Why is insurance for caregivers a must?
Providing personal care for a loved one's elderly, sick, or disabled family member can be stressful, and accidents can happen. Non-medical caregiver insurance offers peace of mind by paying for legal costs if a client sues over negligence. It also covers injuries, theft of equipment, and data breaches.
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6 insurance policies and bonds every carer should consider
These insurance products defend family caregivers against common risks and fulfill the requirements of state laws and client contracts.
General liability insurance
A general liability policy protects health care providers (including caregivers) against legal fees related to client property damage and injuries, such as accidentally dropping a client's smartphone.
- Accidental patient injuries
- Accidental damage to a client's property
- Defamation and copyright lawsuits
Professional liability insurance
This policy protects caregivers against legal costs related to professional negligence, such as administering the inaccurate dosage of a medication. It's also called medical malpractice insurance.
- Negligence of daily living activities and tasks
- Failure to monitor a patient
- Mistakes in documentation
Workers' comp insurance
Most states require home care businesses with employees to carry workers' compensation. It also protects sole proprietors against work-related medical bills that health plans can deny.
- Medical expenses from job-related injuries
- Disability benefits
- Lawsuits from workplace injuries
Fidelity bonds
Clients might ask your business to secure a fidelity bond before they let you into their homes or allow you to care for their loved ones. It reimburses the client in the event of employee theft.
- Theft of cash or property
- Forgery
- Illegal funds transfer
Cyber insurance
Cyber insurance covers costs related to cyberattacks and data breaches. It's strongly recommended for caregivers and other healthcare professionals who store client information.
- Data breach notifications
- Fraud monitoring services
- Cyberextortion demands
Commercial auto insurance
Caregivers with business-owned vehicles must carry commercial auto coverage to comply with state laws. It helps pay for financial losses in an accident, including legal costs and property repairs.
- Auto accident injuries
- Auto accident property damage
- Theft of a caregiver's vehicle
Caregiver insurance costs
Here's a quick look at the average costs of common healthcare insurance policies purchased by TechInsurance customers. Most caregivers pay the following for coverage:
Professional liability: $12 per month
General liability: $30 per month
Workers' compensation: $211 per month
Factors that can influence your premiums include:
- Types of home health care work you provide
- Number of employees you have
- Types of insurance purchased
- Size of business
- Deductibles and limits of liability
- Policy exclusions
- Claims history
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Common questions about home care insurance
Find answers to frequently asked questions about non-medical home health care insurance.
Is it mandatory for caregivers to carry medical malpractice insurance?
Even though it's not often required by state law, there are still several reasons why a caregiver may need a professional liability insurance policy, also called malpractice insurance.
- You need it to sign a contract. Your employer will likely require you to carry malpractice coverage. You might need it to sign a client contract, join a caregiving health network, or work at specific homes, as even non-medical professionals face similar risks to those of other types of healthcare providers.
- Your employer might provide limited coverage. Caregivers are not independent contractors, so you may be expecting to just depend on your employer for malpractice coverage. However, your employer's insurance plan might only cover certain situations, or it might not provide sufficient coverage for a claim.
- You need protection against client lawsuits. Caregivers, home health aides, or anyone who is responsible for in-home care should carry malpractice insurance as part of their risk management strategy. If you're accused of professional negligence, such as failure to monitor your elderly client, this policy can pay for your legal defense costs, including attorney's fees.
What other types of home care insurance do caregivers need?
You can buy additional types of insurance and bonds for more complete protection, including the coverage of different types of malpractice claims, such as:
- Telehealth coverage for lawsuits related to virtual appointments
- Needlestick coverage for injuries from needles and other sharps
- HIPAA defense coverage for violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Caregiver bonds, also known as home health care bonds, for legal cases related to dishonest employees who engage in theft of client property
What is the difference between occurrence and claims-made insurance policies?
Insurance policies can either be occurrence-based or claims-made.
Professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions insurance, is a claims-made policy. This means in order to benefit from this type of malpractice coverage, the policy must be active at the time of the claim.
Most other types of insurance, such as general liability insurance, are occurrence-based policies. With occurrence policies, you can benefit from having insurance even after your policy lapses, so long as you were covered at the time of the incident.
With malpractice insurance policies, it's crucial to maintain continuous coverage to avoid paying for a lawsuit out of pocket. Fortunately, insurance companies offer several ways to do this. You can set a retroactive date at which coverage begins, or add tail coverage to your policy after it would otherwise have expired.
