Tag Archives: daycare

Daycare for children or adults in the healthcare industry can often be high in claims.

Employers Practice Liability Insurance, General Liability Insurance, Human Services Practice Group Content, Line of Insurance, Loss Control, Transportation Practice Group Content

Adult Day Care Considerations for Your Business

Running an adult daycare seems to be one of the harder gigs. Between keeping employees in check and fully trained and clients safe, it is a hard organization to manage. Our adult daycare inspection considerations list should help you keep insurance claims and deductions down. One less thing to worry about!

Insurance Considerations when Choosing which Adult Daycare Services to Provide

 

When running an adult daycare, you must understand that there are multiple types of insurance to cover you, your employees, your property, and your business. Some that you should consider when deciding on setting up your daycare center are:

  • Professional Liability – Covers your business from the negligence of employees and other defense/legal costs
  • General Liability – Liability for any incident that occurs within your business (slip & fall hazards or a loose handrail)
  • Auto Liability – For your workers who may transport clients/services to and from other locations
  • Abuse and Molestation Coverage – If the worker physically, sexually, mentally, or emotionally abuses a client

 

Adult Daycare: Safety Inspection Checklist 

Adult Daycares are meant to help adults who cannot supervise themselves during the day & may need help with basic care functions. This naturally means that these workers are constantly focusing on keeping patients/clients safe. Worker’s may overlook small issues, like a cracked sidewalk or an unsteady handrailing as their main focus is on the client, not their surroundings. A Supervisor should focus on making sure safety is a priority for employees & that the surrounding areas also well maintained & safe.

Here are just a few things you might want to keep constantly asking/monitoring:

  • Is the loading/unloading area clearly marked?
  • Are there any potholes in the parking lot?
  • Are there cracks in the pavement that needs to be repaired?
  • Do you have wheelchair-accessible ramps & handrails leading up to the main entrance clearly marked?
  • Are these ramps and handrails in good condition?
  • Are the emergency exits clearly marked and free of obstructions?

Safety Tips for Your Adult Daycare Center

 

While having a safety inspection checklist is definitely important, having certain safety parameters in play is just as necessary. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Rigorous, continuous safety training – your employees are dealing with real-life adults that can be unable to perform simple functions without supervision. This means your employees need training to the max. Rigorous training with in-depth expert advice is important. What is also important is that this training never stops and is not just a 3-day course. It is a continuous learning process.
  • Safety Guideline/Handbook – Having a written word on the safety parameters and rules already gives the employees a better idea of how to handle their clients.
  • Mechanical Lifts & Safe Patient Handling
  • Handrails on stairways
  • Handicapped Bathrooms
  • Proper Lighting
  • Large, spacious areas
  • Medical supplies ready for immediate use

 

Adult Day Care Transportation Considerations 

When running an adult daycare, you need to think about how the adults in need of assistance will come to the daycare facility. If their caretakers at home do not have the time or resources to drive them there and back or make trips to various other locations to aid the adult, this is where your daycare service can flex its muscles. Having a transportation wing of your facility will make your daycare more profitable immediately. Offering the transportation of clients from home to daycare and back is the most important, but you can also offer trips to the grocery store, hospital, and sources of entertainment.

 

Before setting any of this up, you might want to think about the potential risks of implementing this transportation system. Who will be driving? Will they be using their own vehicle or a vehicle provided by your organization? Are they a good and safe driver? Do they need a specific type of license to drive an organization owned fleet vehicle? Will their actions cost me thousands of dollars? We suggest following these tips to make sure you have the necessary guidelines set to open up your transportation service.

 

Have a Motor Vehicle Record open for every single driver. Essentially, a MVR is a small summary of the driver’s previous record and any information pertaining to tickets they may have received. This report includes driver’s license info, date of birth, previous driving history, violations, etc.

 

Obtain comprehensive automobile insurance with medical, property, and liability damage included. That means if you/your driver is liable for an accident, you are protected and covered. If your car receives damages or is stolen (your property), you are covered. And if there is a medical injury due to a crash, you are also covered.

 

Contracting a professional driving company may be worthwhile for your company’s success. If you are unsure of your workers serving as part or full-time drivers, hiring professionals is worth it. They are experienced and bring less risk into the equation. Spending more on their services may cost you less in the long-run.

 

Conclusion

To conclude, running a daycare for adults is not easy. There are a lot of risks and potential costs to consider. But taking our adult daycare inspections tips into consideration will help your organization to succeed.

 

Still, need help? Still, have questions? Contact a risk advisor today at 914-357-8444. Or, visit our website here.

 

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Do Home Day Cares Need Additional Property Insurance?

Are you considering starting a home day care? Then you need to invest in a separate insurance policy. While you may have homeowners’ coverage, such policies typically do not cover losses related to commercial enterprises. Along with liability, you might want to purchase additional property insurance. Why is this so vital?

Natural Disasters

No matter where you live, you are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Wildfires, tornadoes, and severe thunderstorms – a variety of natural disasters can cause damage to your residence. Your home insurance may cover the repairs to your home, but coverage limits generally apply, and it could stop short of paying for replacements for things belonging to your business, such as outdoor jungle gyms.

Little Monsters

As a childcare provider, you know how destructive kids can be. While they may not be able to blow the roof off your home, they can certainly destroy everything stored below. Damage caused by one of your charges throwing a toy through a window in a fit of anger may not be covered by your homeowners’ insurance, because it happened during the course of business operations.
 
Running your own business already requires a great monetary investment – do not let mishaps empty your coffers. Having the proper insurance is an essential part of preventing undue financial burdens. To learn more about the insurance needs of home day cares, or to obtain your own policy, reach out to one of our agents today.

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Human Services Practice Group Content, Other

Insurance Concerns When Opening a Home Day Care

Many people have the goal of running their own business. For some entrepreneurs, the idea of starting a home-based enterprise is very appealing. Do you find pleasure in caring for and educating children? Then you may want to consider opening a home day care. Before taking any kids under your wing, however, you should carefully consider your insurance needs.

As a homeowner, you probably have an insurance policy that covers liability claims that occur on your property. Did you know that home coverage usually does not apply to any events related to your business? Failing to obtain an additional business policy could leave you on the line for the expenses associated to accidents on the property.

There are of course, many things you can do to reduce your risk of a child being seriously injured. It’s not enough to conduct a one-off safety audit when commencing your business – you need to be monitoring daily for potential hazards.

Running a day care could be a very rewarding career. Not only do you get to stay at home, but you also get to have a part in molding the delicate minds of the next generation. Having the proper insurance could ensure the financial difficulties that arise do not take away your joy.

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Other

Fire Drills with Children

Disasters could occur anywhere, even at childcare facilities. You must obtain a comprehensive insurance policy before you open the doors of your day care facility to welcome in the little ones. Failing to do so could lead to undue financial burden for your business, if something unexpected were to happen. In addition, you should also take the time for the appropriate disaster preparedness tasks. This should include training the kids in your care to evacuate safely in the event of a fire.

When it comes to educating children, it is important to make things fun to keep their interest, while still stressing the seriousness of the information you are discussing. With a fire drill, it may help to break the procedure into small steps that are easy to remember.

•    The alarm goes off when smoke or fire is detected.

•    All children line up quickly and in an orderly way in front of the door.

•    Everyone walks together to a designated spot, such as the mailbox.

•    No one goes back into the building until you give the say so.

It is important to go through the drill regularly, at least once a month, to cement the process into their young minds. This could also help prevent the children from being overwhelmed if a fire does break out, because they are already familiar with what to do. Failing to train the kids you care for to evacuate the premises safely and quickly could lead to an injury during a real disaster, which could do more damage to your day care business than just raising your insurance premium.

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Human Services Practice Group Content

Preventing Fighting-Related Injuries at Your Day Care

As a childcare provider, you are responsible for every kid left under your care. Day care insurance is an essential part of protecting your assets if something were to go wrong on the premises. A common reason behind injuries at day cares is children fighting. There are ways to prevent or limit the severity of disagreements between your charges.

•    Create and post a list of punishments for children involved in fights.

•    Make time regularly to talk about bullying, peaceful solutions to disagreements, and other topics related to fighting among kids.

•    Talk to parents about children who are constantly involved in fights, especially ones that turn physical. You may want to include in your list of policies the possibility of a kid being removed from the childcare program for regular behavior issues.

•    You should not promote violence by showing violent television shows or allowing the children to play violent games.

•    Try to settle disagreements quickly and fairly. If a fight turns physical before you are able to stop it, notify parents immediately and provide any necessary medical aid.

It is important to treat bullying or fighting as a serious issue. Any injury that occurs while the kids are under your watch could be placed on your shoulders legally and financially. Having a comprehensive day care insurance policy could keep the medical bills and wrath of angry parents from bankrupting you or your business.

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Other

Which Toys are Safest at Daycare?

When you are providing day care for young children, safety must always be of paramount concern. There can be few greater responsibilities than looking after someone else’s child or children. You’ll want to do all you can to avoid having any safety issues, and make sure you’re protected with day care insurance.

Play is one of the ways children both learn and explore their environment. As well as touching and smelling toys, one of the first things many children do with a new object (whether a toy or anything else their little fingers get hold of) is to put it straight into their mouths.

It is vital therefore that all children under three years of age do not have access to small objects, including toys, which could cause a choking hazard. Children over three may still need the occasional verbal reminder not to put things in their mouths.

It is not only small toys, such as miniature action figures (which might be left lying around by older children) and small balls, which can get stuck in a young child’s throat. Ordinary household items, such as bowls of nuts, popcorn, spools of thread and coins are also potential choking hazards.

According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, a good toy has several characteristics, including being age-appropriate and solidly built. Make sure the toys and environment you provide in your day care center are as safe as possible, and make sure you have the appropriate day care insurance for your business.

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