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Insurance for Florida Child and After-School Transportation Programs
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We serve clients across Florida and work with multiple insurance carriers to help individuals, families, and business owners compare coverage options that fit their state and industry requirements.
We serve clients across Florida and work with multiple insurance carriers to help individuals, families, and business owners compare coverage options that fit their state and industry requirements.
7 months ago
Excellent service and very professional staff. They made the process easy, answered all my questions, and helped me find the right coverage. Highly recommended!
3 months ago
I’ve worked with Ray for years and he’s always reliable and has been able to help my clients in need! I can always count on him to provide the best insurance advice and service
7 months ago
Great service, and always looking out for my commercial insurance. Thank you Ray
3 months ago
Great insurance agent to work with. Ray is the best!
3 months ago
Reviews reflect individual customer opinions and experiences. They do not guarantee specific coverage, pricing, service timing, or claim outcomes.
Many Florida after-school programs pick kids up at school, drive them to the center or an activity, and hand them back to a parent at the end of the day. If a child rides in a vehicle as part of your program, your insurance application needs to say so plainly. Carriers look at a van full of 8-year-olds very differently from a van that only picks up supplies.
We help program owners lay out the real picture: the vans, the drivers, the routes, the kids on board and any staff who drive kids in their own cars. Then we take it to the carriers that write passenger transportation for child programs. The insurer decides eligibility and price after underwriting.
Florida rules for driving children
These are the basics that come up most often. They are not a full legal checklist, so confirm your program’s status with your licensing office.
- Car seats and boosters. Florida’s child restraint law, Florida Statutes s. 316.613, requires a car seat for children through age 3 and a car seat or booster seat for children ages 4 and 5. Some vehicles, such as school buses, are left out of that section.
- DCF-licensed programs. If the Florida Department of Children and Families licenses your program, the DCF School-Age Child Care Facility Handbook (adopted in rule 65C-22.008, F.A.C.) sets transportation rules. Each child rides in a back seat in their own factory-installed seat belt or approved child restraint. You can’t carry more people than the vehicle has seats or seat belts. You keep a transportation log with each child’s name and times. Drivers need a valid Florida driver license, a yearly physical and current first aid and pediatric CPR. Vehicles used regularly get a yearly inspection by a mechanic. And after every trip, the driver checks the whole vehicle so no child is left inside.
- Minimum liability limits. The DCF handbook points licensed programs to Florida Statutes s. 316.615(4). It requires single-limit liability of $5,000 times the vehicle’s rated seating capacity, or $100,000, whichever is greater. For a 15-passenger van, that works out to $100,000. School and partner contracts may ask for more.
- CDL for bigger vehicles. Under Florida Statutes s. 322.01, a vehicle designed to carry more than 15 people, counting the driver, is a commercial motor vehicle. Its driver generally needs a commercial driver license (CDL). A standard 15-passenger van stays under that line. A 16-seat shuttle bus does not.
Not every after-school program is licensed by DCF. If yours isn’t, ask your licensing office which rules apply. Underwriters will still ask the same questions.
What underwriters ask about child transportation
Before a carrier quotes, expect questions like these:
- Drivers: who drives, their ages, years licensed and motor vehicle records. Some carriers set a minimum driver age for passenger work.
- Screening: whether each driver has passed the background screening your program requires.
- Vehicles: year, make, seat count, who owns each one and where it is parked at night. Carriers look closely at 15-passenger vans, as our passenger van and shuttle insurance page explains.
- Routes: runs per day, kids per run, the longest trip, and any field trips or summer camp outings.
- Procedures: sign-in and sign-out, the transportation log, the after-trip vehicle check and what happens when the regular driver is out.
- Staff cars: whether any employee or volunteer drives kids in a personal vehicle.
- History: prior claims and loss runs for the last three to five years.
Answer them fully the first time. A route called “occasional errands” that turns out to be a daily school pickup is the kind of gap that causes trouble after a claim.
Staff cars and non-owned auto
Some programs own a van. Others ask staff to drive kids in their own cars. Owning no vehicles does not remove the auto risk. If a staff member causes a crash while driving kids for you, your program can be pulled into the claim.
Hired and non-owned auto coverage can protect the program’s liability in that situation, depending on the policy. It generally does not pay to fix the staff member’s car, and it does not replace their personal policy. Anyone who drives kids for you should tell their own insurer about it. Some personal policies limit coverage when a car is used to carry people for a business.
An auto policy also does not handle everything that can go wrong with children. Supervision mistakes, releasing a child to the wrong adult and abuse allegations are separate questions for general liability, professional liability or abuse and molestation coverage. Ask about each one.
An example route
Picture a program with one 12-passenger van and one staff member’s SUV. The van picks up children at two elementary schools after dismissal and brings them to the center. Two afternoons a week, the SUV takes four kids to tutoring and back.
For that program, we would list both drivers, the van, the SUV’s business use, the seat count in each vehicle, the schools and the schedule. We would also ask for the transportation log, the pickup and release procedure and the parent permission forms. If the SUV is in the shop and another staff car fills in, that driver needs to be approved first.
Tell us before you add a second van, weekend trips, summer camp outings or out-of-county field trips. More kids and more miles change the risk, even if the vehicles stay the same.
Keep a file for every driver
Every owner, teacher, aide, substitute or volunteer who might drive kids needs a driver file. At a minimum it should hold a copy of the license, a recent motor vehicle record, training certificates, the vehicles the person may drive and any incident reports. DCF-licensed programs also keep the physical exam and first aid and CPR records the handbook requires.
Put your driving rules in writing: no personal stops with kids on board, no phone use while driving, a headcount at every stop, who may fill in as a substitute, and how to report an accident. If a van goes home with a staff member at night, tell us the address.
If you hire an outside transportation company, get the contract and a certificate of insurance before the first run. The contract should say who is responsible for the children while they ride in that company’s vehicle.
Schools and partners may ask for certificates
Schools, churches, landlords and activity partners often ask for a certificate of insurance, certain limits, or to be named as an additional insured. Send us the full written requirement, with the exact legal name and address they want on it. A certificate shows what the policy has. It does not add coverage. Our guide to certificates of insurance and contract requirements explains the difference.
Keep a simple list of each contract and what it asks for. A new school or activity can bring a new route and a new deadline even if your vans don’t change.
What to send us for a quote
- Legal name of the program, and your DCF license number if you have one
- Vehicle list: year, make, VIN, seat count, owner and overnight address
- Driver list with license numbers, dates of birth and years of driving
- Daily routes, schools, activities and your longest regular trip
- How many kids ride on each run, and their ages
- Any staff or volunteer cars used to drive kids
- Written transportation, pickup and release procedures
- Contracts with schools, landlords, partners or transportation companies
- Current policy declarations and three to five years of loss runs
- Planned changes, such as a new van, summer camp or field trips
Frequently asked questions
Can a staff member drive one child in a personal car?
One child is still business use. Tell us who drives, how often and why, and have the staff member tell their own insurer. If your program is DCF-licensed, the handbook rules still apply, including the transportation log and the seat belt or car seat rules.
Does non-owned auto pay for damage to the staff member's car?
Usually not. Non-owned auto is mainly liability coverage for the program. Damage to the car itself generally falls to the owner’s personal policy, if that policy applies to the trip.
Can a substitute driver take the regular route?
Only if that person is already approved as a driver under your written rules and the policy. For DCF-licensed programs, the driver requirements (valid Florida license, yearly physical, first aid and CPR) apply to substitutes too. Line up your backup drivers before the school year starts.
Do we need to tell you about summer camp or field trips?
Yes. Longer trips, weekend travel and more kids per run change the risk. Tell us before the first trip, not at renewal.
Does a certificate meet the school's insurance requirement?
Not by itself. We compare the school’s written requirement with your policy. If the school asks for additional insured status or higher limits, the policy may need an endorsement first.
About the Author
Raymundo Guzman
I’m Raymundo Guzman, an independent insurance agent and the owner of Covered by Guzman. I help business owners across Tampa Bay and central Florida find commercial auto, general liability, workers’ compensation, and related business coverage that matches how they actually operate, comparing options across the carriers available to me rather than selling one company’s product.
Independent Insurance Agent · License #W512374 | NPN #18906048 · 813-302-7151
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