As a growing business, you want to be fully protected for potential claims and lawsuits. Without proper insurance, your business may not withstand a $100,000 out of pocket lawsuit. This may put you in serious financial distress or even totally bankrupt your agency. Even after paying tens of thousands of dollars in annual insurance premiums, your policy could still be full of major gaps.
Does the insurance carrier fully understand your operation? We’ve seen all too often that the insurance policy doesn’t match up with the scope of services provided. At times the policy has very clear policy Exclusions that could entirely render the policy invalid if certain services are provided. It’s the job of the insurance agency and policyholder to review the policy they are purchasing.
Example:
- Some Workers Compensation carriers do not cover operations with 24 hour or live-in services. A few carriers exclude family members working as employees of the agency that serve as a caregiver for their loved one. Get something in writing that these services are, indeed, picked up.
- Some Liability carriers do not cover pediatric services (provided to those under 18 years of age).
- The Location of Services may be limited as well – facilities like hospitals and nursing homes may be strict exclusions for carriers because these facilities may be present much greater risk for them. Some carriers may even go as well as limiting coverage to a specified listed address, and so if any claim is brought for services outside of the scheduled location, there is no coverage.
All of these things are important to correctly address and as early as possible. An insurance carrier won’t be as understanding if you’re asking to fix the problem after a claim has already been denied.
