Daycare and Child Care Insurance in Longview, TX

Coverage for centers, licensed homes, and school-age programs

A 12-child registered home, a 150-child licensed center with a kitchen and vans, and a church-run mother's-day-out program are three different risks. Tell us your license type, licensed capacity, ages served, hours, whether you serve meals, whether you transport children, and whether you offer field trips or swimming. Each changes what insurers ask and which ones are willing to quote.

General liability and the abuse and molestation question

General liability insurance can address covered bodily injury and property damage claims, including a child injured on the playground, subject to the policy. The coverage most child care policies get wrong is sexual abuse and molestation. Many standard liability forms exclude it entirely; others add it back with a small sublimit, a claims-made trigger, or conditions tied to your hiring and supervision procedures. Read that endorsement before you buy, because it is the claim that closes centers.

Transportation of children

If you pick up from schools or run field trips, review commercial auto insurance for every van and bus, with limits that reflect a vehicle full of other people's children. Ask about hired and non-owned coverage for the days a staff member drives a personal car, and about the Texas requirements for child passenger restraints and driver checks that insurers will ask about.

Building, contents, and income

Playground equipment, kitchen appliances, cribs, cots, and classroom materials add up. Review a business owners policy or commercial property form for the building if you own it, contents either way, equipment breakdown for the HVAC and kitchen, and business income for the weeks a storm or fire closes you while tuition stops.

Staff, volunteers, and workers' compensation

Texas does not require private employers to carry workers' compensation insurance, but lifting, playground supervision, and illness exposure make it worth pricing. Ask how volunteers and substitute staff are treated under both liability and injury coverage.

The Texas $300,000 child care liability requirement

Texas Human Resources Code §42.049 requires a license or registration holder to maintain liability insurance of $300,000 for each occurrence of negligence, covering injury to a child that occurs while the child is on the premises of, or in the care of, the holder. The holder files an annual certificate or other evidence of coverage with the state, and failing to maintain the coverage is grounds for suspension or revocation of the license.

If a holder cannot obtain coverage for financial reasons or because no underwriter will write it, the statute requires timely written notice to the parent or guardian of every child in care, on the state's form, and notice to the commission with the reason. The statute is explicit that being unable to secure coverage does not protect the holder from liability for negligence. Read the section at the Texas Legislature's statutes site and the HHSC Child Care Regulation pages for the minimum standards that apply to your license type.

$300,000 is the floor. Parents' attorneys do not stop at the statutory minimum, and the abuse and molestation sublimit on many policies is lower than the general liability limit. Ask us to show the cost of $1,000,000 per occurrence alongside the minimum.

Certificates for HHSC, landlords, and school districts

Existing clients can request a certificate of insurance. Tell us whether the certificate is for the annual HHSC filing, a landlord, a school district whose campus you pick up from, or a church that hosts your program; the holder name and any additional insured wording differ. Include the recipient email and the deadline.

A certificate is evidence of coverage in force on the date issued. It does not add coverage or extend the abuse and molestation sublimit. See the Texas Department of Insurance certificate FAQs.

Start your child care coverage review

Email your license type and capacity, renewal date, contact information, and any landlord or district requirements to greg@gregagency.com, or select Business Insurance on our short quote request form. Please do not send children's names or records; insurers do not need them. Requesting a quote does not bind coverage.

What affects a daycare's premium?

Insurers consider licensed capacity, ages served (infants are rated differently from school-age), annual revenue, payroll, transportation, swimming or water activities, field trips, years in operation, claims and licensing history, and your written hiring, background-check, and supervision procedures. Centers that document two-adult rules, open-door classrooms, and camera coverage are easier to place and often qualify for broader abuse and molestation terms.

Liability policies for child care are commonly rated on revenue or enrollment and may be audited. Tell us when you add a classroom, a van, or an after-school route.

Two claim scenarios to discuss before buying

Playground fracture. A four-year-old breaks an arm falling from climbing equipment during supervised outdoor time. The parents allege inadequate supervision and worn fall surfacing. This is the ordinary negligence claim §42.049 has in mind. Review the per-occurrence limit, the medical payments coverage that can resolve small claims without a lawsuit, and whether the playground met the surfacing depth in your minimum standards.

Allegation against a staff member. A parent reports that a part-time aide touched a child inappropriately during nap time. Whether or not the allegation is substantiated, the center faces an investigation, a licensing action, and a civil claim. Ask what the abuse and molestation endorsement covers, its sublimit, whether it is claims-made, whether defense costs erode the limit, and what hiring and supervision conditions it imposes.

These are hypothetical illustrations, not client claims or promises of payment. The facts and the issued policy determine whether coverage applies.

What to have ready for a daycare quote

• Legal business name, entity type, HHSC license or registration type and licensed capacity
• Ages served, enrollment, hours, and whether you serve meals
• Vehicles used to transport children, with VINs and drivers
• Your hiring, background-check, and supervision policies in writing
• Building ownership or lease, square footage, and playground details
• Current declarations pages, loss runs, and any licensing history

Reviewed by Greg Williams, Texas-licensed independent insurance agent and owner of Greg Williams Insurance Agency, Longview, TX. Last reviewed October 2026.