Georgia child care and daycare businesses typically carry five coverages: general liability, abuse and molestation liability, professional liability, commercial property, and workers compensation, which Georgia requires once a business regularly employs three or more people, including officers and LLC members counted toward that total (Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation, O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-2(a)(2)). Georgia's child care licensing standards, administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Bright from the Start), set additional requirements for facilities and staffing; a coverage review, or the agency directly, can confirm what applies to a specific license type. See the state-agnostic child care insurance overview for the coverage mechanics that apply everywhere, or the Alabama child care insurance guide for Alabama's rules.
What does Georgia require?
What does Georgia require for workers compensation?
Georgia requires workers' compensation coverage once a child care business regularly employs three or more people, and officers or LLC members are included in that count (Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation, O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-2(a)(2)).
Example: a center with two full-time staff and an owner-operator who works on-site sits under Georgia's three-employee threshold. Add one more regular employee and the requirement applies. Workers compensation then covers employee injuries on the job, including the kind of lifting, slip-and-fall, and repetitive-motion injuries common in a classroom or infant room.
Does Georgia set an insurance requirement for child care licensing?
Georgia's child care licensing standards are administered separately from workers' compensation law, by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Bright from the Start). Licensing covers facility, staffing, and program requirements. Whether a specific license type carries its own insurance-related condition is worth confirming directly with the agency, or in a coverage review, since licensing rules are a separate question from the workers' compensation requirement above.
Common Georgia child care insurance questions
How many employees before Georgia requires workers' compensation? Three or more, including officers and LLC members in the count, under O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-2(a)(2).
I use mostly part-time or contract staff. Do they count toward the three-employee threshold? Georgia's rule counts regular employees, including officers and LLC members. How a specific worker is classified can affect the count, which is a question a coverage review or an employment attorney can help sort out.
Source: Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation, Workers' Compensation Insurance FAQs (O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-2(a)(2)).
Explore more Georgia insurance facts and statistics, each cited to a government or research source →
What do Georgia child care businesses commonly overlook?
Abuse and molestation liability is not automatically included
A standard general liability policy is built around bodily injury or property damage from an accident. Many general liability forms limit, sublimit, or fully exclude claims tied to abuse or molestation allegations, since intentional misconduct is not the kind of accident the policy is designed around. That leaves a real gap for any Georgia business that supervises children. Example: a family alleges a staff member abused a child in care. The center can face two separate claims -- one against the staff member directly, and one against the center itself for negligent hiring, training, or supervision. If the center's only coverage is a standard general liability policy with an abuse exclusion, the claim against the center may have reduced or no coverage. Abuse and molestation liability, sold standalone or added back in by endorsement, exists specifically to close that gap. It is worth confirming with a carrier or advisor that it is actually included, not silently excluded.
What general liability covers for a Georgia center
General liability insurance responds when a child, parent, or visitor is hurt on the premises, or when the center's operations damage someone else's property. Example: a child injured on playground equipment, a parent who slips on a wet floor at pickup, or a delivery vehicle that damages a neighboring property.
What professional liability covers
Professional liability, or errors and omissions coverage, responds to claims tied to how the center ran its program, not a physical accident. Example: a center releases a child to someone not on the approved pickup list because staff did not follow the center's own procedure. That is a process failure, which is what professional liability is built to answer.
Property risk in Georgia
Georgia centers carry real exposure to severe weather, including thunderstorms and occasional tornadoes, on top of fire and equipment breakdown risk. A kitchen fire or storm damage to the roof can close a center for weeks. Commercial property coverage, often bundled with general liability in a business owners policy, pays to repair the building and replace damaged equipment; a business income add-on can help replace lost tuition during a covered closure.
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Common Georgia child care business insurance questions
Three or more, including officers and LLC members in the count, under O.C.G.A. Sec. 34-9-2(a)(2) (Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation).
Georgia's child care licensing standards are administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Bright from the Start), separately from the workers' compensation law above. Whether a specific license type carries its own insurance condition is worth confirming directly with the agency or in a coverage review.
Standard general liability policies are built around accidental injury, and many forms limit or exclude claims tied to abuse or molestation allegations. Abuse and molestation liability is sold separately, or added back in by endorsement, to close that gap.
General liability responds to a physical injury or property damage. Professional liability responds to a process failure, like releasing a child to the wrong person, that isn't a physical accident.
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Olive Cover works with Georgia child care businesses statewide, including Alpharetta, Athens, Atlanta, Augusta, Buford, Cumming, Duluth, Johns Creek, Lawrenceville, Macon, Sugar Hill and Suwanee.