Hi everyone! It’s Nea with Nanny Parent Connection back with this week’s video.
The start of the new year means many families will be looking for a nanny in the coming months. For some families, this will be the first nanny they have ever hired.
One of the first questions that parents need to address is:
“If we have a nanny working in our home, what types of insurance do we need?”
This can be a confusing “rabbit hole” as there is a plethora of conflicting information available on the internet. Not to worry as we have done the work for you!
Let’s dive into what insurance policies you should have in place.
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A transcript of the video can be found below:
Hi everyone! It’s Nea with Nanny Parent Connection, back with this week’s video.
The start of the new year means many families will be looking for a nanny in the coming months.
For some families, this will be the first nanny they have ever hired.
One of the first questions that parents need to address is “if we have a nanny working in our home, what types of insurance do we need?”
This can be a confusing rabbit hole as there is a plethora of conflicting information available on the internet.
Not to worry, as we have done the work for you. Let’s dive into what insurance policies you should have in place.
Please note that this video is specifically focused on what insurance policies your family should have in place with an employee working in your home.
We will not be touching on health insurance, unemployment, or auto insurance for the nanny in this video.
When you hire a nanny, their place of business is your home and any location that they take your children to.
Just like with any other job, the employer is responsible if the nanny is injured or if something bad happens.
Many parents are not aware of their liability if something happens to their nanny while caring for their children.
Others sometimes believe that their homeowners’ insurance policy will provide coverage.
If your nanny is hurt while working for you and you do not have adequate insurance coverage, your family may be responsible for all the medical expenses and lost wages associated with the injury.
Our team has heard from some families that have been out of thousands of dollars or, in one case, over $10,000 because they did not have adequate insurance coverage in place.
What insurance types should you have in place to ensure this doesn’t happen to your family? Let’s dive in!
First, a note about homeowners’ insurance policies:
The vast majority of parents that our team speaks with wrongly believe that their homeowners’ insurance policy will cover any injuries to their nanny while providing care.
The majority of the time, this is false.
Most homeowners’ insurance policies will not cover household employee injuries.
We suggest that parents speak with their homeowners’ insurance company or insurance agent to learn if their homeowners’ insurance policy will provide coverage.
The most important insurance policy that you want to have in place even before your nanny begins working with your family is a workers’ compensation policy.
This policy is key to protect your family, and the coverage handles the medical expenses and loss wages if the nanny is injured while on the job.
These policies protect your family because you won’t have to worry about paying out of pocket for your nanny’s medical expenses or wages, be sued for any on-the-job injury, or potentially face fines for not having workers’ compensation coverage if required in your state.
What are some of the common injuries that occur to nannies?
They run the gamut, but we’ve heard of nannies who have hurt themselves picking up a child, slipping and falling, or burning themselves while cooking for the children.
Any of these injuries would be covered if the parents have a workers’ compensation policy in place.
Most states require that families have a workers’ compensation policy in place if working with a nanny.
If you are unsure about your state’s requirements, simply search the term ‘household employer workers’ compensation requirement, plus your state.’
Most states can set up your family with a workers’ compensation policy, but there are private insurers that offer policies as well.
Not only will a workers’ compensation policy ensure your family doesn’t have to pay out of pocket for your nanny’s injuries, but you can use the funds that you might have had to pay towards the injury instead to hire a temporary nanny while your primary nanny recovers.
These types of policies are relatively inexpensive, and we recommend to all families that they have a workers’ compensation policy in place before their nanny’s first day.
Next, consider if your family wants to put an Employment Practices Liability Insurance (ELPI) policy in place.
These types of insurance policies are not widely known about.
An ELPI policy is liability insurance that covers the family in case they are sued by their nanny.
Why might the nanny sue the family?
This could be due to wage law violations, breach of contract, wrongful termination, discrimination including sexual harassment, or emotional or physical distress.
In many states, you can add ELPI coverage to your workers’ compensation policy. This type of policy usually only costs a few hundred per year.
Ensuring that your family and nanny have adequate coverage provides peace of mind and ensures your family won’t be out of thousands of dollars due to an injury or some other type of negative event.
We recommend that families with a full-time nanny put a workers’ compensation policy and Employment Practices Liability policy in place before the nanny’s first day.
Families working with a part-time nanny should definitely have a workers’ compensation policy in place and should give some serious thought to whether their family needs ELPI coverage or not.
We hope you found this video helpful and informative.
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If you would like to learn more about car insurance coverage when working with a nanny, please click here.
We hope you have had a fantastic start to 2024, and we’ll talk to you again next week!