Head Start buses, weatherization crews and a federal board, on one schedule.
We insure community action agencies and the programs they run, including Head Start classrooms and buses, weatherization crews in clients’ homes, and the tripartite board, written to the federal rules that fund them.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What community action agency businesses actually need.
Abuse and molestation
Allegations involving Head Start children, youth programs and vulnerable adults, against staff, volunteers or contractors.
Without it — Excluded from standard general liability, and the first question an underwriter asks of a Head Start program.
Commercial auto
Head Start buses, senior transportation vans and weatherization crew trucks.
Without it — A bus of preschoolers is the highest-severity exposure an agency has, and federal rules require monitors and licensed drivers on it.
General liability
Injury at centers, offices and food pantries, and damage caused in a client’s home during weatherization work.
Without it — Every grant, lease and school facility agreement asks for it.
Contractors pollution liability
Lead dust, mold, asbestos or insulation fibers released into a client’s home by a weatherization crew.
Without it — General liability usually excludes pollution, which is exactly what disturbing old paint or insulation produces.
Professional liability
Case management, benefits counseling, energy assistance decisions and early childhood education.
Without it — A family harmed by a missed referral or a wrong eligibility decision brings a professional claim.
Directors and officers
Claims against the tripartite board and executives over grant compliance, employment and governance.
Without it — A federal audit finding or a terminated director’s lawsuit lands on board members, including the elected officials who serve on it.
Property and equipment
Centers, playgrounds, kitchens, crew tools and diagnostic equipment such as blower doors.
Without it — Grant-funded property must be insured at least as well as your own, and an uninsured loss cannot be charged to the grant.
Workers compensation
Teachers, drivers and weatherization crews in attics and crawlspaces.
Without it — Required with employees, and crew work is rated as construction, not as office work.
What the regulators actually wrote down.
A private nonprofit community action agency must run its Community Services Block Grant program through a tripartite board, one third of whose members are elected public officials.
42 U.S.C. 9910(a), Community Services Block Grant Act · checked 2026-10-04
Head Start vehicles bought with grant funds to carry enrolled children must be school buses or allowable alternate vehicles equipped for child restraint systems and fitted with reverse beepers.
45 CFR 1303.71(a), Head Start Program Performance Standards · checked 2026-10-04
Outside the home-based option, a Head Start program must have at least one bus monitor on board at all times, and drivers must hold a valid commercial driver’s license for the vehicle class where states issue one.
45 CFR 1303.72(a)(4) and (b)(1) · checked 2026-10-04
Before hiring anyone, including transportation staff and contractors, a Head Start program must interview, check references, search the sex offender registry and obtain a state or FBI fingerprint criminal history check.
45 CFR 1302.90(b)(1) · checked 2026-10-04
The Weatherization Assistance Program allows the cost of liability insurance for weatherization projects, for personal injury and property damage, and the insurance of vehicles that carry weatherization materials.
10 CFR 440.18(d)(4) and (d)(10), U.S. Department of Energy · checked 2026-10-04
Since April 22, 2010, no firm may perform renovations that disturb paint in pre-1978 housing or child-occupied facilities without EPA certification, unless an exception applies.
40 CFR 745.81(a)(2), EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule · checked 2026-10-04
An organization that buys or improves real property or equipment with federal grant funds must insure it at least as well as the property and equipment it owns outright.
2 CFR 200.310, Uniform Guidance · checked 2026-10-04
A loss that permissible insurance could have covered cannot be charged to a federal award unless the award expressly allows it, so a grant does not pay for an uninsured loss.
2 CFR 200.447(c), Uniform Guidance · checked 2026-10-04
The claims we actually see.
Ordered by how often we see them, not by how dramatic they are. Each one names the coverage that answers it — and the policy people wrongly assume already does.
Most common
A child is hurt on the playground or the bus
Covered by General liability and commercial auto
Bus injuries go to auto, playground injuries to general liability. Both need to name the school district or landlord where a contract asks.
Common
A weatherization crew causes a fire or water damage
Covered by General liability
Damage to the client’s home from the crew’s work is a contractor claim. A human-services policy may not include contractor operations unless disclosed.
Less common, severe
Lead dust or mold after weatherization work
Covered by Contractors pollution liability
The pollution exclusion on general liability removes this claim. EPA certification is required for the work, and coverage is a separate decision.
Less common, severe
An abuse allegation in a Head Start classroom
Covered by Abuse and molestation
Background checks, two-adult rules and supervision records are the defense, and the limit is often lower than funders assume.
What the insurance company will ask about your community action agency business
We read the applications the markets use for businesses in this field and pulled out what they actually ask. Have these answers ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week, because nobody has to come back to you for the missing piece.
About the business
- What type of organization are you (for-profit or not-for-profit)?
- What year did you establish your organization?
- Do you have all the licenses and permits your state requires to operate?
- Has any of your licenses ever been lost, revoked, or suspended?
- What is your annual operating budget?
How you operate
- How many people do you serve (clients, students, or members)?
- What age groups do the people you serve fall into?
- Do you provide overnight housing or overnight supervision?
- Do you provide health screenings or other medical services to the people you serve?
- Do you operate or control any day care facilities?
Safety and controls
- Do people who receive health screenings or medical services sign liability waivers?
- Do you require all participants in sports activities to have accident and health insurance?
- Do you have written policies against abuse that define appropriate behavior, make clear you have zero tolerance, and say you will investigate and work with law enforcement?
- Do you run criminal background checks and check driving records on all employees and volunteers at hire and annually?
- Do you require employees and volunteers who drive to show proof of their personal auto insurance each year?
Your history
- Do you currently have insurance with another company?
- Has any of your insurance coverage ever been declined or cancelled because of losses or claims?
- Have there been any claims against you that say you were negligent or didn't follow licensing or safety rules?
- Are there any facts, circumstances, or situations right now that might lead to a claim?
Money and people
- How many employees and volunteers work for you (full-time and part-time)?
- Do any of your employees or volunteers use their personal cars for your business (like running errands or transporting people)?
- Do you spend more than $2,500 per year on renting or leasing vehicles?
- What is your annual revenue?
Have these ready
- Your basic business information including your name, address, and licenses
- Your current insurance information, including policy dates and what you paid last year (called a loss run)
- A list of all employees and volunteers by position, including whether you have degreed professionals
- Your written abuse prevention policies and employee screening procedures
- Information about any claims or incidents from the past several years
You answer what you can; a licensed agent fills the rest with you.
What our community action agency clients ask us.
Who writes community action agency insurance, and can we go to them directly?
Philadelphia Insurance Companies — PHLY, part of Tokio Marine, rated A++ by AM Best — is the carrier that has told us in writing it wants Head Start and weatherization programs, and it is where most of our human-services submissions go first. PHLY does not sell to organizations directly: it works only through appointed agents, and we hold that appointment, so your file reaches their underwriter with our name on it rather than through a second intermediary. What their underwriter wants to see is specific and we assemble it before anything is sent — their supplemental application for your class, the standard applications, three years of valued loss runs (a report from each prior insurer showing every claim and its reserve), photographs of the premises, and your brochure or website. Payment plans are available once the annual price reaches $2,000. None of that is a promise to bind — every quote is subject to their underwriting review — but a complete file is the difference between a quote and a list of questions.
Can one policy cover Head Start and our weatherization crews?
Sometimes, but do not assume it. A human-services package is written for classrooms, offices and client services. Weatherization crews working in clients’ homes are a contractor exposure, with pollution risk from lead, mold and insulation. Some carriers schedule weatherization onto the agency policy, and others want it on a separate contractor policy with pollution coverage. Describe the crews, subcontractors and the work they do, and we will tell you which structure the markets will accept.
What do the Head Start rules require for our buses?
Vehicles bought with grant funds must be school buses or allowable alternate vehicles with child restraint systems and reverse beepers. A bus monitor must be on board, and drivers need a commercial driver’s license for the vehicle class where the state issues one. The rules do not name an insurance limit, so the amount comes from your grant terms, your state and any school district agreement. Underwriters will ask for driver records, training and your monitor policy, so have them ready.
Does the weatherization program pay for our insurance?
The DOE rules allow it. The cost of liability insurance for weatherization projects, covering personal injury and property damage, is an allowable expenditure, as is insurance on vehicles that carry weatherization materials. Your state grantee decides how that flows to you. Crews disturbing paint in homes built before 1978 must work under EPA lead certification, and many grantees require pollution coverage in subgrantee contracts. Read your subgrant agreement and send it to us before renewal.
Our board includes elected officials. Are they covered by our D&O?
They should be, and it is worth confirming in writing. A community action agency’s tripartite board includes elected public officials, representatives of low-income residents and members from the private sector. A nonprofit D&O policy normally covers every board member acting for the agency. Ask whether the policy also covers claims arising from their role as a public official, which it usually does not. Federal audit findings and employment claims are the most common D&O issues for these agencies.
How is the price set?
On the operating budget, payroll by program, the number of children and clients, and the vehicles. Head Start enrollment and buses move the price most, followed by weatherization payroll and the abuse limit requested. Every program and site must be listed, because a program left off the application is a coverage dispute after a claim. Three years of loss runs (a report from each prior insurer listing every claim) and your driver and background check policies tell the underwriter most of what they need.
Our federal grant says we must insure what it paid for. What does that mean?
It means the building, vehicles and equipment bought or improved with the grant must be insured at least as well as what you own outright. That rule is 2 CFR 200.310. The premium is an allowable cost when the award requires the insurance. The other half matters more: a loss you could have insured but did not cannot be charged to the grant. So an uninsured van or a building insured at an old value becomes your problem, not the funder’s. Send us the award terms and your asset list, and we will match the policy to them.
What does a community action agency insurance application ask for?
The applications for community action agency businesses ask about 4 things above all: what type of organization are you (for-profit or not-for-profit); how many people do you serve (clients, students, or members); do people who receive health screenings or medical services sign liability waivers; do you currently have insurance with another company. Have your basic business information including your name, address, and licenses and your current insurance information, including policy dates and what you paid last year (called a loss run) ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.