PCCYFS Liability Insurance White Paper: Fairness, Accountability, and Service Continuity for Children’s Services Provider Agencies Act

PCCYFS has released a white paper highlighting the importance of making unenforceable any contract that attempts to unfairly shift liability onto provider agencies for negligence or intentional conduct of a public agency through indemnification.  These types of indemnification provisions have made children’s service providers unattractive clients to insurers, contributing to the insurance crisis that providers face today. After reviewing various options such as capping damages and captives, to alleviate the challenges that providers face when trying to access liability insurance, PCCYFS has found that limiting the use of indemnification would increase accountability and help insurance providers stay in this market, thereby increasing the pool of insurance options and driving down costs for providers. Similarly, Pennsylvania law already prohibits indemnification in some aspects of design and construction as a matter of public policy. PCCYFS recommends the same standard be applied to protecting children through the Fairness, Accountability, and Service Continuity for Children’s Services Provider Agencies Act.