Child Care Insurance in Southern California
 

Hello my wife and I run a 'Small Family Child Care' here in Southern California in the Riverside county area.
We own our own home and now have learn that our property insurance company has learn that we now run a 'Licensed Small Family Child Care' from our home and is demanding that we get 'Liability' insurance for the Child care or they will drop us from our homeowners coverage.
I thought I understood in the licensing training that as long as we have the parents sign a release form and we keep those forms on file we are ok in california?.

Can someone give me some direction,suggestions,advice and possibly a low cost insurance company that does provide this additional liability insurance that we need now?.

Thank you everyone for your help

Originally Posted by hottwhls:
Hello my wife and I run a 'Small Family Child Care' here in Southern California in the Riverside county area.
We own our own home and now have learn that our property insurance company has learn that we now run a 'Licensed Small Family Child Care' from our home and is demanding that we get 'Liability' insurance for the Child care or they will drop us from our homeowners coverage.
I thought I understood in the licensing training that as long as we have the parents sign a release form and we keep those forms on file we are ok in california?.

Can someone give me some direction,suggestions,advice and possibly a low cost insurance company that does provide this additional liability insurance that we need now?.

Thank you everyone for your help

insurance co can do whatever they want. I had this happen to me with both auto and home

what insurance co are you with..... I am now with state farm and love them

Yeah your homeowners insurance doesn't want to be liable for what happens at your business. It's not required but it's really a good idea to be anyway! Last summer my friend's 4yr old slipped while playing outside at daycare and landed on her elbow. She ended up having surgery with pins and months of casts and physical therapy. All from a freak accident at daycare. I signed myself up that very night! If that happened at my house we would be liable and technically her provider was liable but I don't know if she told the ER where it happened or not. Some companies send you a questionnaire about where this incident took place and if it happened at home or school they cover it but at someone else's house they go after their insurance.

I have DCI and it's very reasonable, $400-500 a year maybe including coverage for myself. They have an insurance section for members I believe and you can contact them directly!

Originally Posted by hottwhls:
Hello my wife and I run a 'Small Family Child Care' here in Southern California in the Riverside county area.
We own our own home and now have learn that our property insurance company has learn that we now run a 'Licensed Small Family Child Care' from our home and is demanding that we get 'Liability' insurance for the Child care or they will drop us from our homeowners coverage.
I thought I understood in the licensing training that as long as we have the parents sign a release form and we keep those forms on file we are ok in california?.

Can someone give me some direction,suggestions,advice and possibly a low cost insurance company that does provide this additional liability insurance that we need now?.

Thank you everyone for your help

Here is the thread about DCI.

https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=71531

I'm sure can contact them for more information...

I'm sure they can help with any questions. :)

...and Welcome to the forum! :)

Thank you...I'll look for the name of the insurance company we currently have.We were seriously considering changing insurance companies.

I would like to here any recommendations for liability insurance companies offering this licensed Small Family Child liability.

Also do the insurance companies ask for the money up front or can partial payments be made?...How does that work paying them.

Again ..I am in Riverside county area of Southern Calif (Moreno Valley)

Thanks everyone for your help on my issue.

Have a good day!

Originally Posted by hottwhls:
Hello my wife and I run a 'Small Family Child Care' here in Southern California in the Riverside county area.
We own our own home and now have learn that our property insurance company has learn that we now run a 'Licensed Small Family Child Care' from our home and is demanding that we get 'Liability' insurance for the Child care or they will drop us from our homeowners coverage.
I thought I understood in the licensing training that as long as we have the parents sign a release form and we keep those forms on file we are ok in california?.

Can someone give me some direction,suggestions,advice and possibly a low cost insurance company that does provide this additional liability insurance that we need now?.

Thank you everyone for your help

Its very common for the homeowners company to require you get child care liability insurance. Its much better than the alternative which is being dropped or having your rates raised.

Its correct that you can have an affidavit to be in compliance with state law but it in NO WAY protects you from being sued. Insurance is extremely affordable and most companies including us offer installment plans. Give our office a call. Someone here would be more than happy to walk you through the process and answer any additional questions you may have.

I have State Farm homeowner's insurance and was able to get a liability rider from them to cover my DC for much less than I was quotes from DCI ... however I know that DCI covers more than my rider does. For example DCI will cover child abuse allegations and my liability insurance with State Farm will not. I have contemplated getting DCI in addition to my rider just to be well protected but with my new focus being on infants/toddlers and preschoolers and having 3 children of my own that now only leaves me with 3 spots so I'll wait until I have more income coming in before doing that.

If you are just looking to get the liability insurance to meet your homeowner's insurance's needs then I'd go with DCI. Otherwise I'd shop around to other homeowner's insurances and get quotes to see if you can find other homeowner's insurance that offers liability insurance for less. I get a great rate from State Farm but I get a multi policy discount which I'm sure helps (homeowner's, life insurance policies on all family members, 3 vehicles, off road vehicles etc).

Thank you I will call right now (if I can find the phone number?).How to do I reach you or the company DCI?..TY for your help...The insurance company we have now demanding that we get liability insurance for our Small family licensed child care home is called 'First American Specialty Insurance company'

Originally Posted by MV:
I have State Farm homeowner's insurance and was able to get a liability rider from them to cover my DC for much less than I was quotes from DCI ... however I know that DCI covers more than my rider does. For example DCI will cover child abuse allegations and my liability insurance with State Farm will not. I have contemplated getting DCI in addition to my rider just to be well protected but with my new focus being on infants/toddlers and preschoolers and having 3 children of my own that now only leaves me with 3 spots so I'll wait until I have more income coming in before doing that.

If you are just looking to get the liability insurance to meet your homeowner's insurance's needs then I'd go with DCI. Otherwise I'd shop around to other homeowner's insurances and get quotes to see if you can find other homeowner's insurance that offers liability insurance for less. I get a great rate from State Farm but I get a multi policy discount which I'm sure helps (homeowner's, life insurance policies on all family members, 3 vehicles, off road vehicles etc).

Hello 'MV' my wife I do not have State Farm....we have insurance from 'First American Insurance Company'.Do they just offer so-called 'Riders' only?...or do we have to be a customer with them?.

Thanks for your help as well

Ernie and Marsha

Moreno Valley Ca

Originally Posted by hottwhls:
Hello 'MV' my wife I do not have State Farm....we have insurance from 'First American Insurance Company'.Do they just offer so-called 'Riders' only?...or do we have to be a customer with them?.

Thanks for your help as well

Ernie and Marsha

Moreno Valley Ca

Unfortunately the only way to get a liability insurance rider is to have homeowner's insurance with them. They do not sell the rider by itself.

Another thing about State Farm is that they only cover up to 6 children so if you care for 8 children then they won't cover you. If you have children of your own then you don't have to have them covered (because you're not going to sue yourself if they get hurt etc) and the rider allows you to purchase for the number of children you need. For example, I have 3 children of my own which leaves me with 3 daycare spots (because I have 3 infants so my max capacity drops from 8 to 6) so I pay for liability insurance through State Farm for 3 daycare kids. In December when my DD turns 10 I will have an extra spot so then I'll be able to add an additional child and raise my coverage by 1 more daycare child.

I can't remember how DCI works but here's their info:
Day Care Insurance (DCI)
https://dcins.com/home.php
1 (800) 624-0912

With DCI you can make payments. You put $150 down and then 3 more payments of $80 each. That's what mine is, I just renewed my policy.

Originally Posted by MV:
I have State Farm homeowner's insurance and was able to get a liability rider from them to cover my DC for much less than I was quotes from DCI ... however I know that DCI covers more than my rider does. For example DCI will cover child abuse allegations and my liability insurance with State Farm will not. I have contemplated getting DCI in addition to my rider just to be well protected but with my new focus being on infants/toddlers and preschoolers and having 3 children of my own that now only leaves me with 3 spots so I'll wait until I have more income coming in before doing that.

If you are just looking to get the liability insurance to meet your homeowner's insurance's needs then I'd go with DCI. Otherwise I'd shop around to other homeowner's insurances and get quotes to see if you can find other homeowner's insurance that offers liability insurance for less. I get a great rate from State Farm but I get a multi policy discount which I'm sure helps (homeowner's, life insurance policies on all family members, 3 vehicles, off road vehicles etc).

Another thing you will not get with a homeowners rider is a accident medical policy. This is a pay first coverage that will pay medical bills if a child is hurt in your care. This is important because if a child breaks his or her arm for example, the medical bills are paid, the parents do not have to sue you in order to get paid for this type of injury.

Another thing to consider is legal defense. In the event you are sued, you want there to be legal defense coverage. If your home owners policy provides legal defense coverage in the event of a liability claim, you want to make sure it doesnt reduce the amount of your coverage. Legal fees can be expensive, and if it reduces the amount of your coverage then you may exhaust most of your liability limit with legal fees.

If you would like to get more information regarding some of the other things you should ask when looking for coverage for your business, just let us know. We offer a generic insurance coverage checklist which gives you a number of questions to ask, and it allows you to compare different companies as well.

Originally Posted by TwinKristi:
With DCI you can make payments. You put $150 down and then 3 more payments of $80 each. That's what mine is, I just renewed my policy.

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Thank you so much...That sounds great!.I did get the forms to apply with DCI yesterday.The forms are filled out and ready to fax...just trying to collect the $150....Thanks everyone for your valuable help here!

Ernie and Marsha

Moreno Valley Califlikethis

Originally Posted by Daycare Insurance:
Another thing you will not get with a homeowners rider is a accident medical policy. This is a pay first coverage that will pay medical bills if a child is hurt in your care. This is important because if a child breaks his or her arm for example, the medical bills are paid, the parents do not have to sue you in order to get paid for this type of injury.

Another thing to consider is legal defense. In the event you are sued, you want there to be legal defense coverage. If your home owners policy provides legal defense coverage in the event of a liability claim, you want to make sure it doesnt reduce the amount of your coverage. Legal fees can be expensive, and if it reduces the amount of your coverage then you may exhaust most of your liability limit with legal fees.

If you would like to get more information regarding some of the other things you should ask when looking for coverage for your business, just let us know. We offer a generic insurance coverage checklist which gives you a number of questions to ask, and it allows you to compare different companies as well.

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Thank you so much for your help as well

likethis

CA homeowner's insurance can't legally drop you...
 

Hi, I know this is several years late, but was just reading this thread and found this bit of info on the DCI website FAQ's:

"Can my homeowner or renter insurance be cancelled because I do day care?
You may have protection under state law. For example, in California, if you already have a homeowner's or renter's policy, California Insurance code 676.1 prevents a company from canceling or refusing to renew an existing policy just because you operate a family childcare business. Check with your state Department of Insurance."

For future reference and new readers!

Thanks for the above info, all!

Sara

Originally Posted by daycare:
insurance co can do whatever they want. I had this happen to me with both auto and home

what insurance co are you with..... I am now with state farm and love them

Really with your auto insurance.... that would make me :mad: Do you transport children at all?

Originally Posted by Daycare Insurance:
Another thing you will not get with a homeowners rider is a accident medical policy. This is a pay first coverage that will pay medical bills if a child is hurt in your care. This is important because if a child breaks his or her arm for example, the medical bills are paid, the parents do not have to sue you in order to get paid for this type of injury.

Another thing to consider is legal defense. In the event you are sued, you want there to be legal defense coverage. If your home owners policy provides legal defense coverage in the event of a liability claim, you want to make sure it doesnt reduce the amount of your coverage. Legal fees can be expensive, and if it reduces the amount of your coverage then you may exhaust most of your liability limit with legal fees.

If you would like to get more information regarding some of the other things you should ask when looking for coverage for your business, just let us know. We offer a generic insurance coverage checklist which gives you a number of questions to ask, and it allows you to compare different companies as well.

Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was DCI also covers IF there is an incident or accident that takes place off-site (i.e. at the park, nature walk for field trip).

Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Really with your auto insurance.... that would make me :mad: Do you transport children at all?

Originally Posted by CityGarden:
Correct me if I am wrong but my understanding was DCI also covers IF there is an incident or accident that takes place off-site (i.e. at the park, nature walk for field trip).

This thread is from 2014....just in case you hadn't noticed. ;)

Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
This thread is from 2014....just in case you hadn't noticed. ;)

Thanks I did not I just saw it under New Post yesterday so thought it was recent.