Question
What insurance does a personal care home need?
Short answer
Georgia and Pennsylvania do not require personal care homes to carry general or professional liability insurance in their licensing rules (Pennsylvania only requires vehicle insurance documentation for resident transport), but a home without professional liability has no coverage for a fall, medication error or abuse claim, which is the claim most likely to close it.
What the rules require
Georgia personal care homes are licensed under Rules 111-8-62, which contain no liability insurance requirement. Pennsylvania personal care homes are licensed under 55 Pa. Code chapter 2600, which requires the home to keep vehicle insurance documentation for vehicles used to transport residents (section 2600.171) but does not require general or professional liability.
Your lease, lender, or any Medicaid or waiver contract may require coverage the license does not, and those requirements are usually specific about limits and additional insureds.
What a personal care home should carry
Professional liability covering the care and supervision you provide, with abuse and molestation included. General liability. Property or a tenant policy. Workers compensation for staff. Auto coverage if you transport residents.
The common mistake is a business owner policy. It is inexpensive because it excludes professional services, and in a personal care home nearly every serious claim is a professional services claim.
Primary sources
Sources and references
This answer draws on the following regulatory, statutory, and standards-body sources. Coverage availability and program structure also depend on market appetite and underwriter discretion not captured by these sources.
- Ga. Comp. R. and Regs. 111-8-62, personal care homeshttps://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/georgia/Ga-Comp-R-Regs-111-8-62
- 55 Pa. Code ch. 2600, personal care homeshttps://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=/secure/pacode/data/055/chapter2600/chap2600toc.html
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