If you own a child care center, daycare center, or similar children’s care business, you need great insurance coverage! There are a few parts that go into picking the coverage and policies that are right for your daycare, but workers comp insurance should be part of it. If you have one or more employees, workers’ compensation is a must. This coverage will help protect your business, your employees, and prevent you from paying medical expenses out-of-pocket. So let’s get into what is daycare insurance and why do you need it. 

 

Daycare Liability Insurance vs Daycare Workers’ Compensation 

One coverage that comes to mind for daycare centers is liability insurance. Liability insurance is an essential form of insurance for any business, including daycare centers. What is liability insurance? Does liability insurance include coverage for your workers? Let’s take a look.

Liability insurance for daycares is a type of coverage that covers the medical expenses of visitors or children in your daycare center if they’re injured or incur illness as a direct result of your daycare. 

Liability is important for your business as it helps protect you from lawsuits if you’re unable to help pay someone for an injury they experienced on your property. 

Still, this coverage does not help pay for any medical expenses from employees and staff members. Daycare workers’ compensation is the only coverage for employees. At DWC, we are experts in work comp – so let’s dive into what that coverage can do for your daycare.  

 

Daycare Insurance and Class Codes 

Understanding which class codes apply to your business is essential for making sure you follow your state’s laws and guidelines. Class codes are the state’s way of organizing different businesses and activities into different risk levels. 

In most cases, daycare centers are categorized under the class code 8869. This code applies to child care centers, daycares, and preschools. However, it does not apply to similar businesses such as children’s camps, schools with before and aftercare programs, orphanages, child medical centers, boy scouts, girl scouts, or other club-related programs. 

In short, if your business assumes care, custody, and control of children for predetermined periods of time, monitors comings and goings of kids throughout the day, and ensures only parental guardians pick them up and drop them off, it’s classified under this code. 

Your business can also provide meals, snacks, rest areas, recreational facilities, and even teaching, though it’s different from a traditional school.

If you’re not familiar with your business’s class code, your workers’ compensation rate may be too high! 

 

Who Does Workers’ Compensation for Daycares Cover? 

Workers’ compensation for daycares helps cover medical expenses of any employees. This can include faculty, teaching staff, daycare workers, janitorial staff, maintenance personnel, drivers, cooks, teachers’ aides, administrators, salespersons, and more. The workers’ compensation policy will provide coverage for all your employees whether full-time or part-time.

Why You Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Your Daycare 

As the owner of a daycare, child care center, or preschool, it’s critical to have workers’ compensation. Why? Here’s what you need to know. 

Most States Require Workers’ Compensation 

The first reason you need to have workers’ compensation is that most states require it. No matter what type of business you have, most states require a certain level of workers’ compensation. 

It’s best to consult a professional as to whether or not your business needs workers’ compensation and what your state’s regulations are. Our team of experts can make sure you understand what your state requires and how much coverage your business needs. 

Workers’ Compensation Protects Your Employees 

Even if your state doesn’t technically require workers’ compensation, it’s still important. First, workers’ compensation helps protect your employees. If an employee gets injured or ill as a direct result of their job, they could be faced with thousands in medical expenses. 

Employees that work in childcare or daycare centers expose themselves to many risks. These include:

• exposure to infectious diseases
• back injuries from lifting
• slip and falls
• auto accidents
• cuts and burns from cooking

Workers’ compensation protects your employees and helps cover any medical expenses, treatments, physical therapy, and recovery costs, and even lost wages for your workers. 

Workers’ Compensation Protects Your Child Care Center 

Not only does workers’ compensation help pay for out-of-pocket expenses for your employees, but it also helps protect your business. 

If you didn’t have workers’ compensation and weren’t able to pay for an injured or ill employee’s medical expenses, you could face lawsuits, hundreds of thousands in medical expenses and fees, and even bankruptcy. 

Having a workers’ compensation policy helps you avoid these fees and enjoy peace of mind knowing your business is covered. 

 

How Direct Work Comp Can Help 

In our experience, most daycares are not overstaffed. When an injury happens it directly affects the day-to-day operations of your daycare. The best thing your company can do is not to have a claim, but you can only control what you can control. Things are going to happen, please know that we are 100% committed to helping return your injured worker back to work as soon as possible.  

Navigating the ins and outs of workers’ compensation isn’t always easy. That’s why Direct Work Comp is here to help! With experts who can help you streamline your workers’ compensation program and help your employees return to work after an injury. Let us help you take some stress off your plate. Contact us today at [email protected].

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

State Workers’ Compensation Officials | US Department of Labor 

Identifying Health and Safety Risks for Childcare Workers | Continuing Education