The types of opportunities available to teachers are more varied than ever. While teaching used to be restricted to public and private schools, it’s now expanded to include homeschool, pod, and online formats.
These opportunities allow you greater flexibility and independence, but still come with risks that make personal liability insurance a must-have. Learn the risks and how teaching insurance can shield you from their financial burden.
Why Insurance Matters for Independent Teachers
It can be easy to think — especially when you teach online — that you’re not as likely to have liability risks as someone who teaches in a public or private school. They typically teach 100% in-person, and they often have bigger classes, which increases the chance of an accident.
However, those teachers may receive a limited amount of liability coverage from their schools or districts. It’s not enough to fully protect them, but it’s a starting point.
As an independent teacher, it’s highly unlikely that the parents, homeschool groups, or pods hiring you will have liability insurance that extends to you. This makes it critical to have your own coverage; if something does go wrong, you have nothing to fall back on.
Scary, right? But, if you have the right insurance coverage in place, you can be financially prepared if you’re responsible for an accident that occurs. That peace of mind is worth its weight in gold, and allows you to focus more on educating your students and less on wondering how you’ll pay for a surprise expense.
The Coverages You Need (Based On Where You Teach)
The types of coverage you need can vary slightly depending on where you teach or what kind of organization you teach for (pod versus homeschool group, for example).
Let’s take a look at some of the risks each online, homeschool, and pod teachers face, and why types of insurance can protect them from the financial impact of those incidents.
Pro Tip: The examples below are not meant to be an exhaustive list, but rather to illustrate some of the most common claims each type of teacher may face. You may need additional coverages not listed in your section because no two teaching scenarios are exactly the same.
Online Teacher Insurance
Even though online teachers don’t work with students in person, they still face liability risks that can put their finances (and reputation) in jeopardy.
Teaching online equates to a heavy reliance on technology — more so than your in-person teaching peers. Whether keeping your devices in good working order or ensuring your WiFi connection isn’t spotty, you need tech to show up for you the way you do for your students.
Still, online teachers face risks that aren’t so different from those that in-person teachers experience.
| Scenario | Recommended Coverage | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
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A student’s parents sue you because your poor WiFi connection resulted in brief, interrupted lessons. They claim you wasted their tuition with shorter-than-promised sessions. |
Professional Liability Insurance (included in our base teacher policy) |
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After clicking on a suspicious link in your email, ransomware locks you out of your work laptop and demands payment to access your teaching materials. |
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The laptop you use to teach virtual sessions is stolen while you’re planning lessons at a cafe. |
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A student wrongfully accuses you of sending them inappropriate messages after a session. |
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You compare yourself to competitors on your website and claim their methodology is outdated. One of the competitors sues you for defamation, claiming you caused them financial harm. |
Personal & Advertising Injury (included in our base teacher policy) |
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Homeschool Teacher Insurance
For homeschool teachers hired by a family to instruct their child or children, one of the most significant risks you face is students getting injured under your watch.
If this happens to you, you could be sued by the children’s parents for negligence if they believe you didn’t take proper precautions to prevent an injury.
Many homeschool teachers travel to other families’ homes to teach their children or rent a space at a community center for activities. This involves the risk of damaging someone else’s property, which they can hold you liable for.
General liability insurance is designed to help cover these claims, but there are several other risks that homeschool teachers are vulnerable to that require different types of coverage.
| Scenario | Recommended Coverage | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
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During an outdoor activity, a student trips and breaks their wrist on the pavement. Their parents sue you, claiming you were negligent and should’ve stopped their child from endangering themselves. |
General Liability Insurance (included in our base teacher policy) |
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One student falls behind in math and fails a standardized test needed for college admission. Their parents sue you for poor instruction, claiming you wasted their money and didn’t properly educate their child. |
Professional Liability Insurance (included in our base teacher policy) |
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You accidentally use a copyrighted image in an online ad promoting your teaching services and the photographer sues you for infringement. |
Personal & Advertising Injury (included in our base teacher policy) |
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The community center you rent a room at asks you to add them to your policy to protect them from your liability. |
Additional Insureds (included in our base teacher policy) |
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You click on a link in an email you think is from a student, but it’s actually a phishing email. This allows hackers to access your students’ personal records, including medical notes and payment information. |
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Your biology lab equipment breaks in transit after hitting a large pothole, and you need to replace one of your microscopes. |
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A student wrongfully accuses you of touching them inappropriately, and their parents sue. |
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Pod Teacher Insurance
Pod teachers have similar coverage needs to many homeschool teachers. They meet with students in person and may use other people’s property for classes and activities, making general liability a must-have.
And, like all teachers, they need professional liability insurance to protect them in case of errors or omissions in their services.
One of the biggest differences between pod teachers and other homeschool teachers is that pod teachers are hired to teach a group of multiple families’ children, as opposed to just one. The larger the class size, the greater the chance of an accident.
| Scenario | Recommended Coverage | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
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While teaching at one family’s home, you knock over an expensive vase in their entryway. |
General Liability Insurance (included in our base teacher policy) |
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You agree to teach a full semester of classes for a homeschool pod, but are forced to stop before the agreed-upon date due to personal reasons. The parents sue for breach of contract. |
Professional Liability Insurance (included in our base teacher policy) |
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A student mistakes a comment you made to them as inappropriate and tells their parents. They sue you. |
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Your laptop is hacked, and sensitive family information, including payment details and emergency contacts, are compromised. |
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You had a negative experience at a local museum where you took your homeschool pod on a field trip and left a negative review online warning other educators. The museum sues you for defamation, claiming your review resulted in lost revenue. |
Personal & Advertising Injury (included in our base teacher policy) |
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You let a student in your homeschool pod borrow your laptop for an activity, but they accidentally drop and severely damage it. |
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The community center you teach classes out of asks you to add them to your policy to protect them from your liability. |
Additional Insureds (included in our base teacher policy) |
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Safeguard Your Career With Teacher Liability Insurance
As you can see, teacher liability insurance is critical for all independent educators. The risks are real, and insurance is built to save you from paying legal fees, medical expenses, and more out of pocket.
For the best liability protection, Insurance Canopy has you covered.
Insure your career for as low as $21.08 a month. Compared to the thousands you might pay to settle a claim, the choice is clear.
Insurance Canopy’s teacher insurance comes with many other perks, including:
- No teacher’s association membership required
- Coverage wherever you teach
- Instant Certificate of Insurance (COI)
- Policy add-ons, including sexual abuse and molestation coverage (SAM)
Don’t let an accident derail your teaching career. Get your free quote today in 10 minutes or less!
FAQs About Online, Homeschool, and Learning Pod Insurance
What’s the difference between general liability and professional liability insurance, and which do I need?
General liability covers expenses related to third-party bodily injuries or damage to other people’s property you’re held responsible for.
Professional liability — sometimes called errors and omissions insurance — covers expenses related to mistakes and oversights in your teaching.
Most teachers need both coverages, which is why general and professional liability are included in Insurance Canopy’s base teacher liability policy.
How do I choose appropriate coverage limits for my teaching setup?
Consider your assets and your risk exposure (e.g., how many students you teach) when deciding what limits you need. Insurance Canopy offers different limit options for general liability and sexual abuse and molestation (SAM) coverage.
Our licensed, U.S.-based customer service agents can help you decide which limits you need. Call 844.520.6993 to speak with them today.
JoAnne Hammer | Program Manager
JoAnne Hammer is the Program Manager for Insurance Canopy. She has held the prestigious Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since July 2004.
JoAnne understands that starting and operating a business takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and financial resources. She believes that insurance is the single best way to protect your investment, business, and personal assets.
JoAnne Hammer is the Program Manager for Insurance Canopy. She has held the prestigious Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation since July 2004.
JoAnne understands that starting and operating a business takes a tremendous amount of time, dedication, and financial resources. She believes that insurance is the single best way to protect your investment, business, and personal assets.
