Convalesce is synonymous with recovery or recuperation. Convalescent care (rehabilitation care) is short-term care offered by nursing homes through a team of medical practitioners which differentiates it from traditional elder care options. Depending on illness or injury and the required recovery time, this care may be as long as a few months or as short-term as a few days.
Insurance coverage
Convalescent homes liability insurance is a type of healthcare coverage that covers custodial care, skilled nursing, assisted living, nursing home and in-home care for people who are 65 or older. Policies for 65 and under are also available. It also includes malpractice insurance for nursing homes and its professionals.
Services and payment
Convalescent homes usually offer a lower level of care than hospitals, but the care is provided by skilled workers and also offers rehabilitation services. It acts as a transition from the hospital to the home. It is especially useful to patients recovering from serious illness.

Residents of these facilities pay in cash, using Medicare or long-term insurance plans.
Liabilities and claims
Convalescent homes (also called nursing homes) and their residents face different liabilities leading to claims associated with caring for persons with ailments and the elderly. Resident falls, improper care and pressure ulcers are amongst the leading causes of claims while the highest average paid claims were due to elopement, failure to follow physician orders and delays in seeking medical treatment. The average claim paid to assisted living facilities is higher than the average claim paid to skilled nursing facilities.
Benefits
Insurance acts as a buffer against these risks to the financial well-being of a convalescent home. It helps convalescent homes to mitigate exposures to professional liability risks through an understanding of the problem areas exist and the implementation of stronger, more efficient programs. These measures include a fall program with a strong emphasis on prevention, risk assessment, and care planning for pressure ulcers prevention.
Market outlook
This provides ample capacity for the provision of nursing home and long-term care liability insurance. This also implies more competition in the nursing home liability insurance industry. However, liability claims have increased dramatically from the late 1990s and increased the cost of doing business from significant policy changes affecting liability claims and pricing.
Changing nursing home demographics has led to increased care costs for residents and insurance companies. This rise from relatively stable markets to high volatility within the nursing home liability insurance sector has largely arisen from increased knowledge of this sector as different from other insurance sectors, thus greater and better differentiation.
Our local, independent insurance agents can help you find the right insurance.
Get in touch now.