Today there are many more options than ever for people who need insurance for caregivers. If you work as a caregiver, you need to have the proper insurance coverage to protect your business and yourself. There are different types of coverage available for both the person who is providing care to the patient and for the person who is receiving that care. Depending on the needs of your client, professional liability insurance, or a general liability policy may be the best coverage to purchase.
Professional liability insurance is the most common type of coverage for health care providers who provide physical therapy, speech language development, occupational therapy, or other professional services to patients in their home. Most individuals do not file claims against any professional when they suffer an injury or illness as a result of the care they receive. However, this does not mean that they are not responsible for damages if they are negligent. This is why it is so important for anyone who provides care to be covered by health care providers with professional liability insurance.
Personal care providers such as doctors, dentists, and therapists need to have the right kind of coverage to protect themselves, their clients, and their business. A home health care business involves having a large volume of people visit your office, and each one could possibly create a claim against you for injuries or illnesses. For example, take care of a patient and leave him or her alone for a period of time, then return to the same room and allow someone else to continue to take care of the person. All of these visits would likely result in separate claims from different caregivers.
How to start a home care business in West Virginia to consider all of the risks that come along with providing care for a number of different people who may be at risk for contracting different kinds of diseases or being injured. For instance, a doctor can provide preventive care services to his or her patients by performing simple tests or using equipment. However, if a person slips and falls on a floor that has not been properly maintained, or if a caregiver fails to make sure the room is clean when leaving a patient in the waiting room, then the doctor or other professionals can be held liable for injuries caused by such carelessness.
Because professional liability insurance policies typically only cover claims for negligence by qualified professionals, some home health care agencies or private caregivers themselves may not have adequate coverage to protect them from these potential risks. For example, a home health care agency might not be able to pay out-of-pocket for a $500 medical examination that a nurse practitioner recommends simply because it does not meet their definition of negligence. The insurance companies that offer this coverage may not even offer a blanket exclusion for professionals who are considered “unprofessional”. If a nurse practitioner recommended a particular medical procedure and it was determined that he or she was not competent, then the nurse practitioner himself could be held personally responsible for any injuries resulting from his “medicine”.
Finding an appropriate health care insurance policy for your home care business involves knowing which risks are unique to your line of work, and which are common in the industry as a whole. Insurance for caregivers is a necessary component of any plan, but it should not be used as an excuse to avoid proper care of patients. Insurance for caregivers should be used as a way to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your company, while still offering an affordable way to provide quality health care to those in need. If you fail to do so, you may end up paying with your pocket for a medical procedure that turns out to be unnecessary.