Daycare, home daycare and after-school program insurance for the kids in your care.
Insurance for child care centers, family child care homes, preschools, after-school programs and private K–12 schools.
Quick answer A daycare or after-school program needs coverage built for child care: general and professional liability for injuries and supervision claims, abuse and molestation coverage, property coverage, and workers' comp for teachers and staff.
- Abuse and molestation coverage is strongly recommended and often required for any program caring for children, and many policies exclude it unless it is added.
- A homeowners policy usually does not cover a home daycare, because homeowners policies generally exclude business activity, so a family child care home needs its own coverage.
- Child care is licensed by the state's Community Care Licensing Division, and parents, landlords and school boards often ask child care programs for proof of coverage.
- Underwriters rate daycare and child care insurance on capacity, ages served, facilities, staffing, transportation and claims history.
- Sam Alishahi places child care and school coverage with carriers that specialize in insuring child care programs.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · How this page is researched
Children in your care change the risk
Caring for children brings claims standard business policies aren't built for: playground injuries, supervision claims, and abuse allegations, which need specific abuse and molestation coverage. Home-based child care also needs coverage beyond a homeowners policy, which usually excludes a business run from the home.
Child care is licensed by the state's Community Care Licensing Division, and parents, landlords and school boards often ask for proof of coverage. I place child care and school coverage with carriers that specialize in the class.
- General and professional liabilityInjuries and supervision claims.
- Abuse and molestationEssential, and excluded unless added.
- PropertyThe building or space, furniture and equipment.
- Workers' compTeachers and staff.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- License: center or family child care home, and capacity.
- Children: ages served and enrollment.
- Staff: teachers, payroll and background checks.
- Location: own or lease, playground and pool.
- Transportation: field trips or vans.
- History: current policies and claims.
After-school programs and day camps: licensed or exempt?
One of the first things an underwriter asks an after-school program or day camp is whether California Community Care Licensing licenses you. Health and Safety Code 1596.792 lists programs the child care licensing laws do not apply to. The ones I see most:
- Public recreation programs run by a city, county, special district, school district or similar public body. A program for K-12 students that runs only outside normal school hours or while school is out must run either under 20 hours a week or 14 weeks or less in any 12 months. Shorter limits apply to younger children.
- Extended day care run by a public or private school, including expanded learning opportunity programs. Under Title 22, section 101158, the school must operate the program with qualified teachers it employs.
- Vacation programs that teach in a classroom-like setting only while schools are on scheduled break. Sessions can total no more than 30 days when only school-age children enroll, or 15 days when younger children attend.
- Programs that meet one day a week for no more than four hours.
Two traps catch outside operators. An outside organization or individual that runs child care on a public or private school site must be licensed, even if only that school's students attend. Section 1596.793 exempts recreation programs run by the YMCA, Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, organized camps and similar groups, but their child day care programs still fall under the licensing laws. CDSS says operating without a required license is a misdemeanor subject to a $200-per-day fine.
For insurance, describe exactly what you run: hours, weeks, ages, who employs staff and whose site you use. If you drive children between school and your site, that is an auto exposure; see school bus and student transport insurance. Outside California, licensing rules vary by state.
Why general liability so often excludes abuse
Insurers can remove abuse coverage from a general liability policy with standard ISO endorsements. IRMI describes form CG 21 46 as applying to all activities of an insured when the person alleging abuse or molestation was in the care, custody or control of any insured. For a daycare, that reaches every enrolled child. Form CG 21 97, introduced with ISO's December 2007 changes, is narrower: it excludes abuse or molestation only for the professional services listed in its schedule. Before you sign, read the endorsement list on your quote for either form number or a carrier's own version.
California has made this exposure long-lived. Under Code of Civil Procedure 340.1, there is no time limit to sue over childhood sexual assault that occurred on or after January 1, 2024. That includes suits against a person or entity that owed the child a duty of care, when its wrongful or negligent act was a legal cause of the assault. Claims over assaults on or before December 31, 2023 stay under the time limits in the law as it read on that date.
Because a claim can surface decades later, keep every policy and declarations page. When you compare quotes, ask whether the abuse coverage is written on an occurrence or claims-made basis, and whether its limit is separate from or shared with the general liability limit. Dedicated abuse and molestation coverage is written for this exposure.
Daycare insurance, answered
Does my homeowners policy cover a home daycare?
Usually not. Homeowners policies generally exclude business activity, so a family child care home needs its own coverage.
Is abuse and molestation coverage necessary?
For any program caring for children, it's strongly recommended and often required. Many policies exclude it unless added.
Do private schools need D&O?
Boards of private schools are commonly sued over decisions, so D&O is often part of a school's insurance.
What do underwriters rate on?
Capacity, ages served, facilities, staffing, transportation and claims history.
Do after-school programs need a child care license in California?
It depends on who runs it and how. Health and Safety Code 1596.792 exempts extended day care run by public or private schools and some public recreation programs, but under Title 22, section 101158, an outside organization or individual running child care on a school site must be licensed.
Is home daycare insurance required in California?
Health and Safety Code 1597.531 requires a family day care home to carry liability insurance of at least $100,000 per occurrence and $300,000 aggregate, or a $300,000 bond. Instead, it may keep an affidavit on a CDSS form, signed by each enrolled child's parent, saying the parent was told the home lacks that insurance or bond.
Do you offer daycare and private school insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- Cal. Health & Safety Code 1596.792 (exempt programs)
- Cal. Health & Safety Code 1596.793 (YMCA, scouts, organized camps)
- 22 CCR 101158 (exemption from licensure: school-run programs)
- CDSS: Do I Need a License?
- Cal. Health & Safety Code 1597.531 (family day care homes: insurance, bond or affidavits)
- Cal. Insurance Code 676.1 (homeowners policies and family day care)
- Cal. Code of Civil Procedure 340.1 (childhood sexual assault claims)
- IRMI: CGL Insurance 2007 Edition, A Summary of Changes (CG 21 46, CG 21 97)
- IRMI: The New ISO CGL Policy, a Summary of December 2004 Changes
- IRMI: How the Limits Apply in the CGL Policy
Tell me about your program. I'll shop it.
Your license type, capacity and location are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
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