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Workers Comp Insurance for Home Health Aide: How to estimate amount of coverage needed

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Periodic Contributor

Workers Comp Insurance for Home Health Aide: How to estimate amount of coverage needed

I am in the process of hiring a home health aide for my mom.  This aide would work directly for us, not an agency.  I am trying to figure out how to estimate the level of coverage needed for this kind of work.  The insurance brokers I speak with just ask how much I want, and don't recommend how much I should get.  I am interested in hearing what other people have done to determine workers compensation insurance coverage.

 

My home insurance provides some coverage ($100K per person per accident).  How do determine if that is sufficient?

 

thanks!

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@jseagull wrote:

I am in the process of hiring a home health aide for my mom.  This aide would work directly for us, not an agency.  I am trying to figure out how to estimate the level of coverage needed for this kind of work.  The insurance brokers I speak with just ask how much I want, and don't recommend how much I should get.  I am interested in hearing what other people have done to determine workers compensation insurance coverage.

 

My home insurance provides some coverage ($100K per person per accident).  How do determine if that is sufficient?

 

thanks!


Wow, good for you for wanting to hire this person correctly and offer her/him the protection in the workplace she/he deserves! I can only offer this: when i was a geriatric care manager for a family, the wife who was the caregiver relied heavily on her accountant to keep everything straight. The accountant made sure they had paid leave, that taxes and social security were withheld, that everything was on the up and up. When one of the aides had a verbal altercation with another aide (it was two 12 hour shifts per day with about 6 total aides), then i called the accountant, and met with the aides to settle the dispute. (Something about the day aide leaving a mess for the night aide and not changing the husband's diaper before leaving.)

 

I hope that helps, and i do hope one of the many other people here will have the answer!

 

Jane

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After reading the question I would like to suggest you to get the one while provides you with the maximum monetary help for the health aide. Though as per my knowledge workers' comp. might not provide you with all the necessity required, (if the health aide is serious). You should rather go for homeowners insurance policy to cover the overall situation or problem.  I could suggest that since my friend, John, have recently encounted the same situation. But he get all the possible help need from his reference insurance company and now evrything is all right.

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Just a note of BEWARE.  We just hired a home health worker for my parents directly.  We were advised that because we are now employers there is a strong possibility that our home insurance will not cover an accident in the home for the worker.  Thus the need for worker compensation insurance.  There are only a handful of insurers willing to take on a home health insurer that has limited workers and only for their home.  

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@jseagull wrote:

I am in the process of hiring a home health aide for my mom.  This aide would work directly for us, not an agency.  I am trying to figure out how to estimate the level of coverage needed for this kind of work.  The insurance brokers I speak with just ask how much I want, and don't recommend how much I should get.  I am interested in hearing what other people have done to determine workers compensation insurance coverage.

 

My home insurance provides some coverage ($100K per person per accident).  How do determine if that is sufficient?

 

thanks!


This is an excellent question and I wish i knew the answer. I'm a medical social worker and i advise families on how to hire aides, but i usually recommend that they go through agencies for this reason and others: it's simpler. It is more expensive, but if you're helping to take out Social Security, and providing Workers Compensation, and maybe other benefits, you need an accountant to keep track, right?  I know several families who use an accountant who does all of this computation and follow up if you hire the person directly.

 

With an agency, you get back up, in case the car breaks down or the caregiver herself/himself becomes ill. You get a better trained caregiver, often. You get some sort of professional advice from their bosses, if it's a well run operation, about care issues, or personality clashes. You also pay up to 1/3 more per hour. In the DC area, for a 12 hour shift person, you might pay 20 dollars an hour, and freelancers might ask for 15 or less.

 

My sense from hanging out in this caregivers forum for a while is that most people do the work themselves. I do hope someone with direct knowledge will address your question.

 

Best of luck. Glad you're trying to right by your workers!

 

Jane

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