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Daycare Facility Insurance in Washington

Running a daycare means families depend on you to care for their children while parents and guardians are at work or managing their daily responsibilities. That trust also brings substantial responsibility and potential liability.
FirstMark Insurance Group helps daycare facilities throughout Washington explore insurance designed for childcare operations.

What Does Daycare Insurance Cover?

Daycare insurance isn’t necessarily a single policy. Instead, an insurance program can combine several coverages based on the facility’s needs.
These may include:

• General Liability for certain bodily injury and property damage claims.
• Commercial Property for buildings, contents, furniture, toys, equipment, and other eligible property.
• Professional Liability for certain allegations related to professional childcare services.
• Workers’ Compensation for covered employee injuries and illnesses.
• Sexual Abuse and Molestation Coverage for certain allegations that may otherwise be excluded.
• Commercial Auto when the daycare owns or operates vehicles.
• Cyber Liability for certain cyber incidents and compromised information.
• Umbrella or Excess Liability for additional liability protection.

Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance for Daycare Facilities

Sexual Abuse and Molestation (SA&M) coverage helps protect businesses and organizations from allegations of sexual abuse or molestation involving patients, clients, residents, students, participants, employees, volunteers, or other third parties.
It is particularly important for healthcare providers, senior living facilities, behavioral-health organizations, schools, childcare providers, youth programs, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, fitness facilities, and any business serving vulnerable populations.
Daycare facilities routinely involve direct interaction between adults and young children, making SA&M coverage particularly important. Standard General Liability policies usually exclude or significantly restrict coverage for these allegations.
Since these allegations can result in substantial defense costs, settlements, judgments, and claims involving multiple alleged victims or responsible parties, we recommend a $1M SA&M limit for most organizations with regular contact with children, patients, residents, or other vulnerable individuals.

Daycare Liability Exposures

Even a well-managed facility can experience accidents or allegations.
Potential exposures may involve falls, playground accidents, improper supervision, food allergies, choking incidents, injuries involving toys or equipment, unauthorized pickup situations, and allegations concerning employees or volunteers.
Insurance should work alongside strong risk-management practices, including documented policies, employee screening, appropriate staff-to-child ratios, incident reporting, and established procedures for interacting with children.

Building and Contents Coverage

If you own your daycare building, your property insurance may need to cover the structure along with its contents. If you lease, the landlord may insure the building while leaving you responsible for furniture, equipment, improvements, and other business property.
Accurately estimating replacement costs can help reduce the risk of being inadequately insured following a significant loss.

Daycare Facility Insurance FAQs

How much insurance does a daycare need?

There isn’t one appropriate limit for every daycare. Enrollment, property values, payroll, number of employees, transportation, activities, and other factors should be considered when determining coverage and limits.

Is Sexual Abuse and Molestation coverage included in daycare general liability?

Standard General Liability policies usually exclude or significantly restrict coverage for these allegations. Daycare operators should specifically evaluate SA&M coverage rather than assuming it is included within general liability.

Does daycare insurance cover children who are injured?

Certain injuries may result in claims covered by applicable liability policies, depending on the circumstances and policy terms. Some programs may also offer accident medical coverage. Your agent can explain the available options.

Can a daycare get umbrella liability insurance?

Potentially. Umbrella or excess liability can provide limits above certain underlying policies. Availability, underlying coverage requirements, and exclusions vary among insurance companies.

Daycare Facility Insurance in Washington

Your daycare’s insurance should reflect how you actually operate. FirstMark Insurance Group can help review your facility, services, staff, activities, and other exposures to identify appropriate insurance options.
Contact FirstMark Insurance Group at 206-462-3293 to get started.