Connecticut’s child care regulations do not contain the word insurance.
A million per occurrence is not a Connecticut licensing minimum; the rules set none. It is the figure a commercial lease or a subsidy contract asks for, and the point at which carriers quote the class without a conversation. We set the coverage up and produce the certificate — usually the same day.
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.
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What Connecticut requires
Does Connecticut require a daycare to carry liability insurance?
Connecticut’s center regulations, 19a-79-1a through 19a-79-13, and the statute behind them, C.G.S. 19a-80, contain neither the word insurance nor the word liability. A licensed center is not asked for a policy of any kind.
eregulations.ct.gov·checked 2026-10-04
Do licensed family child care homes in Connecticut need insurance?
The family child care home regulations, 19a-87b-1 through 19a-87b-18, are silent on insurance as well, and there is no insure-or-disclose clause of the kind New Hampshire and Mississippi use. A licensed home carries what it chooses.
eregulations.ct.gov·checked 2026-10-04
Does Connecticut require insurance on a daycare vehicle?
Transportation gets one sentence. 19a-79-3a(m) for centers and 19a-87b-9(l) for family homes make the operator responsible for compliance with all applicable motor vehicle laws when transporting children, which reaches Connecticut’s ordinary compulsory auto insurance and nothing beyond it.
eregulations.ct.gov·checked 2026-09-06
C.G.S. 19a-80(c) and 19a-87b(c) require comprehensive background checks, including state and national criminal history, the sex offender registry and the state child abuse registry, on staff and, for family homes, household members.
cga.ct.gov·checked 2026-09-06
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.
Limits
What to carry, and why that number.
- General liability$1,000,000 / $2,000,000
- Abuse and molestationIts own limit
- Written as a sublimit inside the general liability policy or as a separate form, and usually capped below the general liability figure. The one claim that ends a daycare, and the one a policy without the endorsement excludes outright.
Coverage
Seven lines. Each one closes a specific hole.
Abuse and molestation
Allegations against staff or volunteers, including defense costs.
Without it — The defining exposure of the sector, and excluded from general liability.
General liability
Injury to children on the premises and at the playground.
Without it — Playground and supervision claims are frequent and are what parents sue over.
Professional liability
Claims of inadequate supervision, wrongful release of a child, failure to follow a care plan.
Without it — Releasing a child to the wrong adult is a supervision claim, not a premises one.
Commercial auto
Any vehicle used to transport children, including staff cars on outings.
Without it — Transporting children is the single highest-severity thing a center does.
Student accident
No-fault medical coverage for minor injuries.
Without it — A small no-fault payment frequently stops a claim escalating.
Crime and social engineering
Employee dishonesty, and funds sent because an email or a call looked genuine.
Without it — The commonest large loss in a small office is internal or invited, and neither property nor cyber reliably answers a transfer somebody authorized.
Group health and benefits
Teachers and aides, where the ratio is the license.
Without it — Staffing ratios are a licensing condition, so turnover is not an inconvenience here, it is a closure risk. Benefits keep the ratio intact.
In Connecticut
The organizations that will ask for your certificate.
- Connecticut Insurance Department · Licenses the carriers and agents that write the coverage.
Questions
Does Connecticut require daycare insurance?
No. The center and group home regulations, 19a-79-1a through 19a-79-13, the family home regulations, 19a-87b-1 through 19a-87b-18, and the statutes behind both were read in full, and none uses the word insurance or the word liability. The nearest thing is a sentence making the operator responsible for compliance with all applicable motor vehicle laws when transporting children, which reaches ordinary compulsory auto insurance. Everything else is between you, your landlord and the families.
Does a daycare in Connecticut need abuse and molestation coverage?
Yes, and Connecticut’s licensing rule does not ask for it, so nobody else will until the claim arrives. A general liability policy without the endorsement excludes it. It is written as a sublimit, often below the general liability figure, and sometimes on a claims-made form, which stops responding the day the policy lapses, unlike occurrence. Every carrier conditions it on screening, and the background check Connecticut already requires of you is most of that condition met.
Do I need workers comp for my daycare staff in Connecticut?
One or more employees for pay. There is no minimum count. (C.G.S. § 31-275(10); § 31-284). A daycare is staffed by ratio, so an assistant hired for the afternoon toddler room counts the same as a full-time lead teacher, and paying someone as a contractor does not change what the state calls them when you set the hours. Injury claims in this class are lifting and bites, and both are small, which keeps the cost manageable.
Why does abuse and molestation coverage dominate this class?
Because it is the claim that ends businesses, and because an allegation is expensive whether or not it is founded. Coverage is usually written with its own limit, and the important questions are whether defense costs sit inside or outside that limit, and whether the form covers allegations against volunteers and parent helpers as well as employees. Expect underwriters to ask hard questions about background checks, two-adult rules, sightlines, camera coverage and bathroom procedures — those answers determine whether you can be written at all.
Do I need commercial auto if we rarely drive?
Yes, and hired and non-owned auto if staff ever use their own cars. Field trips, an emergency run and a school pickup all count, and a personal auto policy excludes carrying children for business. No exposure is more likely to produce a catastrophic claim from an otherwise low-severity business, so the limits should be set with that in mind rather than at the minimum.
I run a daycare from my home. Does my homeowners policy cover it?
No, and this is the most common uninsured position in the sector. Homeowners policies exclude business pursuits, so a child injured in your home daycare is not covered, and in some cases the business use itself can jeopardize the whole policy. Home childcare needs a commercial policy — it exists and is affordable — alongside a disclosure to your home insurer that the business is being run there.
What does licensing have to do with insurance?
Almost everything, because the state ratios and standards are what an underwriter uses as a baseline. Being licensed and in good standing widens the market substantially; operating over ratio, with lapsed staff clearances or with an open licensing complaint narrows it fast. Insurers commonly ask for the current license, recent inspection reports and your staff-to-child ratios by age group, so have those to hand at quote.
Read next
The coverage itself, explained.
Connecticut decides what you must carry. These explain what you are buying, what it excludes, and what moves the price.
Nearby states
Tell us what you do. We’ll tell you what it costs.
Licensed in Connecticut. Have your payroll figures and a list of services on hand — those are the two things that slow a quote down.
Start a quoteLast reviewed 2026-09-06