Best Insurance for Disabled Group Homes

Are you looking for the best insurance for your group home for the disabled? If YES, here are the most reliable insurance for your group home for the disabled. 

Group homes for the disabled are an alternative to institutional care. These homes may be a privately run for-profit business, a non-profit facility, or run by the government. Privately run group homes do not have government oversight unless they receive government funding.

But a non-profit or government-run facility must adhere to certain rules and regulations, which can determine to whom they may provide services.

Group homes are difficult risks to cover for property insurance issuers. These properties have serious underwriting risk from theft, damage, fire and other problems. For instance, the residents can come in and go freely so it is difficult to know who should be in the home and who should not be there.

Also, the residents are often at-risk individuals and subject to more unpredictable behaviour. That makes any property insurer nervous.

Howbeit, there are a few factors insurers tend to leverage when pricing group home insurance risk. Firstly, the nature of the service provided. Does the home only serve minors or the disabled? Is it for parolees or drug addicts? Which at-risk group does the home primarily serve?

Also, the staff are all expected to be certified and have the proper qualifications. This improves the safety and quality of the home dramatically. Many fewer incidents occur when the staff are properly trained. In addition, the number of years of the group home is important. Group homes with a longer track record of safety and security are more likely to continue on that path.

Lastly, the general features of the building including its age, type of construction, materials etc. factor into the risk of the property. To protect your facility from a lawsuit, you can seek and acquire adequate insurance. Your insurer will offer several types of policies.

What Type of Insurance is Best for Disabled Group Home?

1. General Liability 

The truth remains that group homes, especially for the disabled, work to make the world a better place. However, constant interaction with the community opens the business to liability. General liability insurance safeguards against lawsuits filed by visitors, clients, and other individuals outside your organization. This policy offers liability coverage related to:

• Client and visitor injuries
• Client and visitor property damage
• Slander, libel, and copyright infringement

2. Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance is known to cover legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage if a business vehicle is involved in an accident. Every time your group home employees or volunteers get on the road, your organisation is prone to high risks.

Commercial auto insurance shields your group home from the costs of an auto accident, which can skyrocket if someone is injured. It’s required in most states for business-owned vehicles.

It helps to cover the cost of potential lawsuits, property damage, medical bills, and other expenses arising from an accident involving your business-owned vehicle. It also pays for theft and vehicle damage caused by weather events and vandalism

3. Professional Liability Insurance

An accusation of negligence or a simple mistake at your group home could lead to a financially draining legal battle. Note that when a disabled client sues your organization, professional liability insurance can pay for court costs, judgments, and other legal expenses.

The main reason for purchasing this insurance is that a typical general liability insurance policy usually only applies to cases of personal injury, property damage, bodily injury, and advertising injury.

Keep in mind that some professional services and products can give rise to legal claims even without causing any specific harm covered by such group home insurance policies. The types of claims covered by your professional liability policy may include:

• Negligence
• Misrepresentation
• Fair dealing
• Violation of good faith
• Inaccurate advice
• Failure to meet industry standards

4. Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical costs and lost wages for work-related injuries and illnesses. This policy is required in almost every state for businesses that have employees. From a lifting injury at a group home to a dodgeball injury at your home youth program, your staff may be vulnerable to major risks while lending a helping hand.

These common injuries can result in high-cost medical bills and downtime. Workers’ compensation can pay medical bills for an injured employee or volunteer, along with partial missed wages. Workers’ compensation can help pay for an injured employee’s:

• Immediate medical costs, such as emergency room expenses
• Ongoing medical costs, such as physical rehabilitation
• Partial lost wages while the employee is unable to work

5. Directors And Officers Insurance

Directors and officers insurance protects board members and officers against legal expenses if they are sued for a decision they made on behalf of the group home that led to a financial loss. Your advisory board or board of directors are known to oversee the group home’s strategies, use of funds, and other major organizational activities.

Without a safeguard, they could be held personally responsible for a lawsuit. Directors and officers insurance (D&O) can cover the legal expenses related to their decisions, allowing them to go about their duties without fear of personal liability.

Some individuals may require you to have this policy in place before they’ll agree to join your organization. This policy offers coverage related to:

• Accusations of mismanaged funds
• Failure to meet regulatory standards
• Failure to perform official duties

6. Business Owner’s Policy

A business owner’s policy (BOP) bundles general liability insurance with commercial property insurance. It typically costs less than if the policies were bought separately. If you own your group home’s building or office equipment, a business owner’s policy is your best line of defence.

A BOP bundles commercial property insurance and general liability insurance under one plan, covering both property damage and client injuries. This policy protects against:

• Damage to business property
• Client injuries and property damage
• Advertising injuries
• Forced closure

7. Cyber Liability Insurance

Since most of your facility data is saved on computers and cloud storage services, there is a risk of cybercrime and data loss.

Cyber liability is a type of group home insurance coverage that covers your liability in case of a data breach in which the facility’s residents’ personal information such as credit card numbers or social security numbers are exposed or stolen by hackers or other criminals.

To limit the risk of civil litigation and other penalties due to a data loss or a deliberate intrusion into your facility’s electronic network, invest in cyber liability. This group home insurance policy may cover losses caused by:

• Cyber extortion
• Stolen personal health information
• Stolen personally identifiable information
• Intellectual property, etc.

Group homes for the disabled need insurance coverage as a risk management solution for the cost of claims over time. If for example, residents experience falls quite frequently in your facility, you can establish a loss control service that addresses existing needs and offers tools and resources.