As your homeschool group finalizes its role and function in your community, it's important to consider insurance.
Insurance helps to protect against physical and financial injury that can happen when groups of people meet regularly. Though we hope your group never has to use it—it’s always a good idea to be prepared!
Should my group consider insurance?
While each group’s circumstances are different, there is a common link: hosting events, activities, and meetings comes with a measure of legal responsibility and risk.
If a child falls off the playground slide and breaks their arm, if a game of tag leads to a hole in a classroom wall, if a myriad of other possible injuries or damages happen (ranging from mild to extremely severe), your organization and its leaders/officers need to be financially protected.
Having group insurance is also beneficial to your families. If a child gets injured at your group’s event, the parents’ insurance may refuse to cover the expense unless the family holds your group liable. By getting insurance for your group, you assure your members that you take their wellbeing seriously and are looking out for them.
As a note, groups don’t have to be incorporated to get insurance, but incorporation may be helpful for other reasons. We recommend that you talk to an attorney in your state if you have questions about incorporation.
What kind of insurance do we need?
You’ll want to talk to an insurance agent about exactly what type(s) of insurance would be best for your group to obtain. However, we recommend you start with a good general liability insurance to cover accidents at group events and damage to physical property. We also encourage you to look into officer/director insurance to protect your board members’ personal assets in the case of a lawsuit.
For general information on the various types of insurance, as well as specific questions to ask a company, read “Insurance for Homeschool Groups” by Carol Topp.
If your group operates under the umbrella of another organization or local church, you may want to check whether your new group is covered by your umbrella group’s insurance policy. If not, you could see if your group could be added onto their policy, because that monthly premium is likely much lower than a new policy premium.
Which insurance companies can we look into?
Because of the diverse characteristics of home-education programs, many insurance companies have been reluctant to offer homeschool groups the same coverages they offer public and private schools.
However, HSLDA has worked with NCG Insurance to create policies specifically tailored to the needs of homeschool groups. And as a bonus, NCG Insurance offers special rates for HSLDA Discount Groups!*
Homeschool group leaders have also recommended the following insurance companies:
- Brotherhood Mutual Insurance has been favorable in offering coverage to homeschool groups.
- Erie Insurance has insured homeschool groups as “clubs.”
- Mennonite Mutual insured several homeschool groups as “ministry groups.” This option may be especially appropriate for groups that are closely connected to local churches.
- Hiscox (a subsidiary of Geico) and State Farm have insured homeschool co-ops in several states.
- Church Mutual works with both homeschool co-ops and homeschool sports groups.
- One homeschool group was able to get its local Farm Bureau Insurance to insure it as a “private school.”
Remember, insurance is for your protection and offers both your organization and your members a safety net in case something unforeseen happens. If you have any questions, we strongly encourage you to talk with a local agent or attorney for state-specific advice!
* HSLDA is not an insurance company and receives no commission or other benefit from NCG Insurance. This company is one option for homeschool groups wanting to obtain liability insurance.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: Except for the references to federal law, the information provided is based upon the law in the majority of the states. No representation is made that this information is accurate for any particular state which may have a statute, regulation, or court ruling contrary to the information provided herein. The contents of this article do not constitute legal advice. HSLDA recommends that you consult a local attorney or insurance agent in any final decisions regarding these insurance issues.