Legalities of Childcare

[Stepping]

Hmmm, my assistant often babysits after hours. I guess I should rethink that one

[Country Kids]

Hmmm, my assistant often babysits after hours. I guess I should rethink that one

Yes, we were told to actually have helpers sign an agreement that they will not sit for clients after hours. If they won't sign I guess you don't hire is what I'm thinking.

[midaycare]

I was happier before I read this thread

[Annalee]

Id like to chime in on this if I may. It is 100% Accurate that a child can make a claim up until the age of 18, so make sure your insurance policy is on an occurrence form. The insurance company will pay if its a covered claim during the policy period in which the incident occurred. A Claims-Made form may not pay for these incidents.

As for the offering to pay for the injuries, You want to make sure you have an accident medical policy to pay for these minor injuries. Most of the time as long as the medical bills are taken care of parents can be very understanding. And if they decide to sue you, which they will have the right to do whether or not you admit any guilt, your liability insurance will defend you and pay any claims arising out of the injury if it is a covered loss.

For what it is worth, I have had DCI insurance for many years without a claim BUT I know 2 provider friends across my state that did and DCI was right there the entire way! All ended well! I pray I never have a claim but it is comforting to know I have DCI if I do!

[SignMeUp]

Id like to chime in on this if I may. It is 100% Accurate that a child can make a claim up until the age of 18, so make sure your insurance policy is on an occurrence form. The insurance company will pay if its a covered claim during the policy period in which the incident occurred. A Claims-Made form may not pay for these incidents.

As for the offering to pay for the injuries, You want to make sure you have an accident medical policy to pay for these minor injuries. Most of the time as long as the medical bills are taken care of parents can be very understanding. And if they decide to sue you, which they will have the right to do whether or not you admit any guilt, your liability insurance will defend you and pay any claims arising out of the injury if it is a covered loss.

Can you explain these terms? I have not heard these before.

[Bookworm]

The short answer is yes, you are liable, it is still your premises and the parents have the right to sue you. Make sure you are operating with good liability insurance.

I'll ask about liability insurance. Last question, what if we have No Trespassing signs posted?

[Country Kids]

I'll ask about liability insurance. Last question, what if we have No Trespassing signs posted?

Here is a story the teacher told us!

The family owned a farm with orchards and a neighbor kid kept riding a dirt bike through the orchards even though there were no trespassing signs all over the place.

Family talked to parents and said we have signs posted and please quit riding through orchards.

A couple weeks later, the kids and a friend decided to ride through orchards on dirt bike. The driver ducked for a low limb but the friend did not, killed the kid (14 or 15). Parents sued and won-not sure on what grounds. The orchard owners insurance took care of it (I want to say medical but not sure).

My mouth hung open when I heard that story-

[missy]

Oh, civil law!!...
The burden of proof in civil law is much more lax--whichever side is ruled 1% stronger (51%/100%) wins (unlike criminal law where it is based upon beyond all reasonable doubt).

As for the trespassing example, a property owner must ASSUME someone will trespass on his property. Typically, the only way a property owner would not be held liable in such a trespassing case is if he went way above and beyond to deter all trespassers--posting signs continuously, personally notifying neighbors, repeatedly calling the police to hunt down trespassers on his property, etc etc. He would have to have tons of documention of his past efforts. And if a property owner has any hazards (old wells, downed trees, etc) on his property, once again he must assume people will trespass and therefore be at risk of injury.

Civil law seems so unfair!...yet it provides a remedy for those who feel they were wronged or harmed somehow and feel they deserve more compensation than a criminal punishment can alone provide. People totally take advantage of this system but it is there nonetheless. Hence, liability insurance!!

[Laurel]

Id like to chime in on this if I may. It is 100% Accurate that a child can make a claim up until the age of 18, so make sure your insurance policy is on an occurrence form. The insurance company will pay if its a covered claim during the policy period in which the incident occurred. A Claims-Made form may not pay for these incidents.

As for the offering to pay for the injuries, You want to make sure you have an accident medical policy to pay for these minor injuries. Most of the time as long as the medical bills are taken care of parents can be very understanding. And if they decide to sue you, which they will have the right to do whether or not you admit any guilt, your liability insurance will defend you and pay any claims arising out of the injury if it is a covered loss.

I am also confused about what you mean by 'occurrence form' and 'Claims-Made' form.

I have had DCI insurance since beginning my home childcare 18 years ago. I just retired last month. I was going to throw away most of my paperwork but should I now keep some in case something comes up in the future? Right now, I just have a six month policy with you because I knew I was retiring but it is still in effect.

Thanks, Laurel

[Blackcat31]

Can you explain these terms? I have not heard these before.

I am also confused about what you mean by 'occurrence form' and 'Claims-Made' form.

I have had DCI insurance since beginning my home childcare 18 years ago. I just retired last month. I was going to throw away most of my paperwork but should I now keep some in case something comes up in the future? Right now, I just have a six month policy with you because I knew I was retiring but it is still in effect.

Thanks, Laurel

There are two primary types of insurance policy forms: occurrence and claims-made.

Occurrence forms cover losses that happen during a given period of time (the policy term). The loss can be reported years later, but the key is when it happened.

A claims-made policy covers claims made during a given period of time. The loss may have happened many years in the past, but is reported during the current policy term.

As you can imagine, it is difficult to move from one type of form to the other. Occurrence forms are somewhat more valuable as they respond to claims years later.

A claims-made form has value, but no guarantee of continued insurablity, so if you are for some reason cancelled by an insurance company, you may not have coverage in the future for activities in the past. Some important aspects of claims-made policies that you may need to know are: retrospective date, extended reporting periods, and tail coverage, to name a few.

The key concept here is that a claims-made policy generally costs less than an occurrence policy, but you run the risk of not being covered for a potential claim because you didn't discover it until after your policy expired. As with all other aspects of insurance, the decision is a gamble, and you pay a price to lower your risk.

[Annalee]

There are two primary types of insurance policy forms: occurrence and claims-made.

Occurrence forms cover losses that happen during a given period of time (the policy term). The loss can be reported years later, but the key is when it happened.

A claims-made policy covers claims made during a given period of time. The loss may have happened many years in the past, but is reported during the current policy term.

As you can imagine, it is difficult to move from one type of form to the other. Occurrence forms are somewhat more valuable as they respond to claims years later.

A claims-made form has value, but no guarantee of continued insurablity, so if you are for some reason cancelled by an insurance company, you may not have coverage in the future for activities in the past. Some important aspects of claims-made policies that you may need to know are: retrospective date, extended reporting periods, and tail coverage, to name a few.

The key concept here is that a claims-made policy generally costs less than an occurrence policy, but you run the risk of not being covered for a potential claim because you didn't discover it until after your policy expired. As with all other aspects of insurance, the decision is a gamble, and you pay a price to lower your risk.

Licensing in my state dictates the minimum insurance you can have which I think is a good thing because it forces home child care to purchase the insurance. This rule has been in effect for a long time. ...so much medical, occurrence, etc.

[Daycare Insurance]

There are two primary types of insurance policy forms: occurrence and claims-made.

Occurrence forms cover losses that happen during a given period of time (the policy term). The loss can be reported years later, but the key is when it happened.

A claims-made policy covers claims made during a given period of time. The loss may have happened many years in the past, but is reported during the current policy term.

As you can imagine, it is difficult to move from one type of form to the other. Occurrence forms are somewhat more valuable as they respond to claims years later.

A claims-made form has value, but no guarantee of continued insurablity, so if you are for some reason cancelled by an insurance company, you may not have coverage in the future for activities in the past. Some important aspects of claims-made policies that you may need to know are: retrospective date, extended reporting periods, and tail coverage, to name a few.

The key concept here is that a claims-made policy generally costs less than an occurrence policy, but you run the risk of not being covered for a potential claim because you didn't discover it until after your policy expired. As with all other aspects of insurance, the decision is a gamble, and you pay a price to lower your risk.

I apologize for my delay in responding, Essentially this is correct. The reason why insurance companies offer "Claims-Made" Forms is basically because they do not want to pay claims years after your policy period.

Occurrence form in my opinion is the only way to go. When looking for insurance give the company you are checking out a call and simply ask them if their policy is Claims-Made or Occurrence. Claims-Made is better than no insurance at all but if you can find a company that offers Occurrence form you will be much better off.