Home Health Care Insurance in Georgia: Why General Liability and Professional Liability Matter
Operating a home health care or home care business comes with a unique responsibility: your employees are entering clients' homes and providing services to individuals who may depend on them for assistance with everyday activities.
Whether your agency provides companionship, personal care, medication reminders, transportation assistance, or skilled nursing services, having the right home health care business insurance in Georgia is an important part of protecting your company.
One question we frequently encounter is:
Does my home health care agency need both General Liability and Professional Liability Insurance?
For many home care and home health care operations, the answer may be yes. The two coverages are designed to address different types of exposures.
What Does General Liability Insurance Cover for a Home Health Care Business?
General Liability Insurance is designed to protect your business against certain third-party claims involving bodily injury, property damage, and personal or advertising injury, subject to the terms and exclusions of the policy.
Home health care employees frequently work inside other people's homes, which creates exposures that many traditional businesses do not have.
For example, imagine a caregiver accidentally damages an expensive piece of furniture while assisting a client inside the client's home. Or someone alleges that an action by your business caused bodily injury.
Those are the types of situations where general liability coverage may become important.
General liability can be an essential part of an insurance program for businesses providing services such as:
- Companion care
- Personal care and assistance
- Homemaker services
- Meal preparation
- Light housekeeping
- Errands and shopping assistance
- Transportation or appointment assistance
- Assistance with activities of daily living
- Non-medical home care
However, general liability alone may not adequately address claims arising from the actual professional services your agency provides.
That's where Professional Liability Insurance becomes important.
What Is Professional Liability Insurance for Home Health Care?
Professional Liability Insurance, sometimes called Errors & Omissions (E&O) or medical professional liability depending on the operation and policy, is intended to address certain claims alleging an error, omission, negligence, or failure in the professional services provided by the business.
This distinction can be extremely important for a home care agency.
Consider an employee who is responsible for reminding a client that it is time to take medication.
If the employee allegedly fails to provide the agreed-upon reminder and the client suffers an injury or medical complication, the resulting allegation could involve the services the agency was hired to provide.
A standard general liability policy should not automatically be assumed to cover allegations arising from professional services.
This is why your insurance agent needs to know exactly what your caregivers do for clients.
Medication Reminders vs. Medication Administration
This is an especially important distinction when obtaining insurance for a home care business.
A medication reminder may involve reminding a client that it is time to take medication that has already been prescribed and is being managed by the client or another authorized party.
That is very different from an employee actually:
- Administering medication
- Measuring or preparing medication
- Giving injections
- Making medication decisions
- Changing dosages
- Providing medical advice
- Monitoring a client's clinical response to medication
The exact distinction can depend on the employee's credentials, the services being performed, applicable laws and regulations, and the insurance carrier's underwriting definitions.
When applying for insurance, don't simply tell the carrier that you operate a "home health care company."
Be specific.
If your employees only provide reminders and do not administer medication, tell the insurance company that.
If nurses or other licensed professionals administer medication or perform skilled medical services, disclose those operations as well.
The insurance carrier needs an accurate description of the services being performed to determine eligibility and appropriate coverage.
Non-Professional Home Care vs. Professional Home Health Care Services
Another area of confusion is the difference between non-professional/non-medical services and professional or skilled health care services.
Non-Medical or Non-Professional Home Care Services
Depending on the business and applicable requirements, these services may include companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, errands, assistance with dressing or grooming, mobility assistance, appointment assistance and medication reminders.
The focus is generally helping the client with daily living rather than providing skilled medical treatment.
Professional or Skilled Services
Professional services may include services performed by licensed or credentialed health care professionals, such as:
Registered nurses (RNs), licensed practical nurses (LPNs), physical therapists, occupational therapists, or other licensed health care professionals.
Depending on the provider and scope of practice, professional services could include wound care, injections, medication administration, health assessments, skilled nursing care and other clinical services.
The difference matters to the insurance company because professional health care services can create different liability exposures from non-medical companion or personal-care services.
Why Your Insurance Application Needs to Describe Your Services Correctly
When shopping for home health care insurance in Georgia, price should not be the only consideration.
An inexpensive policy can become very expensive if the carrier was never informed about an important part of your operation.
For example, an agency tells its insurance agent that it provides companionship services. However, its employees are also performing skilled nursing services.
Those are materially different operations from an underwriting standpoint.
Your insurance application should accurately describe what your company actually does.
Your agent may ask questions about your annual revenue, payroll, number of employees, independent contractors, employee credentials, services performed, transportation of clients, medication assistance, background checks, hiring practices, prior claims, and whether your agency provides skilled nursing services.
Answering these questions accurately helps your agent find insurance designed for your actual operation.
Do Home Health Care Agencies Need Workers' Compensation?
If you have employees, Workers' Compensation Insurance is another important coverage to discuss.
Home care employees can experience injuries while lifting or assisting clients, walking through unfamiliar homes, traveling between clients, or performing other job-related duties.
Georgia businesses should determine whether they are legally required to maintain Workers' Compensation coverage based on their employment situation and current state requirements.
Even when a particular operation isn't legally required to carry it, the exposure should still be discussed with an insurance professional.
What Other Insurance Might a Home Health Care Business Need?
A complete insurance program may involve more than General Liability and Professional Liability.
Depending on your operation, you may also need Workers' Compensation, Commercial Auto, Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability (HNOA), Employment Practices Liability (EPLI), Cyber Liability, Abuse or Molestation coverage, Crime/Employee Dishonesty coverage, and Commercial Umbrella Insurance.
For example, if employees use their personal vehicles to drive between clients or run errands on behalf of your company, that should be disclosed to your insurance agent.
Your personal auto policy, employee's auto policy, and business insurance do not automatically provide interchangeable protection.
General Liability vs. Professional Liability: Why Having Both Can Matter
A simple way to understand the distinction is:
General Liability primarily addresses certain claims involving bodily injury, property damage, and other general business liability exposures.
Professional Liability primarily addresses certain allegations arising from errors, omissions, negligence, or failures associated with the professional services your company provides.
A home health care or home care business can potentially experience both types of claims.
That's why purchasing general liability without discussing professional liability—or professional liability without reviewing the rest of the business's exposures—can leave important gaps.
Coverage ultimately depends on the actual policy language, endorsements, exclusions and circumstances of a claim.
Home Health Care Insurance in Atlanta, Marietta, Acworth, Kennesaw, Woodstock & Canton, GA
Jones Group Insurance Services helps home care and home health care businesses throughout Georgia explore insurance options appropriate for their operations.
We serve businesses in Atlanta, Marietta, Acworth, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Canton, Smyrna, East Cobb, Cobb County, Paulding County and communities throughout Georgia.
Whether you're starting a new home care agency or reviewing insurance for an established operation, we'll take the time to understand the services you provide before exploring coverage options.
Get a Home Health Care Insurance Quote in Georgia
If you own a home health care agency, non-medical home care company, companion care business, personal care agency, or skilled home health care operation, contact Jones Group Insurance Services for a quote.
We'll discuss your services, employees, payroll, revenue, transportation exposure and professional services to help identify the insurance options your business may need.
Jones Group Insurance Services
3459 Acworth Due West Rd NW, Suite 319
Acworth, GA 30101
770-933-7929
Serving Atlanta, Marietta, Acworth, Kennesaw, Woodstock, Canton, Smyrna, East Cobb, Cobb County, Paulding County and businesses throughout Georgia.