Group home insurance in South Carolina.
Most agents cannot place this class at all. Standard carriers decline residential care outright, so the quote you get back is a decline or a number that makes no sense. We work the specialty human services markets that actually write group homes, and we start with the question that decides everything: what does your license say. Zero agency fees, ever.
The license type decides the whole placement.
"Group home" covers several very different licensed operations in South Carolina, and carriers underwrite each one differently. Tell us the license first and the rest moves quickly.
Community Residential Care Facilities
Room, board, and personal care for adults. Bed count, whether medication is administered, and staffing pattern drive both appetite and price, so we lead with those when we market it.
IDD and community training homes
Homes serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including supervised living. A four-bed home with awake overnight staff is a genuinely different risk than a large facility, and the right carrier prices it that way.
Children's residential group care
Therapeutic and residential care for children carries its own underwriting scrutiny, particularly around abuse and molestation limits and staff screening. Fewer carriers write it, which is exactly when an independent agency earns its keep.
Recovery residences & behavioral health housing
Rules and carrier appetite both vary widely by the level of service you provide and any certifications you carry. We match the market to what you actually do, not to the label on the door.
Specialty markets, not standard ones
Preferred personal and small-commercial carriers decline this class as a rule. We place it through carriers that specialize in human services and social service organizations, which is why the answer here is a quote instead of a decline.
Contract & license compliance
Provider agreements commonly require $1 million per occurrence and $3 million aggregate, plus additional insured status and proof on file. Send us the agreement and we will match the policy to it before you sign.
Why this class is hard to place, and what to do about it.
The first thing to know is that a group home is a business, not a residence. A homeowners policy excludes business activity, and running a licensed home on one can support a denied claim and rescission back to inception. That single mistake is the most expensive one new operators make, and we walk through it in detail in our guide to group home insurance in South Carolina.
The second is that most carriers simply will not write this class. Residential care combines habitational property risk with professional care exposure and vulnerable residents, which is a combination standard markets avoid entirely. That is not a reflection on your operation. It means placement has to go to specialty human services carriers, and it means the agent matters more here than on almost any other line. If your last agent came back with a decline or an unusable number, this is usually why. If your clients live in their own homes and your staff go to them instead, that is a different class, written as home care business insurance.
The third is that abuse and molestation coverage is the limit to scrutinize, not the one to assume. It is frequently excluded from general liability or capped at a sublimit far below the policy limit, and whether defense costs erode that limit changes what it is worth entirely. Our guide covers occurrence versus claims-made and what to check. Our job on your quote is to tell you the real number rather than point at a certificate.
- License type leads the submission, because it drives every carrier decision
- Abuse and molestation limits read and explained, not assumed
- Certificates for provider contracts issued same day
- New operators and second homes welcome, including first-year programs
Markets that write human services
Standard carriers decline residential care as a class. We work the specialty markets built for human services organizations, which is the difference between a decline and a policy.
Quote my group homeWhat South Carolina’s CRCF rules put on your policy.
If your home is a Community Residential Care Facility, Regulation 61-84 does more than license the building. Three sections stand out, because each one creates an exposure most operators never connect to their insurance.
Resident money. Section 902 lets the licensee act as a resident’s payee and hold personal monies on a resident’s written request, with an accurate accounting of every dollar. That is a job of trust with real money in it. If a staff member skims a benefit check, the loss is the resident’s and the claim is yours, which is why crime coverage that includes client property belongs on every CRCF that holds resident funds.
Rides to the doctor. Section 904 requires the facility to secure or provide transportation when a resident needs a physician, and local transportation for medical reasons comes at no extra charge to the resident. The trips are not optional, so neither is the auto coverage. A facility van needs a commercial auto policy, and a staff member’s own car needs hired and non-owned auto behind it. Here is why the state minimum is not enough for a business vehicle.
Evacuation. The emergency plan has to include a transportation plan naming the vehicles and who will drive them, and CRCFs in Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, Horry, Jasper, and Georgetown counties need at least one sheltering facility outside those six counties. Vehicles you borrow or rent for an evacuation are hired autos, so that coverage has to be on the policy before hurricane season, not during it.
DSS has its own driver rules
Residential group care for children runs under DSS Regulations 114-590 through 114-595. Anyone who drives children must be at least 21 with a year of licensed driving, and the personnel file keeps a driving record for every staff member assigned to transport. Carriers ask for the same records, so keep them current.
Three steps. About 60 seconds to start.
Tell us about you
Send the form above or call or text 803-848-0089. No SSN required to get started.
We shop the market
We run your details across every relevant carrier we represent and bring you the strongest fits, side by side.
You pick. We bind it.
Simpler policies often bind quickly. Larger accounts go through carrier underwriting first, and we give you the real timeline up front. Then we re-shop your rate every year and help with claims when you need us.
Proudly serving Sumter, Columbia, Manning, Camden, Florence, Bishopville, Lugoff, Hartsville, Lexington, Greenville, Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, plus all 46 South Carolina counties. See our full service area →
Own the house or lease it? The policy changes either way.
Most group homes start in a house that was built for a family. Whether you own it or rent it decides who insures what, and the gaps show up in the places nobody reads until after a fire.
| Question | If you own the building | If you lease it |
|---|---|---|
| Who insures the structure | You do, on a commercial property form at replacement cost. A homeowners policy will not cover a licensed home. | Usually the landlord. Read the lease, though. Many residential leases assume a family lives there, not a licensed program, and the landlord’s carrier may not know either. |
| What the landlord needs from you | Nothing. | Commonly additional insured status on your general liability, and sometimes a waiver of subrogation. Send us the lease before you sign it. |
| Beds, lifts, furniture, kitchen equipment | Business personal property on your policy. | Still yours to insure. The landlord’s policy covers their building, not your contents. |
| Residents’ belongings | Not your property, but you can be blamed when it is damaged or goes missing in your care. Not every form covers it, so we check. | Same exposure. Leasing does not change it. |
| Code upgrades after a fire | Ordinance or law coverage, since a converted house often has to meet current code to reopen. | Mostly the landlord’s cost for the structure, but your business income coverage has to last through a longer rebuild. |
| Losing the home while it is repaired | Business income and extra expense, sized to how long relocating residents really takes. | The same, plus a check of whether the lease lets you stop paying rent after a loss. |
General guidance, not a reading of your lease or policy. Coverage terms vary by carrier and form. Send us the lease and any provider agreement and we will tell you what they actually require.
Group home insurance questions, answered
What kinds of group homes do you insure in South Carolina?
Community Residential Care Facilities, homes serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities including community training and supervised living, residential group care for children, recovery residences, and behavioral health housing. Tell us the license type first, since carriers underwrite each of these very differently.
Why did my regular insurance agent decline to quote my group home?
Because most carriers do not write this class at all. Residential care puts habitational property risk, professional care exposure, and vulnerable residents in one account, and standard preferred markets avoid that combination as a rule. It usually is not about your operation. It means the account has to go to specialty human services carriers instead.
Can you insure a brand-new group home with no operating history?
Often yes. Specialty markets write new programs regularly, and getting the structure right before you open is far easier than fixing it after a claim. Have your license or license application, your staffing plan, and any provider agreements ready, and call or text 803-848-0089.
My provider contract needs a certificate. How fast can you turn one around?
Usually the same day, often within the hour during business hours. Send us the exact entity name, the required limits, and any additional insured or endorsement wording the agreement specifies, and we will make sure the certificate matches what the contract asks for rather than something close to it.
I am opening a second home. Does my current policy cover it?
Not automatically. A new location has to be added to the policy, and depending on the license type, bed count, and staffing it can change the rate or even the carrier. Tell us before you open rather than after, so there is no window where the new home is operating uninsured.
Do you insure group homes outside of Sumter?
Yes. We are based in Sumter and place group home and residential care coverage across all of South Carolina. Submissions, certificates, and policy changes are handled by phone, text, or email, so where you operate does not limit who can help you.
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Based in Sumter and licensed across South Carolina. We serve Sumter, Manning, Camden, Bishopville, Lugoff, Columbia, Florence, and every county in between.