Small residential care facilities for the eldery (RCFEs), also called board-and-care homes, provide the best of both worlds for their residents. They offer the assisted living care individuals need to enjoy the best possible quality of life through the years. But rather than providing this in a sterile medical setting, they do so in a home. In fact, these care facilities are capped at six beds.
Blending comfort and care, these small RCFEs have helped countless seniors and their families thrive through the years. But because of their small size, the requirements that apply to them — from state regulation to insurance needs — can feel a little murky.
The insurance piece is particularly troubling in light of the extensive wildfires that ravage California year after year.
Getting commercial coverage for wildfire damage
It’s a common misconception that because RCFEs run from small homes, they just need traditional homeowners insurance. Actually, though, because a business is being run from the house, standard home insurance won’t step in to pay for damages. That includes damage from wildfires.
Instead, RCFE owners need to get commercial insurance. With a residential homeowners policy, any wildfire claim they make will be denied by the insurance company as soon as the insurer learns a business is operating from that address. To have the right protection should your RCFE face a wildfire, you need commercial property insurance
Finding the right level of commercial property coverage
Facing a wildfire means the need to take rapid steps — and potentially incur unexpected costs rapidly. You’ll need to evacuate all of your residents to a safe location and care for their needs from that alternate spot. With so much to manage, the last thing you want to have to worry about is how you would rebuild if your RCFE burned down.
Fortunately, with commercial property insurance, you can rest easy. Certainly, rebuilding will be a big project, but it won’t drain your savings. In fact, with the right level of coverage, your rebuild — and replacing all of the property inside your RCFE — should be paid in full (minus any deductibles).
Our team at InsuremyRCFE.com can help you assess your needs and select the right amount of commercial property. We can also combine that with other policies to offer you fuller protection.
For example, while traditional homeowners insurance includes a liability coverage component, commercial property coverage doesn’t. To help you get broader protection for yourself and your RCFE, it’s generally a good idea to combine commercial property insurance with liability insurance.
Don’t let California wildfires send your RCFE up in smoke. Now that you know that a homeowners insurance policy isn’t enough to protect you, don’t wait to put commercial property insurance in place.
Contact our team at InsuremyRCFE.com to discuss your commercial property coverage needs — along with any other insurance coverages that could best serve your RCFE, like liability insurance, commercial auto coverage, and workers’ compensation coverage. Protect your RCFE by calling or emailing our team of residential care facility insurance specialists today.