Insurance, Bonding, and Real Risk: The Year‑One Protection Plan Every New Home Care CEO Actually Needs

Many founders treat insurance and bonding as a paperwork checkbox — and pay for it later in delayed licenses, denied Medicaid enrollment, or unexpected payroll exposure. In this episode Scott McKenzie’s HCAB team draws directly from 531+ licensed agency launches to map a pragmatic, year‑one protection plan: which policies to purchase day‑one, which limits to avoid, where founders can safely defer coverage, and how a single missing bond or a late workers' compensation binder slowed an HCAB client’s launch by more than a month. Daniel, Claire, and Sophia trade strategic, compliance, and founder‑psychology perspectives so you leave with a one‑page, state‑aware buying checklist, concrete dollar ranges seen across HCAB launches, and a procurement timeline that protects licensing and your first 12 paydays. Specific state callouts (Florida background‑check timing and New York bonding notes) show how rules change the sequence — not the strategy.