INDIANAPOLIS — Some childcare providers are struggling to get insurance coverage. Kelly Dawn Jones is one of those providers. She has been in the childcare industry for over a decade; insuring her home and business has never been an issue until now.
They said that they just can't do it anymore,” Kelly Dawn Jones a Licensed Childcare provider said. “They can't cover us because there is licensed childcare in the home. "
She isn't alone. Deanna Azbell runs an at-home childcare facility in Wabash. It is one of the very few options there. She is still insured but is looking for a lower price. She says trying to find new and affordable insurance is proving to be a nightmare.
"I have been turned down by four or five different locations trying to get insurance,” Deanna Azbell the Owner of Little Hands Big Hearts Daycare LLC said. “As soon as I tell them hey I have a licensed childcare in my home, it's done. Like they don't want to insure me. They say that I am a liability.”
Indiana isn't the only state dealing with this.
"There is definitely a shortage of insurance companies that are interested in entertaining this risk class,” Samantha Phillips an Insurance Agent with a specialty in childcare facilities said.
Phillips says insurance providers shy away from in-home daycares because of all the industry regulations, the risk for the insurance company, and the rise in insurance claims at these businesses.
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“I have filed more claims on behalf of my clients in the last year alone than I did the previous 10 years,” Phillips said.
If these facilities don't find affordable coverage, they either have to find a new place to do business or drop their license.
Azbelll says she has been told multiple times that if she wasn’t licensed she could be easily insured. However, that would require her to have fewer children in the home. She also feels that is disrespectful to her career field, especially as she is pursuing a master’s degree in early childhood education.
"I don't want to have to go backward,” Azbell said. “I don't want to have to drop my children. You know, my families rely on me.”
Phillips says childcare facilities should start looking for coverage early. There are insurance specialty agencies that can help as well. She is one of them.
