The short answer
Daycare insurance combines liability for injuries to children and visitors with cover for the building or contents, plus a separate protection for allegations of abuse, which many ordinary liability policies exclude. A day home run from a house also needs the home insurer's agreement. Insurers look closely at licensing, staff screening, supervision and transport. A licensed broker gathers those details so insurers can see how the program actually runs.
- Licensed daycare centres and out-of-school care programs
- Family day home providers, whether agency-approved or private
- Preschools and nursery programs run in rented or shared space
- Nonprofit boards and parent cooperatives that operate child care
- Anyone opening a new program and preparing for licensing
3 licensed brokers in the network handle this. In Alberta, Canada, a request for daycare and day home insurance can be offered to up to three of them, chosen because they are licensed for this line and place. They are test brokers while we are in demo.
See the brokers → Outside Alberta, Canada you can prepare and save a request today; sending opens place by place. Brokers answer with their own quotes. Broker.insure does not quote, advise or take commission.
01 / What it covers
The parts worth understanding
Liability for children and visitors
Claims that a child was hurt on a climber, in the yard or during an activity, or that a parent fell at drop-off. Ask what the policy says about injuries on outings and away from the premises.
Abuse and molestation cover
A separate protection for claims alleging physical or sexual abuse of a child in your care. Many liability policies exclude it, so it is added by endorsement or a separate policy, often with its own limit, after detailed questions about screening and supervision.
Property and contents
Toys, cribs, cots, kitchen equipment and learning materials, plus the building if you own it. A centre in leased space may also have improvements it paid for and needs to insure.
Field trips and transport
Outings on foot, by bus or in private vehicles bring their own risks. Driving children in a personal or program vehicle is a question for the auto policy as much as the liability policy.
Home insurance for a day home
A day home changes how a house is used. Many home policies exclude or limit business use, so the home insurer needs to be told and may add an endorsement, or separate cover may be needed.
Directors and officers
For nonprofit or cooperative programs, cover for board members accused of mismanagement, employment mistakes or breaching the conditions of a grant.
Business income
Income lost if a fire, flood or other covered damage closes the program, with costs to reopen elsewhere. Parent fees and grant funding can both be affected.
02 / Get ready
Bring this, and expect these questions
Gather
- Your licence, agency approval or the provincial category you operate under
- Licensed capacity and actual enrolment, with the age range of the children
- A staff and volunteer list with roles, hours and the dates of their criminal record and vulnerable sector checks
- Written policies on supervision, washroom and diapering routines, and child pickup
- Details of outings and how children are transported, including who drives
- A description of the building, the yard and the play equipment
- Incident and injury reports from the past several years
- Any existing policy, including the home policy for a day home
- Agency, funding or lease agreements that list insurance requirements
A broker will ask
- Is the program licensed, approved through an agency or operating privately?
- How many children attend, and what are their ages?
- What screening do staff, volunteers and household members go through?
- How do you make sure no adult is alone with a child out of sight of others?
- Do children leave the premises for outings, and how do they travel?
- Is there a pool, trampoline, pet or water feature on site?
- Has there ever been an allegation, complaint or licensing finding against the program?
- Do you own, lease or share the space, and with whom?
- For a day home, has your home insurer been told about the child care?
Not sure of an answer? Leave it. "Not known yet" is a fine answer, and a broker will help you fill it in.
03 / Build your request
Answer a few questions. Get your own list.
Pick what fits. Your answers shape the list beside them, and they are saved to your request as plain facts a broker can read. "Not sure yet" is always a fine answer.
04 / Three situations
See which one sounds like yours
A day home provider in a suburban house
A mother cares for five children in her home alongside her own two, working through a day home agency. The agency has asked for proof of liability cover, and she has never told her home insurer about the care.
First steps. Get the agency's insurance requirement in writing and the name of any group program it offers. Bring your home policy to a broker, explain the hours, the rooms used and the backyard equipment, and ask whether the home insurer will accept the care or whether separate cover is needed.
A nonprofit centre renewing its abuse cover
A community-run centre for sixty children learns at renewal that its insurer is moving the abuse and molestation cover from occurrence to claims-made wording and lowering the limit. The board is unsure what that means for past years.
First steps. Bring the current and proposed wording, every previous policy you can find and your screening and supervision policies. Ask the broker to explain how claims-made wording treats an allegation about events years ago, and whether a retroactive date or another insurer's terms would change that.
A preschool planning weekly field trips
A half-day preschool in a rented church hall plans to walk children to a nearby park every week and take a chartered bus to a farm in spring. A parent volunteer has offered to drive a few children in her own car.
First steps. List each outing, the transport, the adult-to-child ratio and who the volunteers are. Ask the broker how the liability policy treats off-site activities and how the parent's own auto policy fits, and check the church hall's agreement for insurance or additional insured requirements.
05 / Words you will hear
The jargon, in plain words
- Abuse and molestation exclusion
- Wording in a liability policy that removes cover for allegations of abuse. Child care programs usually need that cover restored separately, with its own terms and limit.
- Claims-made wording
- A policy that responds to claims first made while it is in force, rather than when the events happened. Retroactive dates and past policies then decide how far back it reaches.
- Vulnerable sector check
- A police check that searches additional records relevant to people working with children or other vulnerable groups. Licensing rules and insurers both commonly ask about it.
- Day home endorsement
- An addition to a home policy that allows limited paid child care in the house, usually with conditions on the number of children and the liability limit.
- Additional insured
- A person or organisation added to your policy, such as a landlord or a church, so the policy can also defend them against claims arising from your program.
06 / Common mistakes
What trips people up
- Running a day home under a home policy whose insurer has never been told about the children.
- Assuming general liability includes abuse and molestation claims, when many policies exclude them entirely.
- Keeping screening checks on file with no dates, so you cannot show when each one was last renewed.
- Letting volunteers or parents drive children without checking how their own auto insurance responds.
- Discarding old policies, which can matter when a claim surfaces years after the events it describes.
- Adding a pool, trampoline or new pet to a day home without telling the insurer.
Ready when you are
Turn this into one clear request.
Save it, add what you know, and choose when to send it. A licensed broker who handles daycare and day home insurance takes it from there.
07 / Questions people ask
Straight answers
Does home insurance cover a day home?
Usually not without the insurer's agreement. Many home policies exclude or tightly limit business activity, and caring for other people's children for pay is a clear example. Some insurers offer a day home endorsement with conditions on the number of children; others require a separate policy. Tell the home insurer in writing, keep the reply, and bring it to a broker along with any agency requirements.
What is abuse and molestation insurance?
It is cover for legal defence and damages when someone alleges that a child was physically or sexually abused while in your care, including claims that the program failed to screen or supervise properly. Because standard liability policies often exclude these claims, it is usually added separately. Insurers ask about checks, training, supervision rules and past allegations before offering it, and terms vary widely.
Why do old daycare policies matter?
Allegations involving children can be made many years after the events, sometimes once the child is an adult. Depending on the wording, the policy that responds may be the one in force when the events happened or the one in force when the claim is made. Keeping every past policy and its dates helps a broker work out which one applies.
Do family day homes in Alberta need their own insurance?
In Alberta, family day homes may be approved and monitored through a licensed agency, or may operate privately within the limits the province sets for unlicensed care. Agencies often set insurance requirements for their providers, and some arrange group programs. The rules and their details change, so check the current provincial requirements and your agency agreement, then bring both to a broker.
Does daycare liability cover field trips?
Liability cover often extends to supervised activities away from the premises, but the details vary, and transport is a separate matter. A chartered bus carries its operator's insurance, while children riding in a staff member's or parent's car depend on that driver's auto policy. List the outings you plan and how children travel, and ask the broker how each is treated.
What screening records will an insurer want to see?
Expect questions about criminal record checks with a vulnerable sector search for staff and volunteers, how often they are renewed, and, for a day home, checks on other adults living in the house. Licensing rules commonly require some of this already. Dated records for every person, rather than a general statement that checks are done, make the conversation much clearer.
General information, not insurance advice. Broker.insure is a directory and request service: it is not an insurer and does not quote, bind or advise. Policy terms, availability and what is required where you live depend on your situation and on licensed professionals. Updated 2026-10-31.