Ideally, your Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) functions day after day without major issue. But things happen. And when they do, you want to have a plan in place to protect your residents, your profits, and your facility’s reputation.
The right insurance coverage goes a long way here. Let’s look at a few ways you can use insurance to manage public opinion of your RCFE after a crisis.
Addressing Resident Injuries and Claims of Neglect
Unfortunately, many RCFEs will face legal trouble after a resident gets injured or becomes ill (or their ailment worsens). The appropriate level of legal support allows you to defend your RCFE and your staff in court. Your lawyers can help you demonstrate where you took preventive measures and what you did to help the resident in question.
Winding up in court is never ideal. But winding up in court unable to afford the legal representation you need to set the record straight is even worse. Fortunately, a good liability insurance policy can step in to cover legal costs that arise after a wide range of situations.
Your liability insurance agent may have recommendations to help you further here. Certain staff trainings can both bolster your reputation as a safe RCFE while lowering risk at your facility — potentially even lowering your insurance premiums, too. Similarly, having a written fall prevention plan in place that’s available to both your insurer and your residents can support your facility’s reputation.
Repairing Your Reputation After a Data Breach
Your RCFE might lean on technology to increase efficiency and better serve your residents. The right tech solutions can absolutely help your team work smarter. But if you’re storing personal resident information in that system, a data breach puts you at risk.
That’s where cyber insurance comes in. Not only can it cover costs to recover after a data breach, but your policy can also pay out for reputation repair. It can pay for outreach to affected people, ensuring you inform them with a narrative you craft rather than them finding out by word of mouth. Some cyber insurance policies even cover the cost of hiring a public relations firm to help your reputation bounce back after the breach.
Acting Fast After Property Damage
Let’s say a storm or a fire damages your RCFE. Your residents and their visiting families don’t want to look at the damage for long. And people driving by and seeing unrepaired issues doesn’t do your reputation any favors, either.
Fortunately, if you have commercial property insurance, you can get the help you need to repair any property damage promptly.
There is one step you need to take here, though. File your claim as soon as possible after the incident. This informs your insurance agent of the issue so they can start working quickly on your behalf.
These are just a few ways the proper level of insurance coverage can help your RCFE bolster its reputation after a public incident. To talk with an insurance expert about the policies your facility needs to be ready — and be protected — after a crisis, call our team at (805) 413-5668 today.
