Caregiver Insurance Bond

Caregiver insurance bonds provide a way for a person or family requiring home health care to ensure that the person providing that care will do so in an honest and forthright manner and not take advantage of the opportunity to steal valuables in the home. Bonding is somewhat different than either licensing or certification, since licensing is often a requirement of providing such professional services, and certification indicates a certain level of proficiency at various tasks connected with the caregiving function (bathing and dressing, meal preparation, ambulatory assistance, etc.).

Home health care bonding is not always required for caregivers, but it does provide a certain peace of mind that items won't be stolen from a home by the caregiver due to the financial guarantee in place. Caregiver bonds support a service and performance level that is attractive to clients.

How do caregiver bonds work?

A caregiver is often bonded by the company they work for so that individuals needing care can have confidence in their honesty and in their level of service. If either of those qualities is found to be lacking, and performance in inadequate, the home care subject can make a claim against the bond, up to the maximum value of the bond itself. The case is then reviewed by the surety company issuing the bond, and if the claim is found to have merit, monetary compensation will be issued to the home care victim as restitution for the claim. Bonding insurance for home health care is an important part of starting your business.

Who needs a caregiver bond?

Any individual working independently as a home care professional, or someone who works for an agency, should have a caregiver insurance bond to inspire confidence in potential clients. When you are bonded as a professional, there will always be more potential clients who are interested in securing your services because there is peace of mind in you having the bond.

Why is it important to get a home health care bond?

The real value of having a bond is that it provides proof, or at least a high degree of confidence, to those in the healthcare industry that you are an individual who takes the issues of honesty and faithful execution of duties seriously. A bond says you will do your best to accomplish both. Having this bond is a requirement in some states when you work for a professional agency because industry regulations stipulate that caregivers delivering services to home-bound individuals must be backed by bonding.

While this does not constitute a 100 percent guarantee of performance, or of total honesty, it does at least provide a mechanism whereby a home care subject can obtain restitution if the caregiver is found to have breached the terms of honesty, malice during delivery of services, or unacceptable levels of performance. Thus it is important for both the caregiver and the subject of caregiving, that a healthcare professional is properly bonded.

What happens if you don't have a caregiver bond?

If you don't have a caregiver insurance bond and you wish to provide professional services in the home, you will be unable to operate in those states that require bonding. As an independent caregiver, this means you would not be able to work without first securing the required bond, and if you wish to work for an agency in any of those states, you would have to go through the bonding process before you would be allowed to go out on actual home care assignments for the agency.

In those states where bonding is not a legal requirement, you would likely be passed over for job opportunities because any competitors in the local area who are bonded would most likely be hired ahead of you. Since those individuals would carry some kind of guarantee of performance and honesty on the job, it would more sense for people requiring home care to choose your competitors over you. Having the caregiver insurance bond opens up a more opportunity in terms of securing clients who need the services you provide.

How do I get a caregiver bond?

No matter what state you reside in you can apply for a caregiver bond with NFP, the nation's largest insurer and issuer of all kinds of bonds. We are authorized to issue bonds in every state.

The first step in the process is to complete the online application. It will be promptly reviewed, and you would then be quoted a monthly premium amount, which will depend on your state of operation, your creditworthiness, and the face value amount of the bond you are applying for.