How to insure your social service organization with Care Providers Insurance Services

Care Provider Insurance Services Director Chris Hale answers your top 5 most pressing questions about our appetite and how we provide underwriting and insurance services for social service organizations.

For more than 25 years, Care Providers Insurance Services, a program built by NSM Insurance Group, has been solely focused on delivering best-in-class coverages for nonprofit and social service organizations that serve our communities. Our approach to nonprofit insurance is guided by three key pillars: partnership, expertise and service. These pillars all share a common yet critical theme — our people. From our designated claims teams to our underwriters to our business technology and operations experts, our people are dedicated to providing unmatched service and customer experience. In fact, our underwriting team has an average of 15 years of experience managing nonprofit insurance — which truly sets us apart as experts in the industry.

The nonprofit sector is undeniably diverse, and we receive a number of questions on a daily basis regarding our coverages and appetite, which is why we sat down with Chris Hale, the director of CPS, to answers these questions and more.

Question 1: What classes do you cover?

Chris Hale: We have a very broad appetite in the social services space. We cover more than 15 classes that span services for both children and adults, including churches and other religious institutions, private/charter schools, Head Start/early childhood education, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and other youth mentoring programs, IDD – group homes, sheltered workshops, schools for those with special needs, community action agencies, boys & girls clubs and after-school programs, YWCA, adult and family service, counseling services and crisis intervention, senior services, pregnancy help centers, handicapped and disabilities organizations.

Our primary focus is on any operation that is providing services to meet the needs of members of our communities. While most of the organizations we write are classified as nonprofits, we can also evaluate select for profit operations that share the focus on helping others. We bring tailored insurance products to brokers and their customers to provide the protection and peace of mind they need to further their mission of providing help and support to those they serve.

Question 2: Do you write in all states?

Chris Hale: Yes, we operate in all states. However, there are some classes that we do not currently write in Alaska, Hawaii and Massachusetts, but we continually review our filings to ensure we can meet the needs of our broker partners and their customers.

Question 3: What size accounts do you target?

Chris Hale: Similar to our appetite, we have the ability to accommodate many accounts by premium size. Our minimum account premium is $2,500 on all classes except religious organizations, which is $15,000. Our account premium ranges from a $2,500 minimum to accounts with a premium of several million dollars. This flexibility allows us to tailor accounts to fit the needs and operations of our insureds. Our typical account size is the middle market type of risk that ranges between $25,000 to $250,000 — these accounts are typically written on a first dollar program and our risk management products align well with the customer’s needs.

Question 4: What lines of coverage do you offer…and what about workers’ compensation?

Chris Hale: We offer a full package policy, including general liability, abuse and professional — and all can be written on occurrence or claims made. Our standard limits are $1MM/$3MM, with the package also including property, inland marine and auto and umbrella/excess through our exclusive program agreements. In addition to these key coverages, we also can help provide solutions for other areas, such as directors & officers, employment practice liability, cyber liability, wind/hail buy down options and accident & health coverage for participants and volunteers. Our breadth and depth of coverages allow us to meet the full needs of most of our customers. Additionally, all of the policies provided by Care Providers Insurance qualify to be included in the 0% interest premium finance option that we offer through First Insurance Funding, making managing the payment of your various policies a simple, single pay process.

While Care Providers does not write workers’ compensation directly, our parent company NSM Insurance Group does offer the AllComp program. AllComp is exclusively focused on writing workers’ comp insurance and is a specialist when it comes to WC needs for social services.

Question 5: Who is your carrier partner? Are they A+ rated?

Chris Hale: We have exclusive agreements with two trusted industry leaders to cover the unique nonprofit sector. We work exclusively with ARCH Insurance for private/charter schools, pregnancy support centers and religious institutions. For all other classes, we have an exclusive relationship with Berkshire Hathaway’s GUARD Insurance. Both are A+ rated carriers with the financial strength to ensure that your customer is protected by a company poised to handle risk, overcome any market conditions and stand by their promise to protect your assets.

At Care Providers Insurance Services, we understand that providing insurance for social service organizations is always complicated due to the personal nature of their work. There is often not a one-size-fits-all approach, which is why it’s important to bind with an insurance program that can meet the unique needs of your clients. By working with Care Providers, agents and policyholders alike have access to our in-house claims department and premier risk management services to ensure that each organization has the appropriate resources to mitigate any risks that could distract from their core mission. Trust our expert underwriting team to quote and bind your social service accounts.