As property insurance has changed in the face of wildfires, most California residents know that outside forces can transform coverage. Sometimes, the factors that drive change aren’t as publicized as major natural disasters, though.
If you own a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly (RCFE), it behooves you to keep a finger on the pulse of industry changes, even more subtle ones. Plus, since insurance rates have ticked up in the last few years, you probably want to learn what you can do to control costs while maintaining coverage.
Here’s what facility owners and managers need to know about the latest RCFE insurance trends.
Shifts in the approach to dementia care
The California Department of Social Services has changed dementia care regulation. Specifically, the State now encourages facilities and families to look for ways to support aging in place. That means that people who may have previously been transferred to a facility with a higher level of care are now allowed — and encouraged — to stay in the place they consider home.
That’s good news for many elderly people across California. But insurers don’t love it. They’re concerned that acuity drift can leave RCFEs caring for people beyond what their staffed and licensed for. If your care profile looks like it extends past your insurance coverage, expect to need to up-level your policies.
Established processes around resident assessment can help you control premium increases here. When insurers can see you’re being diligent about monitoring acuity and identifying when residents need additional care, it mitigates risk for you and them.
Wildfires impact property coverage
Wildfires continue to plague California, and that could bring changes to your commercial property insurance. With elderly residents who may have mobility issues and require evacuation, it can impact your liability insurance, too.
Most property owners should expect higher premiums, but things aren’t completely out of your hands here.
You can take steps to protect your residents, your facility, and your bottom line by:
-
- Maintaining a defensible space around your property
- Maintaining fire and life safety measures like sprinklers
- Developing disaster plans to safely shelter in place or evacuate residents
- Developing a continuity plan if a disaster necessitates that you relocate residents
For help identifying ways to better safeguard your facility and control your insurance costs, talk with an RCFE insurance expert like someone from our team.
New considerations in underwriting
As technology brings new efficiencies to the insurance world, insurance carriers are able to get more granular during underwriting. They now often look beyond basic parameters like occupancy and building details. They might analyze your incident trends or evaluate your training practices. Increasingly, insurers look at staff retention because low turnover is associated with lower risk.
All of this means that underwriting your policies may become a more involved process. It’s not all bad news, though. More detailed underwriting gives you an opportunity to highlight any risk mitigation measures you’ve implemented. Making your insurer aware of them can help to lower premiums.
We can help. For support in exploring risk management techniques for your unique RCFE or getting the coverages you need in the face of the changing insurance landscape, we’re here. Contact our team at InsureMyRCFE at (805) 413-5668 today.
