
Buying professional liability coverage is essential for the type of work you do.
With superior training and standards, robust controls, and the most experienced staff, there may still be a time when things don’t go as they should. Aside from this, you don’t actually need to have done something wrong to have a lawsuit taken out against.
However, the cost of defending any malpractice or negligence can be costly to your business. Also known as E&O coverage, indemnity coverage, or professional liability coverage, this is an essential piece of your insurance puzzle.
Medical Billing E&O Coverage
Billing E&O coverage gives you insurance in the event you need to defend any allegations of improper billings and any fines or penalties that might be connected with those overbillings.
It will not make the payments that are owed to commercial companies or the government (restitution). However, the actual value of that restitution could be reduced by the legal professionals acting on your behalf as part of this coverage.
Coverage for alleged billing errors is not covered by a professional liability policy. Instead, this covers any claims that arise out of patient care and/or management issues.
The cost of buying billing E&O coverage for your homecare business will depend on three primary factors. These are,
- Your claims experience
- The number of providers you have in your group
- The type of billings that you handle
Commercial Auto Insurance for a Homecare Business
With the work that you do, there may be a number of staff members who drive a vehicle for work-related reasons.
Now, you might have a number of company vehicles in a fleet, or you may ask for staff to use their own vehicles for the business travel they do.
Whichever one applies, or perhaps you have a mixture of both, you need the right homecare commercial auto coverage in place.
As a homecare business, you might need to transport equipment or passengers in your vehicles, in some cases this equipment might be held in vehicles overnight.
A non-owned and hired endorsement will offer coverage for any of your employee-owned or hired vehicles, it’s always worth talking to your local insurance agent about the coverage options that you have available to choose from.
Worker’s Compensation Coverage
If you have staff, as per your local state laws, you will need to buy worker’s comp coverage.
This pays for any medical expenses should they sustain an injury at work or develop a work-related illness. It may also cover a portion of their wages if they need to take time off work.
EPLI Coverage for a Homecare Business
In some homecare businesses, turnover and staff problems can be challenging to manage.
With employment practices liability coverage in place, you are covered in case an employee makes a claim against you. This can provide insurance for claims made about employment termination, harassment, discrimination, and more.
Learn how to protect your business from an EPLI lawsuit.
Cyber Insurance for Homecare Companies
Just like so many other businesses, a homecare business depends on using technology to store essential information about its clients, billing, and more.
Even with the most robust security measures in place, there is always a risk of a cyberattack.
If this type of event was to occur, it is the responsibility of your homecare business to put things right. In order to do this, you need resources.
Cyber insurance can give your homecare business practical and financial support to put things right. This could provide assistance with PR, credit monitoring services for any affected customers, the cost of a legal defense and/or settlement costs, and more.
Other types of coverage you might also want to buy for your homecare business include:
- Regulatory Audit (RAC) Insurance Coverage
- Employee Dishonesty Coverage
- Crime Insurance
- Directors’ & Officers’ Liability (D&O)
- Business Interruption Coverage
- Equipment Breakdown Coverage
Because there are lots of variables in the range of commercial insurance policies you can buy for your homecare business, it’s always a good idea to speak with a local insurance agent to ensure you are buying the right levels of coverage.
Who needs to buy homecare business insurance?
We can provide tailored homecare insurance packages for:
- Hospices
- Caregivers
- Home Health Care Businesses
- Healthcare Staffing Agencies
- Home Health Aides
- Infusion Therapy Businesses
- Personal Care Assistants, and more.
Buying the best insurance for your homecare business can make the difference between your business being able to remain operational or not following a disaster or a lawsuit.
Always talk to a local homecare business insurance agent to get practical guidance about the risks you need to buy insurance for. They can help you answer any questions about what level of coverage you should purchase, and they’ll often have access to multiple insurance companies to get you comprehensive coverage at a competitive price.
How much will it cost to buy insurance for a homecare business?
The work that each homecare business performs is unique, and most homecare companies will operate in a slightly different way to one another. As such, the cost of a homecare policy can vary.
There are a number of factors that impact the price of homecare business coverage:
- Annual revenue
- The value of your medical equipment
- The value of your business property
- The type of homecare services you offer
- The location and service area of your business
- The number of people you employ
Get a quote for homecare business insurance today
Whether you are an established homecare business looking to save money on commercial insurance or a start-up, our team is friendly, experienced, and easy to deal with.
We will discuss your business with you, talk about your insurance and coverage options, then get to work on your behalf to find the most comprehensive insurance at the best price.
If you have any questions about homecare business insurance, you can post them on this blog or contact us directly for the quickest response.