General Liability Insurance protects your small business against claims of third-party bodily injury and property damage, reputational harm and advertising injury. It covers medical bills, repair costs & legal fees.
Workers Compensation covers your employees' medical costs and lost wages while recovering from a work-related injury or illness. The employee gives up the right to sue your company in return for receiving cash and benefits from Workers Compensation. In some states it’s mandatory for businesses!
Professional Liability Insurance (or E&O Insurance), protects your small business from claims of mistakes, negligence or malpractice made when providing your services that caused somebody financial loss. PLI covers your legal defense costs, damages and settlements.
Commercial Auto Insurance covers your cars, trucks, and vans used in your business. It covers the costs from vehicle damage in collisions, theft, vandalism and weather damage. It also covers medical expenses for to injured parties.
Why Do Home Health Care Providers Need Insurance?
Establishments in this industry provide healthcare services, including general in-home hospice care or health care services for the elderly and persons with disabilities. Health care agencies, visiting nurse associations, adult activity centers, companion services, and disability support groups are all a part of this industry.
The demand for home health care providers is booming because a lot of people, regardless of age, prefer in-home healthcare over nursing homes. However, taking care of people in their homes poses many more risks than those in a medical facility. Having insurance means that your business is protected from the many known and unknown risks by paying for the covered expenses. This saves you from having to spend your business and personal assets on these expenses.
While being a home health care provider is certainly a rewarding job, dealing with the health and well-being of a person has its challenges. Due to the risks that you face as a home health care aid, it is critical that you obtain the best home health care liability insurance to avoid losing your business, and maybe even your personal assets. The cost of one single claim can be enough to put anyone out of business, and maybe even cause them to file bankruptcy.
If you have employees, you should have insurance to help protect them if they are hurt or ill, and if you are negligent as a business owner. Insurance is not just about protecting you and your business, but also protecting employees and other third parties that may come into contact with you through the course of your business. Having a well-rounded home health care business insurance portfolio can be the deciding factor of how long you are doing this rewarding job.
What risks do Home Health Care Providers face?
Home health care services and home health nurses are prone to a variety of health hazards and risks rather than working in a medical facility. Below are some of the risks your business can face:
How Much Does Insurance for Home Health Care Providers Cost?
You may be wondering about home health care business insurance cost as it relates to your budget. While it may be tempting to go with the cheapest rate, this is definitely not always the best option. On the flip side, neither is the most expensive. You should weigh all of your options including coverage limits, deductibles, and premium amounts and decide what works best for you.
The cost of insurance for home health care services depends on the size of your business, the number of employees you have and many other factors. Without taking these into account, below are the average cost of standard insurance policies:
Here are some additional factors that each insurance company will take into account.
What Type of Insurance Is Needed for a Home Care Business?
There are several necessary insurance policies that a home health care business should have. As a home health care provider, you have to protect yourself, your business, and your employees if you have any.
Do Home Nurses Need Malpractice Insurance?
Home health nurses have an extra layer of risks to face since they are providing more medical services than a home health aid. Just like a nursing home would need nursing home malpractice insurance, you will need malpractice insurance as well. Working for a nursing home usually means that they will cover you under their malpractice insurance, but as a home health nurse, this is not usually the case. Often you may be working as an independent contractor so you will be responsible for your own insurance.
Unlike General Liability insurance, malpractice or Professional Liability (also known as Errors & Omissions or E&O) is a very specific type of protection. It will provide coverage for the following: