I turned on the news this morning as I always do just to have "background noise" and they (Today Show) were in the middle of am interview with a Nanny that saved her charge from a house fire.
There she sat in a wheelchair, R hand and both feet burned and wrapped. Child she saved sitting there along side of her, tearful but thankfully okay, and the Dad/her Employer there too, humbled by her actions.
The interviewer said a couple of things that made me cringe:
#1 "The firefighters estimated the fire to be 400 degrees, you didn't have shoes on, you went in anyway and saved him (boy)."
#2 "You don't have insurance so you're not sure how you are going to pay your hospital bills."
Nanny agreed, doesn't have insurance and not sure what she's going to do.
Dad/Employer stated that he's lost his home and that since Nanny is now part of the family, he has to find a home suitable for his family and Nanny.
Commendable....however Nanny has no insurance and cannot work because she cannot walk nor use her R hand. Had Employer picked up a cheap policy, even maybe a policy for Hospitalization, Nanny's burden would be lightened.
So the question is: Should Nannies have health insurance provided by their Employers?
The resounding answer is YES.
If you are a Nanny and are in a FT/PT permanent position, insurance should be negotiated with your Employer before signing the Agreement.
If you're comfortable with using the internet and you need insurance quotes to have a starting point, you can google "health ins quotes." It's not recommended to fill out a webpage with all your info to wait for a quote...they'll just bug you, find a link that you can get it immediately.
Or go here: http://www.eisenbergassociates.com/
Take your quote info to your Employer, talk with them, hopefully they're open to paying the entire monthly bill, if not, then get them to agree with paying for 3/4 or 1/2 of the monthly invoice.
Give them the whole picture.........you are there for their child(ren), if you fall ill or have a debilitating accident, who's going to help their family, who's going to help you?
NannyMall is committed to all Nannies and their well-being. Nannies play an intricate role in family's lives, let's give them the respect and insurance they deserve.
