Abuse and molestation coverage: the exclusion to check in your liability policy
Abuse and molestation coverage is liability insurance for claims that a person in your care was abused, including claims that you hired, supervised, or kept an employee negligently. Insurers often exclude these claims by endorsement on general liability, commercial auto, and umbrella policies. NEMT companies add the coverage back by endorsement or buy a separate policy, often with a separate, lower limit.
On this page
Why the coverage is often missing
Insurers that want no part of abuse claims need to say so in writing. Gen Re, a reinsurer, explains that courts in the United States have often found abuse and molestation claims covered under standard liability forms that were silent on the subject, so the clear route for an unwilling insurer is an exclusion. In most standard markets, it adds, carriers exclude the exposure for certain classes of business or for every insured.
The exclusions come as standard endorsements on each line:
| Policy | Exclusion to look for | What it removes |
|---|---|---|
| General liability | ISO CG 40 28 or CG 40 29 (September 2022 editions), or the older CG 21 46 | CG 40 28 removes abuse or molestation broadly. CG 40 29 removes only sexual abuse or sexual molestation |
| Commercial auto | ISO CA 28 03 (September 2022), which replaced CA 25 28 | Abuse or molestation by anyone, and negligent employment, investigation, supervision, reporting, or retention, from covered autos liability |
| Commercial umbrella | ISO’s umbrella version of the exclusion, available since 2000 | The same exposure in the excess layer |
The auto exclusion deserves the closest look in NEMT work, where riders spend their time with your staff inside the vehicle. An allegation against a driver during a ride can be pleaded against your auto policy and your general liability policy at the same time. If both carry an exclusion, neither responds. Check the umbrella as well, since a layer that excludes abuse adds nothing above an abuse endorsement.
Contracts that require it
Some buyers write the coverage into their terms, and a few specify how it can be structured:
| Buyer | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Hamilton County, Ohio, job and family services department (RFP, December 2025) | A physical abuse and sexual molestation endorsement on general liability. If general liability lacks affirmative coverage, a standalone abuse policy with a limit of $1 million or more per occurrence or claim |
| Arizona Medicaid plan subcontracts (AHCCCS minimum provisions) | Each health plan decides whether to require it of subcontractors serving children or vulnerable adults. Where required, it goes in general liability, may be sublimited to no less than $500,000, and may be moved to professional liability if the market will not add it to general liability |
| Modivcare provider requirements | Named among required insurance and described as critical when serving vulnerable populations. No dollar figure, and a suggestion to buy higher limits where needed |
Arizona also fixes the certificate wording: the subcontractor’s certificate must say “Sexual Abuse and Molestation coverage is included” or “Sexual Abuse and Molestation coverage is not excluded.” That is a useful line to ask your agent for, whoever the buyer is.
Terms that change what a policy pays
Two policies with the same headline limit can pay very differently. Gen Re lists the provisions to compare:
- Separate limits. Abuse coverage usually carries its own occurrence and aggregate limits, which may or may not sit inside the policy’s overall limits. For example, a $1 million general liability policy with a $250,000 abuse sublimit pays no more than $250,000 on an abuse claim.
- Trigger. Most current forms are claims-made or modified occurrence. A modified occurrence form typically requires the first or last act of abuse to fall within the policy period.
- Related claims. Forms group claims either per perpetrator, so one person’s acts against several riders count as one event, or per victim, so everything done to one rider counts as one event.
- Intentional acts. Some forms cover allegations of intentional conduct until the accused admits guilt. Others exclude intentional conduct allegations entirely.
- Negligence claims. The definition of abuse should include negligent hiring and supervision, so those allegations land inside this coverage and not in a gap between policies.
Screening conditions
Underwriters price this coverage on your screening. Gen Re tells insurers to decide whether their supplemental questions will cover background checks on all staff and volunteers, and whether to require a signed, dated supplemental application at each renewal. CRC Group’s NEMT supplemental application asks whether criminal background checks are done, how driver competence and records are checked, and whether substitute drivers get written pickup and drop-off instructions. It also warns that incorrect answers could void coverage.
Your answers become promises. Build the checks into hiring and renewal with the driver background check guide, and use the practices in preventing rider abuse. For how abuse coverage fits next to professional liability, see professional liability insurance for NEMT.
Tracking screening dates
HealthRide’s credentials registry can hold each driver’s background check and training dates next to their license. It sends reminders before a renewal comes due and flags anything expired when that driver is assigned a trip.
Frequently asked questions
- How can I tell whether my general liability policy excludes abuse?
- Read the forms schedule on the declarations page. Look for ISO CG 40 28 (broad abuse or molestation exclusion), CG 40 29 (sexual abuse or sexual molestation exclusion), or the older CG 21 46, along with any insurer form whose title mentions abuse, molestation, or sexual misconduct. If one is attached and no endorsement adds the coverage back, assume an abuse claim is not covered.
- Does commercial auto insurance cover an assault that happens in the van?
- It may not. ISO's CA 28 03 endorsement, available since September 2022, removes abuse or molestation by anyone from the covered autos liability coverage, along with claims of negligent employment, investigation, supervision, reporting, or retention. Ask your agent whether it or an insurer version is on your auto policy, and where an abuse claim arising during a ride would be covered instead.
- What limit do contracts ask for?
- Hamilton County, Ohio, required $1 million per occurrence or claim on a separate policy if general liability did not include the coverage, in its December 2025 transportation solicitation. Arizona's minimum subcontract provisions let the coverage be sublimited, but to no less than $500,000. Modivcare names no figure and suggests higher limits where needed.
- Can an insurer deny an abuse claim because of my application answers?
- Wrong answers put the coverage at risk. CRC Group's NEMT supplemental application tells applicants their answers are legally material, that the insurer relies on them, and that incorrect information could void coverage. If you answer yes to criminal background checks, keep the records that prove it for every driver and attendant.
