Insurance for Fostering Agencies

At Homewood Insurance, we provide liability insurance tailored for foster care providers to safeguard children, families, staff, and the agency itself. Let's examine what your policy should include, typical costs for General Liability and Professional Liability insurance, and which activities can lead to higher premiums or coverage denials.

What Insurance Includes – breakdown of Professional Liability insurance and General Liability insurance for foster care agencies.
Cost of Coverage – premium ranges and the key factors that drive insurance pricing for foster providers.
Higher-Risk Exposures – activities that may increase premiums or cause carriers to refuse coverage.
Why Work With Homewood – how we help foster care providers secure the right protection at competitive rates.

Get a Free Quote Now

The fastest way to secure insurance for your fostering agency is to fill out our quick quote form. Homewood will compare policies from multiple carriers and deliver a customized proposal to protect your staff, your foster families, and the children in your care.

Insurance for Fostering Agencies can include:

Professional Liability insurance protects against allegations of negligent placement, failure to supervise, or inadequate case management.
General Liability insurance covers third-party bodily injury and property damage involving foster children, families, or visitors.
Policies include staff liability for social workers, behavioral specialists, and placement coordinators.
Coverage extends to supervised visitation, transportation, training, and 24/7 on-call services.
Optional endorsements available for therapeutic foster care, group homes, and crisis placements.
Standard limits are typically $1M per claim / $3M aggregate, with options for tail coverage, prior acts, and abuse/molestation coverage.

Fostering Insurance can include:

Professional Liability Insurance

Coverage for claims of negligent placement, inadequate supervision, or failure to intervene.
Legal defense for abuse or mistreatment allegations involving children in foster homes or agency care.
Staff professional liability for case managers, social workers, counselors, and placement coordinators.
Coverage for incidents during supervised visitation, sibling placements, or therapeutic foster care programs.
Optional endorsements for transitional housing, emergency placements, and group family foster homes.
Protection for compliance with state licensing, caregiver training, and background check requirements.

General Liability Insurance

Coverage for third-party bodily injury (e.g., slips, falls, or accidents at agency facilities).
Protection against property damage claims caused during foster placements or supervised activities.
Includes personal and advertising injury for claims involving defamation or breach of privacy.
Suitable for licensed agencies, nonprofit foster programs, group homes, and crisis response providers.
Tailored endorsements to meet state contract, grant funding, or licensing requirements.

Homewood Insurance Group work with different insurance carriers to find you the most suitable coverage at the best price.

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How much does Fostering Insurance Cost?

Professional Liability (Malpractice) Insurance – Estimated Ranges

Small agencies or single-office programs: $3,000–$7,500 annually.
Mid-sized agencies with multiple placements and staff: $8,000–$15,000 annually.
Large multi-site agencies or therapeutic foster programs: $20,000+ annually.

Costs are driven by number of children placed, staff count, claims history, and abuse prevention protocols.

General Liability Insurance – Estimated Ranges:

Small agencies: $1,200–$3,500 annually.
Mid-sized agencies or group homes: $4,000–$8,000 annually.
Large foster networks or multi-location agencies: $10,000–$15,000+ annually.

GL pricing depends on facility condition, visitor traffic, transportation services, and incident history.

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High-Risk Procedures and their Impact on the cost of Fostering Insurance

Foster care agencies operate in one of the most heavily scrutinized environments in liability insurance. Certain practices can trigger premium increases of 50–100% or more, exclusions, or outright denial of coverage. Carriers look for strong policies on abuse prevention, staff training, documentation, and compliance to reduce risk.

Activity / Practice	Why It’s Higher Risk	Controls Required	Insurance Impact
International adoptions	Multiple jurisdictions, fraud/trafficking concerns, complex documentation	Hague compliance, vetted foreign partners, audit trails	40–80% surcharge; some carriers require specialty programs
High-needs / special-needs placements	Higher disruption rates, medical and behavioral complexity	Enhanced parent training, respite plans, frequent check-ins	50–100%+ surcharge tied to case mix and outcomes
Incomplete or late disclosures	Wrongful adoption and misrepresentation claims	Disclosure checklists, signed acknowledgments, version control	30–75% increase; prior suits trigger strict underwriting
Weak background checks / staff training	Higher risk of misconduct or assessment error	Annual checks, CE requirements, supervision logs	20–50% increase; non-renewal risk after incidents
On-site events and emergency placements	Crowded venues, rushed decisions, unstable situations	Venue waivers, incident plans, documented approvals	20–50% GL increase; event riders often required
Handling abuse allegations	Severe claims if reporting or response is mishandled	Mandated-reporter training, escalation timelines, external review	Coverage may be excluded without SAM endorsement; strict controls reduce load
Data privacy and record management	Highly sensitive records; breach leads to legal and reputational damages	Access controls, encryption, breach response plan	Cyber add-on recommended; premiums tied to IT safeguards

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Other types of Insurance Fostering Agencies may need

Homewood can often combine different different types of coverage into one policy.

General Liability Insurance

General Liability covers medical expenses and attorney fees which result from bodily injuries and property damage that your facility or organization could be legally responsible for.

Professional Liability Insurance

Also known as malpractice insurance, this protects facilities against claims related to malpractice, negligence, or injury resulting from foster care. Staff members will typically be covered by professional liability insurance.

Sexual Abuse and Molestation Insurance

Provides coverage for your agency against claims arising from alleged sexual misconduct or molestation by an employee or other representative of your organization.

Commercial Property Insurance

This protects your agency against damage or loss to your buildings, equipment, and other property, which can happen as the result of various risks such as fire, theft, or vandalism.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ Compensation Insurance is usually mandated by law. It protects fostering agency staff in case of work-related injuries or illnesses.

Cyber Liability Insurance

Covers you against financial losses associated with data breaches, cyber attacks, and other cyber incidents. Insurers will usually conduct rigorous testing of your online system to fix vulnerabilities as part of this policy.

Why Work With Homewood

Some carriers will underwrite foster care agencies with strict attention to risk. At Homewood, we help you:

Match with carriers that accept your procedures and operational profile
Strengthen submissions by reviewing credentialing, consent processes, and safety protocols
Negotiate favorable limits, tail coverage, and endorsements at competitive rates

Call 947-274-3093 or Fill Out the Form

Ralph Schiller

Ralph specializes in sourcing the most suitable insurance for Fostering Agencies at the best price. You can call him or fill out the form and he will get your message directly.

Call 947-274-3093 or email submissions@homewood.insure.