If you own a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE) and you want to grow your business, you have options. But if you want to stay under California’s more forgiving rules for small RCFEs (six beds or fewer), your best option is typically to open up a second location.
A new facility allows you to add beds without getting into more stringent permitting and zoning requirements. But if you go this route, it’s important to make sure each location has the insurance coverage it needs.
Today, let’s go over some key insurance factors RCFE owners should keep in mind when operating multiple locations.
Consider a master policy
You could keep managing insurance coverage for each of your locations individually. Or you could bundle some of your coverages together in the form of a master policy.
In the insurance world, a master policy gives you a way to provide shared coverage to multiple business locations.
You can explore a master policy for virtually all of your coverage needs. You might purchase a master workers’ comp policy to make administering that required insurance easier, for example. Or you might choose a master liability insurance policy to extend that protection across all of your locations.
Your insurance broker can help you explore master policy options and determine which might be a good fit for your multi-facility business. They can also point out where it may be more strategic to maintain an individual policy for each individual location.
With commercial property insurance, for example, each property’s location and risk mitigation measures might change the coverage requirements. As a result, it could be more prudent, and potentially more cost effective, to have distinct property insurance for each RCFE location.
If you choose a master policy, consider policy limits
In any instances where you opt for a master policy, be mindful of the policy limit. If you buy a master liability insurance policy, for example, check out its annual aggregate limit.
Let’s say it’s $3 million. If one of your locations ends up with an issue that eats $2 million of the coverage, your other spots will be left with $1 million to get them through the rest of the year.
Again, your insurance broker should be able to help you here. They can come alongside you to evaluate risk at each location, then determine a reasonable policy limit. The goal is to leave you with ample coverage without excessive policy premiums.
Fine-tuning insurance coverage across your RCFE locations
Each RCFE is unique, and multiple locations add more variables in. Generally, the best way to get the coverage you need is to work closely with an insurance expert. They can help you create a protection plan tailored to your overall business and each of its unique locations.
That could mean master workers’ comp and umbrella policies, paired with property insurance and general liability for each location. But that’s just one example. There are countless ways you can mix and match coverage to get the safeguards you need at the right price for your business.
We’re here to help you develop a strategic insurance portfolio designed for your specific business. For help insuring multiple RCFE locations, contact our team at InsureMyRCFE at (805) 413-5668 today.
