Serv and Return is an occasional series that spotlights a recent exchange on the Alliance listserv—a widely used channel for the network to provide rapid-response resources and support to one another.
In March, allies responded to a listserv request from an advocate in Illinois:
“We’ve recently heard from providers that some insurance companies are reviewing program-level licensing violations on the state’s publicly available licensing website to determine premium increases and, in some cases, to discontinue coverage.
A key concern is that the state’s licensing website does not always reflect when violations have been resolved and often lacks detail about the type or severity of violations. This may be leading to incomplete or inaccurate assessments of provider risk.
I’m curious whether other states are experiencing similar issues and, if so, what strategies, policy, regulatory, or administrative, you’ve used to address them.”
Advocates from across the country shared strategies, resources, and emerging approaches:
First Five Nebraska (FFN) shared that earlier this year, they led efforts to address this in regulatory package LB891. The relevant change is in Section 3, page 8. There is also some more information on page 2 of a policy brief FFN published on the bill. It doesn’t call out liability insurance directly, but the intent is to provide more accurate information on public records so insurance carriers can see those providers who are doing the right thing by self-reporting—and delineate them from the worst-case scenarios of complaint investigations. FFN shared that the messaging was important—they framed the bill as a transparency measure to give parents more accurate information and reward good actors by mitigating reputational damage.
NAEYC shared findings from a 2024 workforce survey documenting the national scope of liability insurance challenges, including rising costs and limited access to affordable coverage.
The Alliance also shared an extensive readout from a huddle on liability insurance it hosted with NAEYC in 2024. The readout includes additional resources and insights from across numerous organizations and states.