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Daycare Insurance>Homeowners vs. Comercial
TheMisplacedMidwestMom 04:49 PM 11-18-2016
Ok, maybe my brain is just mush today... but can some explain this to me (slowly, because apparently I need that right now )...
I'm not grasping what I need to have insurance wise. I have to have homeowners insurance policy for the mortgage company, so I've been talking to companies all day and getting quotes and information about the daycare "riders".
However, it looks like if I'm want the option of watching the amount of kids I would be licensed to care for, I need a "commercial policy". This is where I get lost, will this type policy cover the non-daycare things in my home the same as a homeowners (the rest of the home that is not daycare related, my personal property)? Will this satisfy the mortgage company? I think my mind is shutting down when I hear "commercial" or "business" policy and I'm still thinking "Yes, but this is my family's home too".

I asked one of the homeowners' insurance companies if I could have a policy with them and have the daycare insured separately and was told no. That once I reach their limit on the number of kids they will not cover my home at all.

Guidance please!
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LysesKids 07:35 PM 11-18-2016
Originally Posted by TheMisplacedMidwestMom:
Ok, maybe my brain is just mush today... but can some explain this to me (slowly, because apparently I need that right now )...
I'm not grasping what I need to have insurance wise. I have to have homeowners insurance policy for the mortgage company, so I've been talking to companies all day and getting quotes and information about the daycare "riders".
However, it looks like if I'm want the option of watching the amount of kids I would be licensed to care for, I need a "commercial policy". This is where I get lost, will this type policy cover the non-daycare things in my home the same as a homeowners (the rest of the home that is not daycare related, my personal property)? Will this satisfy the mortgage company? I think my mind is shutting down when I hear "commercial" or "business" policy and I'm still thinking "Yes, but this is my family's home too".

I asked one of the homeowners' insurance companies if I could have a policy with them and have the daycare insured separately and was told no. That once I reach their limit on the number of kids they will not cover my home at all.

Guidance please!
Commercial Daycare insurance will not cover your personal effects... the only homeowners policy I know to cover daycare & homeowners house & personal effects is State Farm, but you have to be running legal according to state regs & within their child limit for the state... again it is a little extra for the liability (I have state minimum limit for licensed even though I am legally licensed exempt), but they covered me in WV, AR & now in TN for home & daycare. I don't transport kids, so my car is just personal use
I owned my home out right in WV and here in TN, I rented in AR
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TheMisplacedMidwestMom 11:42 PM 11-18-2016
So I am in Alaska, which if I go licensed is up to 8 kids in home care. I can do up to 4 not including my own and be legally exempt. So far the ones that I've found to cover both are State Farm (limit 6 including your own) and AllState (limit 4 not including your own). I have 2 of my own, so it sounds like with insurance I'm going to be tied to the legally exempt ratio no matter what. And if neither insurance company cares that I'm licensed as long I'm following the law, and I can't watch more kiddos if I'm licensed, why bend over backwards to do it? I just feel like I'm missing something here.
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LysesKids 01:09 PM 11-19-2016
Originally Posted by TheMisplacedMidwestMom:
So I am in Alaska, which if I go licensed is up to 8 kids in home care. I can do up to 4 not including my own and be legally exempt. So far the ones that I've found to cover both are State Farm (limit 6 including your own) and AllState (limit 4 not including your own). I have 2 of my own, so it sounds like with insurance I'm going to be tied to the legally exempt ratio no matter what. And if neither insurance company cares that I'm licensed as long I'm following the law, and I can't watch more kiddos if I'm licensed, why bend over backwards to do it? I just feel like I'm missing something here.
You aren't missing anything, it's really not complicated if you talk to the right rep for the company; I must be doing it right because my agent just placed a deposit with me for care of her unborn baby starting in FEB lol.

I started in WV with 6 and was licensed, I went legally licensed exempt with 5 in AR, 4 here in TN as licensed exempt - I would still be capped @ 4 if I got licensed because I do infants under 18 months only.
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Daycare Insurance 09:24 AM 11-21-2016
What you need is professional liability and accident medical insurance. You can check Tom Copeland's website for a list of companies that offer this type of policy, as we don't write business in Alaska.
Your professional liability policy will not cover your home or property. The purpose of the policy is to cover medical bills if a child is injured in your care and to protect you in the event of a lawsuit from a parent.
There are homeowners insurance companies that will insure you as long as you provide proof that you have a professional liability policy. You might start with State Farm and then call around. Or find a broker in your area who can help you.
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TheMisplacedMidwestMom 02:08 PM 11-21-2016
Originally Posted by Daycare Insurance:
What you need is professional liability and accident medical insurance. You can check Tom Copeland's website for a list of companies that offer this type of policy, as we don't write business in Alaska.
Your professional liability policy will not cover your home or property. The purpose of the policy is to cover medical bills if a child is injured in your care and to protect you in the event of a lawsuit from a parent.
There are homeowners insurance companies that will insure you as long as you provide proof that you have a professional liability policy. You might start with State Farm and then call around. Or find a broker in your area who can help you.

State Farm has a limit of 6(including my own), which keeps me to license exempt numbers. Allstate has a limit of 4 (not including my own) which is also license exempt numbers. I either get a "we can't cover you at all with a daycare in the home (licensed or not)" or "once you go over our numbers then we can't cover you". One of the local agencies is who suggested the commercial policy.
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LysesKids 02:48 PM 11-21-2016
Originally Posted by TheMisplacedMidwestMom:
State Farm has a limit of 6(including my own), which keeps me to license exempt numbers. Allstate has a limit of 4 (not including my own) which is also license exempt numbers. I either get a "we can't cover you at all with a daycare in the home (licensed or not)" or "once you go over our numbers then we can't cover you". One of the local agencies is who suggested the commercial policy.
I will tell you this Midwest... DCI and other commercial daycare insurance won't insure you if you are license exempt, I tried; they insure Licensed providers only (I tried 2 years ago). In my case I can't take any more than my 4 regardless of being licensed or not, so State Farm was my only option.
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TheMisplacedMidwestMom 05:30 PM 11-23-2016
Got a quote today on commercial insurance that covers home daycare as building and contents, so would cover everything even if not related to the business. Also has liability coverage for the daycare. Was told they do not care the number of kiddos as long as its legal. So if I stay at legal exempt numbers they just need to know how many, and if I increase they just need to know how many and have a copy of the license. They actually figure the yearly amount on by number of kids, with a minimum rate. But the amount per kid is so low that I would never be above the minimum rate, so I could increase to licensed capacity with no issue (just a phone call to update things). ...and this all with the same coverage ranges I was getting with general homeowners with an slight increase in price (including the liability). I will never understand insurance, but am happy to have an answer I like.
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