MDPH wants $1M / $3M on the certificate.
Where no state rule on this page sets a figure, your referral contracts set it, and the one asking the most decides what you carry. Ask each referral source for its insurance exhibit before you buy. 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.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What Massachusetts requires
Does Massachusetts require workers compensation for home health agencies?
Yes. Massachusetts requires every employer to provide workers compensation for its employees. A corporate officer or director who owns at least 25 percent of the stock can opt out by filing a written waiver with the Department of Industrial Accidents, and sole proprietors are covered only if they choose to be.
MGL c.152 §25A and §1(4)·checked 2026-10-04
What insurance does MDPH require for home health licensure?
Massachusetts requires a Department of Public Health license to run a home health agency (MGL c.111 §51K), and the statute itself sets no insurance limits. MassHealth's home health rule (130 CMR 403.000) requires an annual statement of fiscal soundness showing a cash reserve for one month of costs, including what it pays for liability and workers compensation coverage.
130 CMR 403.405(E) and 403.419(E); MGL c.111 §51K·checked 2026-10-04
Do Massachusetts home health agencies need abuse and molestation coverage?
No Massachusetts rule we found requires it. MassHealth's home health rule refers to general and professional liability and workers compensation coverage but does not mention abuse and molestation coverage, so where it is required, the requirement comes from an individual contract.
130 CMR 403.000 (MassHealth Home Health Agency Manual)·checked 2026-10-04
What are Elder Services agencies in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts runs its state home care program for older adults through Aging Services Access Points (ASAPs), regional agencies under contract with the Executive Office of Aging and Independence. ASAPs assess needs and purchase home care services, but by law they may not provide most direct services themselves, so home care agencies deliver the care.
MGL c.19A §4B and §1·checked 2026-10-04
CMS lists 287 Medicare-registered home health agencies in Massachusetts in its Home Health Care Agencies dataset (2026 release). (CMS Provider Data Catalog)
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$1M / $3M
- Abuse & molestationMatch the contract
- One of the two limits that actually fails a Massachusetts non-medical contract. Most general liability forms exclude it, and the version that is included is usually too small for the networks here.
- Hired & non-owned autoMatch the contract
- Your caregivers drive themselves between visits, and their personal auto policy stops covering them the moment the trip is work. Massachusetts contracts require this, and the limit is normally the sticking point.
Coverage
Six lines. Each one closes a specific hole.
Professional liability
Covers claims that care delivered in the home fell below the standard a reasonable provider would meet.
Without it — A single allegation of negligent care is defended out of pocket, and most state and MCO contracts will not accept the agency without it.
General liability
Bodily injury and property damage arising from operations: a fall in a client home, damage to a client residence.
Without it — The most common home-visit claim there is has no defense behind it.
Abuse and molestation
Defense and indemnity for allegations against a caregiver, including claims that the agency hired or supervised negligently.
Without it — Nearly every general liability form excludes it by endorsement, so the exposure most likely to end an agency is the one most often uninsured.
Workers compensation
Statutory benefits for caregiver injury, the highest-frequency loss in the industry, driven by lifting and transfers.
Without it — Medical and indemnity costs land on the agency directly, and in most states operating without it is illegal.
Non-owned and hired auto
Liability when a caregiver drives their own car between clients or transports a client.
Without it — The caregiver’s personal auto policy defends the caregiver. The agency is named anyway, and has nothing responding.
Cyber and privacy
Breach response, notification and regulatory defense for PHI held in scheduling, EVV and billing systems.
Without it — HIPAA notification costs begin immediately and are not covered by any other line on the policy.
What home health and home care agencies we placed in 2025 and 2026 actually paid.
These are annual premiums from policies we bound, effective January 2025 to September 2026. We show the median and the middle half of what clients paid, never the cheapest or the most expensive, and only for lines where at least five agencies stand behind the figure.
- Professional liability (including combined general and professional packages)
- $800median a year
- Middle half: $510 to $1,580
- 33 policies from 24 agencies
- Workers compensation
- $2,060median a year
- Middle half: $1,610 to $3,150
- 21 policies from 17 agencies
- General liability, written on its own
- $350median a year
- Middle half: $350 to $510
- 7 policies from 7 agencies
Payroll moves workers compensation more than anything else, and the services you provide, your limits and your claims history move the rest, so treat these as a sense of scale rather than a quote. Source: Boring Insurance bound policies, cancelled policies and test records excluded, refreshed 2026-10-04.
In Massachusetts
The organizations that will ask for your certificate.
- Boston Age Strong Commission · Elder Services Agencies
- Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands · Elder Services Agencies
- Elder Services of Merrimack Valley · Elder Services Agencies
- Greater Springfield Senior Services · Elder Services Agencies
- Mystic Valley Elder Services (Medford) · Elder Services Agencies
- Old Colony Elder Services (Brockton) · Elder Services Agencies
- Tufts Health Together · MassHealth Managed Care Organizations
- Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan · MassHealth Managed Care Organizations
- Fallon Health · MassHealth Managed Care Organizations
- Molina Healthcare of Massachusetts · MassHealth Managed Care Organizations
- Wellsense Health Plan · MassHealth Managed Care Organizations
- Department of Developmental Services (DDS) · Other
- PACE organizations statewide · Other
Questions
Does my Massachusetts agency need hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Yes. A personal auto policy excludes business use and general liability carries no auto coverage, so the visits your Massachusetts caregivers drive between are uninsured without this endorsement.
Our caregivers drive their own cars. What does the carrier require?
That they keep their own auto insurance, and that you check their driving records every year. Hired and non-owned auto is written excess of the driver’s personal policy rather than instead of it, so a caregiver whose own coverage lapsed is functionally uninsured on a client visit and the agency absorbs what follows. Annual motor vehicle record checks are the second condition, and annual means annual: a check at hire and nothing after is the version carriers find at claim time. Both are cheaper to build into hiring and review than to explain afterwards.
What limits do most contracts require?
$1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 aggregate is the common requirement across state Medicaid contracts and managed care organizations. Some MCOs require the agency be named on a certificate before the first authorization is issued.
Is abuse and molestation coverage really necessary?
For an agency sending caregivers into private homes, it is the coverage most likely to be needed and least likely to be present. Standard general liability forms exclude it, so it has to be added deliberately, and most contracts now require evidence of it.
Do caregivers driving their own cars need to be covered?
Yes. A caregiver’s personal auto policy responds for the caregiver, not the agency. Hired and non-owned auto liability is what responds when the agency is named in the suit, which it will be.
How fast can coverage be bound?
Same day is normal for a licensed agency with clean loss history. What slows it down is missing payroll detail or an incomplete list of services provided. Have both ready.
Read next
The coverage itself, explained.
Massachusetts decides what you must carry. These explain what you are buying, what it excludes, and what moves the price.
Coverage
Nearby states
Tell us what you do. We’ll tell you what it costs.
Licensed in Massachusetts. 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 2026-08-16