Find Senior Care (City or Zip)
Join Now Log In
M
mamaire77 Asked January 2012

My Mother needs in-home caregivers. Is there some kind of an insurance umbrella to protect against liability should a caregiver get hurt in her house?

My Mother needs in-home caregivers. Is there some kind of an insurance umbrella to protect against liability should a caregiver get hurt in her house?

EXPERT Carol Bradley Bursack, CDSGF Jan 2012
You should check with your state employment people. If the caregiver is with an agency, they should be carrying the insurance. But if you are hiring someone who works for themselves, you may be responsible to pay worker's compensation insurance. Each state will be different, so please check it out.
Take care,
Carol

JessieBelle Jan 2012
Hi! We've met before on the Yahoo! group I used to be on. I think your idea is wonderful. It is, however, something you want to get with an attorney on. Insurance to protect both you and your tenants is mandatory. Imagine you have one unhappy family if a loved one is hurt in your house. Even though accidents happen, some people are happy to sue. I would get with a lawyer to make sure you are well protected. One lawsuit could cost your everything.

I hope that everything goes well. I have the feeling your house is going to be a great place to live.

ADVERTISEMENT


LisaMarsolais Feb 2012
For your protection call a private in home care agency in your area. Most of them now insure their caregivers so that all the extra work is done for you. Private Agency Caregivers are also screened thoroughly with National background checks, and are also medically fit for the task to care for your loved one (TB shots, etc). Hiring independently, is like having your own agency...you'll have to pay for anything that could go wrong & what about taxes?

punkersad Feb 2012
I am hiring some one to work part time in my mothers home right now. If you pay more than $1800 per year you have to pay unemployment, medicare, social security. If you hire them full time you have to get workers comp insurance. Even if you dont hire them full time you probably should get workers comp because usually home owners insurance, their own insurance and I think auto insurance doesnt cover job related injury. IT is more for your protection because with wc you have insurance and usually if they agree with wc you are limited on what you have to pay. Otherwise they can sue you for everything you own and also everything you will ever own.

deserwest Apr 2015
A word of general caution about applying homeowner's insurance liability coverage to this situation. While it is true that typical policies do afford both legal liability and work. comp benefits, this does NOT apply to non occasional employees. An example or two clears this up. If you employ a gardener, pool service, the limited amount of time spent per time period is minimal. A maid employed under a certain amount of hours per week, i.e. less than 4 hours, may be covered. (Your policy will stipulate the amount of allowable hours per some time period, i.e. monthly, quarterly. Also, the nature of the work matters. A pool service is incidental to the operation of a home, a care giver has nothing to do with it. For those two reasons, hours worked and relationship to the location, would exclude a home care giver from being covered by a typical homeowners policy.

SunflowerHouse Jan 2012
I'm starting a residential home and am wondering about liability insurance as well. I am covered for liability through my home owner's insurance (does your mother have home owner's insurance?), but I'm not sure where to go to have the business side of it covered. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate them.

JonathninOregon Jan 2012
Sadly, liability protection for people who take responsibility for disabled relatives is one of a dozen considerations that can become more important than getting good care for your disabled relative. By the time you've covered your liability exposure, minimized your legal exposure, protected your assets, bolstered your retirement, minimized your tax exposure and maximized your tax deductions, you can then focus on giving good care to your disabled loved one if they're still living. Just as sadly, the best way to get the best care for a disabled loved one is to give it yourself. As you tell yourself you just can't do that, notice how many of the reasons you can't do that center around your cash flow, your security, your needs, your wants. The better you take care of you, the less you have to give your loved one, and vice versa. And if it's your parent who needs the care, try not to think of all the things they sacrificed so that you got good care when you needed it as a baby, a toddler, and as a child. If you can find a balance in all this, you're more successful than I've been. My wife and I have just about killed (and bankrupted) ourselves giving care to our parents, but what we and our loved ones have gotten in return has made it all worth it. Good Luck. God Bless You.

N1K2R3 Jan 2012
Your own Homeowner's Insurance should cover anyone who enters you home and becomes a victim of a fall or burn, or accident of almost any kind. It's under the category known as "Liability" . Check your policy or better yet, call your agent or agency. They should explain the limits of liability to you.

Creigh619 May 2014
I am going to be doing home health care at a persons home (not my home): what type of insurance do I need and do you recommend any insurance company?

Creigh619 May 2014
For new home health care givers what type of liability insurance do I need to get? I am going to someone's home. Do you recommend any specific type and company for insurance?

See All Answers

ADVERTISEMENT

Ask a Question

Subscribe to
Our Newsletter