From residents slipping and getting serious bodily injuries to property damage due to poor weather conditions - there are a variety of risks nursing homes are exposed to on a daily basis.
With the right insurance policy in place, you can protect your nursing home business from any financial liabilities that may arise in case a lawsuit or a claim is filed against your organization.
How Much Does Nursing Home Insurance Cost?
The total cost of your nursing home insurance will depend on the level of coverage you take out, the state you operate within, and the size of your nursing home.
The average nursing home in the United States pays around $50 per month or $600 per year on general liability insurance. Such a policy covers your business from claims and lawsuits that arise from third-party bodily injuries and property damage.
To further protect the business and its financial standing, business owner’s insurance is recommended. This insurance costs around $120 per month or $1,440 per year and merges together general liability insurance and commercial property insurance.
As nursing homes work with very fragile individuals, a simple mistake or a slight bit of negligence can lead to a lot of trouble and even a lawsuit. As a result, professional liability insurance is needed. It costs around $60 per month or $720 per year and will cover your business from claims and lawsuits related to malpractice, negligence, and other similar accusations.
If you have hired staff to work for your nursing home business, then worker’s compensation insurance will be necessary. This policy will cost you around $140 per month or $1,680 per year and will provide your staff with financial cover in case they get sick or injured at work.
The board of directors and any officers within the business can also be sued. To protect the key workers in the business, directors' and officers' insurance will be needed. You can expect to pay around $70 per month or $840 per year for this policy.
What Types of Insurance Do Nursing Homes Need?
There are a number of insurance policies available for nursing homes. Certain factors, such as services offered, business location and size, type of equipment, and revenue will affect the level of coverage you need.
Read more about the suggested insurance policies for your business, and their corresponding overviews, below.
Why Do Nursing Homes Need Insurance?
As nursing homes specifically care for the elderly, the risks that they are exposed to are very significant. And while you can take very extensive measures to protect your nursing home and all of its inhabitants - accidents can happen, which can lead to a lot of financial and legal trouble.
For instance, if a fire breaks out not all safety measures were followed - this accident can be financially devastating for your business even if there were no casualties from the accident.
In other cases, nursing homes also employ staff to take care of the inhabitants. And due to their different medical conditions - sometimes, mistakes can happen such as giving the wrong medication to a person. And if they suffer as a result of this, your nursing home can be sued.
And while the above two can be avoided entirely - poor weather conditions are completely out of your control, and sometimes - they can lead to devastating property damage. If your nursing home doesn’t have the necessary insurance, you’ll have to pay for the repairs out of pocket.
In other scenarios, depending on the state your nursing home operates in, you might be legally required to take out a certain level of cover to protect your business, staff, and everyone living in the nursing home before you are legally allowed to operate.