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Opening a Daycare? 7 Types of Insurance You Need

Jory Gruenberg • Jun 08, 2018

Caregiver And Little Girls — Chicago, IL — Metropolitan Insurance Service Consultants, Inc

Opening a daycare business is a great way to combine an entrepreneurial spirit with your interests in kids and their education. In order to protect both a business and yourself personally, though, having the right insurance coverage is key. You need to make sure you have everything in order to ensure that when you open your daycare there is very little room for error or an issue. Your insurance may not be valid or change if you hire someone who is not fully qualified in the area they are working in, so checking to see if they have something like a Cert iii in childcare or a degree/diploma, is an important factor before applying for your insurance. Besides the qualifications, make sure your employees’ background is verified by the concerned authorities before you employ them. There are verification services for working with childrens check vic that can be leveraged to ensure a child-safe environment.


Anyway, coming back to insurance, here are seven of the most common forms of insurance coverage that daycare providers should consider.

1. General Liability

General liability is an insurance policy that just about every business owner should have. It covers accidents or injury to others while on your property, which is particularly important when you have minors on your premises. It may also cover things like accusations of libel or damage to other people’s property.

2. Property

Many business insurance property policies are combined into an umbrella policy that includes general liability coverage. Property insurance covers not only your business location but also the equipment you maintain inside and even outside of your business. For a daycare, this could include children’s play areas, expensive washing or cleaning equipment, mobile devices, and computers.

3. Professional Liability

Professional liability policies are more varied depending on the type of profession you engage in. This protection kicks in when there may be negligence or error when performing the services you provide. In this case, that would mean failure in the actual care of the children. If you have employees, this is particularly important since you cannot oversee everything happening in your daycare at all times.

4. Abuse Coverage

Check to ensure that your professional liability coverage includes adequate protection for sexual or physical abuse claims. While you would never intentionally harm any children, accusations of abuse are common, and protecting yourself from a molestation lawsuit can be expensive. Plus, if you have other employees besides yourself working with the kids, adequate insurance coverage can give you peace of mind.

5. Accident Medical Coverage

Make sure that your umbrella insurance includes plenty of medical expense coverage in case of an accident. This could be important if you often take children on field trips, lunch trips, or other external visits.



Medical costs are one of the biggest risks with children’s accidents, so it may be less expensive to have a separate accident-medical policy to use rather than submit claims through a general insurance policy.

6. Workers’ Compensation

It is probably a legal requirement that you have workers compensation insurance if you have any employees working for your day-care. This type of insurance covers medical expenses as well as lost wages should an employee be injured on the job.


Worker’s compensation coverage rates are determined by the level of risk associated with different jobs, so covering child care workers is a different rate than covering a business owner or the food preparer, for instance. Be sure to check with your state’s regulation board about what specific terms of coverage must be met.

7. Vehicle Coverage

Do you transport any children in your care? Then you want to make sure that your vehicle insurance covers any injury that occurs while performing a business function. Many small or in-home daycare providers use personal vehicles and assume that their regular personal auto insurance coverage is sufficient. But you may need to add a rider for business use or increase the limits if you transport multiple children at once.


Insurance may seem like an afterthought as you go about setting up and running your new daycare business. But it helps ensure that all your hard work will continue to be fruitful and bring you joy and satisfaction for years to come. For help with all your business insurance needs, contact us at Metropolitan Insurance Service Consultants, Inc., today.

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