If you’re home schooling or are participating in a home-schooling pod, an Independent Insurance Agent can help you assess your insurance needs.
Coverage situations will vary depending on a variety of factors — anything from your specific homeowners policy, who is leading the school activities, and whether payment is involved.
Consider the following questions if you will host a home-schooling pod or if your child will be attending one in someone else’s home.
Is Running a Home-Schooling Pod a Business?
This depends on whether parents are paying for the homeschooling. If the parents involved are alternating hosting and running the school activities themselves without charging a fee, each parent’s homeowners coverage may be sufficient in the case of a fall or injury. This may be a good time to ask your Trusted Choice agent about adding an umbrella liability policy to your homeowners coverage for extra liability protection.
But pooled home-schooling becomes more complicated when the parents start charging money or hire and pay a teacher. At that point, operating the home-schooling pod would likely constitute running a business, and your homeowners coverage may no longer provide coverage.
Some insurance carriers may allow you to add additional coverage to your homeowners policy through a special busines endorsement. In addition, in some cases, the teacher may be the one required to have the business insurance coverage.
Another suggested strategy is to form a limited liability company (LLC) or sub-chapter S corporation to operate the homeschool. Though complex and potentially cost-prohibitive, this option would allow for greater liability protection.
State Laws May Vary
Depending on your state, hosting a home-schooling pod may require obtaining a license to run a school. Your state also may require more extensive insurance coverage, such as workers compensation coverage for the teacher.
Parents should also be aware of state and local laws regarding operating a home day care, which could involve additional regulations.
More Questions for Your Independent Insurance Agent
If you plan to participate in home-schooling, here are a few more of the basic questions you and your independent insurance agent will need to discuss to be sure you, your home school, the students and teachers are adequately protected:
- How many children will be included in the homeschooling pod?
- Who will lead school activities and conduct lessons in your home?
- Will you pay a teacher to conduct lessons?
- Will you transport children in the home-school pod in your vehicle? Only your own or also others?
- Does your homeowners policy provide coverage for operating a business?
- Should you consider adding an umbrella liability policy to your homeowners coverage?
- Will your policy cover other people’s computer equipment?
Make your independent insurance agent one of your home school’s resources.
