Child care centers across North Texas are paying far more to insure their buildings and their liability than they did before the pandemic, and some are passing that cost to parents, according to reporting published Monday by The Dallas Morning News.
State law requires licensed and registered child care providers to carry liability insurance. Owners and brokers interviewed by the News said premiums and deductibles have both risen, and that fewer insurance companies are willing to write the coverage at all.
What owners reported
Hemant Patel, who runs centers near Keller, in Flower Mound and in Carrollton's Castle Hills, told the News his yearly insurance bill per center was about $25,000 to $28,000 before the pandemic and now runs $50,000 to $60,000. He said the steepest jump followed the 2021 winter storm.
On one water-damage claim, his building deductible rose from about $5,000 to $50,000, with a second $50,000 deductible on contents and equipment, the News reported.
Closer to Collin County, the combined premium at Rise Academy in Allen rose substantially over two years, owner Kurt Hutson said. He did not want the dollar amounts published but told the News the increase would come to about $2 a week per child if passed straight to families, and that it has cut into teacher raises.
Not every center has been hit hard. At Ivy Vine Preschool in McKinney, owner Jennifer Stockemer said the liability premium rose only about $200 over 2025, after switching carriers in 2025 had cut her bill by nearly $3,000.
Fewer companies, pricier fallbacks
Tim Kaminski, president of the Texas Licensed Child Care Association, told the News that members began reporting nonrenewals in early 2024, with some long-time policyholders told their insurer had stopped issuing policies in the state. Replacement coverage sometimes cost two or three times as much.
