Operating more Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs) means more opportunities for revenue. With more beds and more services available across your locations, you have more chances to pad your bottom line.
But multiple facilities also means more exposure to risk. With more employees, more residents, and more square footage, your liability shoots up. That means that if you’re a franchisee with multiple locations or otherwise operating multiple facilities, you absolutely need to think through your insurance policies.
Weighing your options: Centralized vs. localized coverage
Broadly speaking, you can approach insuring multiple RCFE locations in one of two ways. You can get individual policies for each individual location, or you can centralize some or all of your coverage under a master policy.
Having a centralized policy means less to manage. By standardizing coverage across your locations, it’s easy to keep track of the protections you have in place. Plus, keeping your insurance updated is easy — with a master policy, you only have to worry about one set of premiums with one renewal date.
In some cases, because you’re buying a large policy, master coverage might be more affordable, too, compared to individual policies for each of your locations. It’s a little like buying insurance in bulk.
Like buying in bulk, though, you’re stuck with what’s in the package. That means your ability to customize your coverage is limited. As a result, some RCFE operators who oversee multiple locations choose to separate insurance coverage for each facility.
By individually insuring each location, it’s easier to tailor coverage so you can get precisely what you need — without overpaying for protection that isn’t necessary or facing gaps.
As an added benefit, getting individual coverage protects you from claims spillover. In other words, a claim at one facility will only affect premiums at that facility, not your other locations.
If you decide to go this route, it’s important to manage all of your individual policies. Setting calendar reminders for policy renewal/premium due dates helps.
A personalized approach to insurance multiple RCFEs
While multi-RCFE insurance usually broadly fits into one of two buckets — centralized coverage or policies for individual locations — facility operators don’t have to stay neatly in one lane or the other. A good insurance broker can help you take a hybrid approach.
It might be cost-advantaged to choose a master policy for your liability coverage, for example, while getting individual commercial property policies for each of your locations. It might also benefit you to attach specific riders or endorsements to individual policies, like professional liability coverage for locations where you’re offering a higher level of medical care.
The big takeaway here: when you’re operating RCFEs, your risk exposure goes up with each additional location. To protect yourself, your facilities, your team, and your bottom line, you need to put the right insurance policies in place.
The best course of action depends on your facilities. Talking with an experienced RCFE insurance broker helps to illuminate the right path forward. For help putting the right protection in place for each of your facilities, contact our team at InsureMyRCFE by calling us at (805) 413-5668.
