Insurance saga....

I have been with Costco insurance through Direct Protect for the last couple of years and I was covered for 5 kids plus my own.

Well....I got a letter from Costco saying they were no longer doing insurance so they were redirecting insurance policies to Inova and Aviva.

I got the package from Inova and they cannot cover home daycares. So, I called back to Direct Protect and said I just wanted insurance with them and not with Costco. This time DP seeded my policy out to Co-operators and assures my business would be covered.

So, I get the new insurance docs in the mail and it says 5 kids are covered including my own. That means I am technically only insured for 2 DCKs. Not good.

So I called TD waterhouse because people said they had insurance through them. I got passed to 4 different agents and 1.5 hours later they tell me they max out home daycares at 6 kids including my own and they cannot do 7.

:( :huh::eek:

The agents conversation about daycare insurance was also very strange....
Agent - There are some exclusions I have to make you aware of under our daycare coverage. For example...if a parent slips and falls while coming to your home because your driveway is not shoveled then you would be covered under your regular home insurance but not the daycare insurance.
However if a child is hurt because of something you do then you will not be covered. For example if a child has an allergic reaction because you gave them something they were allergic to then you would not be covered.

Me - What does that mean? Like if a child falls and hurts themselves I am not covered if the parent files a lawsuit?

Agent - That is correct. You would not be covered for that.

Me - Then what is the benefit of having daycare insurance? Because then it would seem that I should be covered by my regular home insurance if a child falls on my property since you said parents falling or others would be covered.

Agent - Not necessarily. There are some exclusions and your home insurance won't cover you if an injury happens with anything related to operating the business.

So now I have such a low opinion of the daycare ryder. It seems like they are skirting a lot of liability before the problem even happens. How can they say if there is something negligent to my care that I won't be covered ? That is the whole point.

I am not sure what to do now. She said that only a specialized insurance broker would be able to cover a daycare ryder up to 7 kids :( I kind of lost faith in the whole thing based on what you hear on the phone vs what the paperwork says.:(:( I am also skeptical now that insurance would really even help if I needed it.

Where are you located Spixie ? I'm in Ottawa, and if you need the name and contact information of a good insurance broker/daycare coverage policies I can PM you some information.

I am in Ontario...north of Toronto

try dominion of Canada.

I think this is where all the carriers are headed. I am going with commercial insurance as a result because I kept getting the run around and no one would insure me with the coverage I needed.

Hi Torontokids, who offers the commercial insurance? How much do they charge?

I am just going with a broker (the commercial dept of current broker) and he is finding me some right now. He said he would try and get it for $750 a year. This will work out cheaper for me then going with Gore or Wawnessa who offered me crazy rates for my home and auto. After he looked at my website and spoke with me he said that a childcare ryder wouldn't be adequate for me anyways and also doesn't cover me if I was to hire someone or have a volunteer (which was conformed when I spoke with other companies re: ryder). He said they are more designed for people offering "babysitting" and didn't feel that providers that go out into the community with their kids would be completely covered if something were to happen. Who knows how much of this is a sales pitch. I tend to agree with him though based on my experiences trying to find coverage as there tends to be a ton of limitations. Plus I had already decided to go commercial before he told me all this and he knew that I was not looking into ryders anymore so there was no need to "convince me."

Well something sure smells fishy because a lot of these places used to offer it and now they are distancing themselves and limiting the children under the legal limit.

I don't think I am prepared to go the commercial rate. I already pay $300 a month for house and 2 cars insurance and adding $700 more a year is another $58 a month.

I used to pay $100 a year for coverage of up to 7 kids (including my own) and now $750?:ohmy: It just seems like an astronomical hike

As with most people they don't understand us. Home daycare and "babysitting" whether we like to admit it or not is basically the same thing. How many stories you read or crafts you do doesn't change the nature of the work. Where they get mixed up is that we use the word daycare so they think just small daycare centre for under 10 kids as compared to 50 kids.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by playfelt

As with most people they don't understand us. Home daycare and "babysitting" whether we like to admit it or not is basically the same thing. How many stories you read or crafts you do doesn't change the nature of the work. Where they get mixed up is that we use the word daycare so they think just small daycare centre for under 10 kids as compared to 50 kids.

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The paperwork I received from co-operators actually writes the words "Babysitting for up to 5 children (including applicants own)"

I'm confused.

Why do I need my own kids covered under my daycare insurance?

LOL @ Apples! You took the question right out of my mouth!! Why DO you need insurance for your own kids? You're their mom and they're in their own home so.... ?? :)

my insurance is 75 for the year. the rider says coverage for 5 daycare children. i dont have young ones of my own so that isnt an issue for me but i dont see why you need to cover your own kids. best advice is speak to a broker who works on your behalf and can explain it in plain english.

i should add that maybe my policy has been grandfathered because i've had it so long.

That sounds abvout right Gramma - 5 kids total and since you don't have any of your own that isn't an issue.

TD Waterhouse offers 6 kids including your own

The thing about your own kids being included is crazy. I even told the agents that my kids are only here approx 2 hours out of the daycare time since they go to school but they would still count.

The way the daycare providers' own kids factor in is that they feel like a provider cannot comfortably care for more than X number of children and be able to do so safely. It is ridiculous because the policies offered should match the legal limit of what we are allowed to have. It is annoying that the government allows us 5 kids + our own but the insurance can't be the same allowable numbers.

I guess they consider home daycares to be too risky to ensure with 5 kids + your own

Oh and do you know what else really blows my mind and makes me scratch my head?

I am now insured basically for only 3 dck under my policy since they are counting my two kids as liability kids for a total of 5.

But which 3 of my DCKs are they covering?

And they won't let me cancel off the insurance on the daycare because they said it is mandatory to have it when they know a daycare is operating out of the home but yet they can't give me the coverage I need.

I wish at this point I could cancel it and save my $100 of daycare insurance a year. It is useless anyhow

I just got insurance threw a broker with farmers mutual they covered 5 plus my own 33 dollars a year per child plus a surcharge of 170 on the regular home insurance and I'm covered for everything, check it out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spixie33

I am now insured basically for only 3 dck under my policy since they are counting my two kids as liability kids for a total of 5.

But which 3 of my DCKs are they covering?

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I would suspect that the insurance doesn't cover 'specific' children. I think what would happen, in the case of a claim, that there would be no coverage for any of the kids if you're over the number they've specified within their restrictions. If you have more kids than their coverage permits on site at the time of an incident, I would assume that they will not honour a claim because there were too many kids to begin with, putting you in breach. I'm not an insurance expert by any stretch of the imagination, that's just my assumption.

I'm with Wawanessa and pay around $86/mo for home and daycare insurance. I asked her repeatedly if this covers me fully for all 5 daycare children and she said yes, but insurance companies are tricky little buggers. My kids are all older now, so I don't have to worry about that aspect, thank goodness!

my kids are older too (9 to 15) and my oldest is my helper in the summer so how would she be classified. But I also have 2million liability so doesn't that cover my kids, but then who would I sue if something happens to them, that makes no sense whatsoever.

oh, don't call southland, they are so expensive its crazy.

Sheesh, reading all these posts is scary...feels like insurance companies are "closing in" on home daycares in a sense...it's weird. The sad part is most of us are moms, who have our own kids. There comes a point where it won't be worth it anymore for us to operate...I'm freaking out! Lol