Updated 2026-11-01
Home care runs on cars. A caregiver may see three or four clients in a day, drive a client to an appointment or stop at a pharmacy on the client's behalf. Each trip raises two separate insurance questions: what happens if the caregiver is hurt, and what happens if the caregiver hurts someone else.
If the caregiver is injured in a crash
Travel between client homes during the workday is generally considered part of the job, so an injury in a crash during that travel is usually handled under workers comp. The ordinary commute from home to the first visit and back from the last visit is often treated differently, and states apply their own rules and exceptions. When in doubt, report the injury and let the insurer and state rules decide.
If the caregiver causes a crash
The caregiver's personal auto policy is generally expected to respond first for damage and injuries to others. Some personal policies limit coverage for business use, so ask caregivers to tell their own insurer that they drive for work. Because injured people often sue the employer as well as the driver, many agencies add hired and non-owned auto liability, which protects the agency itself when employees use their own cars on agency business. It does not repair the caregiver's car.
Driving clients
Transporting clients adds exposure. Some agencies allow it only in the caregiver's car with documented insurance, others prohibit it, and others use agency-owned vehicles that need a commercial auto policy. Whatever you decide, write it into the care plan and your employee handbook, and tell your agent, because it changes how an insurer views the account.
Practical steps
- Collect proof of personal auto insurance from every caregiver who drives for work, and ask for renewals
- Check motor vehicle records for caregivers who transport clients
- Set a written policy on phone use while driving
- Reimburse mileage in a way your payroll records can show, since the audit may review it
- Report every crash involving a caregiver to the agency the same day
Talking to your agent
Bring a simple description of how much driving your staff do, whether they transport clients and whether the agency owns any vehicles. That lets the agent check that comp, non-owned auto and any commercial auto coverage line up without gaps.