Published on: June 8, 2026

For B.C.’s 4,000 caregivers who share their homes with the people they support, navigating injury protection and Personal Coverage can be complex.

By Susan Kerschbaumer

Home sharing providers (HSPs) deliver round-the-clock support to adults with physical and developmental disabilities. As paid caregivers who share their homes, HSPs prepare meals, arrange outings, and help with daily routines. This support helps people live safely and independently in a family setting. 

This work can carry a risk of injury. Yet many HSPs aren’t sure what protection applies if they’re hurt, or who is responsible for coverage. Personal Coverage — formerly called Personal Optional Protection (POP) — is optional insurance that can be purchased from WorkSafeBC. 

Community Living BC (CLBC) includes it as a condition of its home sharing agreements and it funds coverage. For eligible providers with a work-related injury or illness, it provides:

• Wage-loss benefits
• Health care
• Return-to-work support

WorkSafeBC administers Personal Coverage by:

• Determining eligibility and extending optional workplace insurance to eligible individuals
• Providing access to benefits and protections similar to those workers receive

Caring work that happens at home

For many, home sharing is more than a job. Janice Barr is the ceo of Community Living Society, an agency representing 75 HSPs. “Across the province there are HSPs who have made a lifelong commitment to share a life with the person they support,” says Barr. “They often see their role as more fostering a relationship than doing a job.”

Brenda Gillette, ceo of the BC CEO Network representing 130 agencies, agrees. “It really is about sharing a lifestyle,” she says. “You’re sharing your life and your home. Home sharing providers are closely connected to the people they serve.”

Because the HSP role blends work and home life, the lines can blur. Some providers may not realize that coverage is required under their agreements. “HSPs don’t always consider that it’s also a job,” says Barr. “They may simply see coverage as unnecessary bureaucracy,” adds Gillette.

How coverage fits into home sharing agreements

To address this uncertainty, Community Living BC (CLBC) — the Crown corporation that funds the province’s home sharing system — aligned expectations across the province in 2024. It made

Personal Coverage a condition of home sharing arrangements and it funds coverage. Where providers are eligible, this helps ensure coverage is in place if an injury occurs.

In the past, coverage expectations varied by agency. “Personal protection was optional. It was not a contractual requirement from CLBC,” says Gillette. “That’s why some agencies insisted their HSPs have coverage, while others didn’t.”

Barr says that lack of alignment led to inconsistency. “We believe in the benefit of coverage, so our agency always requires it. But we know that not all agencies did.”

“Now it’s much easier for HSPs to understand what’s required,” she adds. Gillette notes that the name change also helped clarify expectations. “It’s not optional for home sharing providers,” she says. “They have to have it under their agreements with CLBC.”

Collaboration through shared information

Home sharing providers interact with several organizations and sector groups. Each has a different role. These include the Crown corporation that funds the agencies, the agencies that contract with HSPs, and WorkSafeBC.

To reduce confusion, WorkSafeBC worked with home sharing partners. The goal was to provide consistent, reliable information about Personal Coverage and when it may apply.

WorkSafeBC’s role in this work focused on education. This includes explaining how Personal Coverage works, who may be eligible, and where HSPs can find accurate information.

The team also brought forward industry questions and concerns to us and facilitated a working group to develop sector-specific resources. “Our role is to support understanding and connect industry with the right information,” says Denise Subotin, a manager in WorkSafeBC’s Prevention Programs & Services.

As a result, HSPs and agencies now have access to clear guidance and practical tools, including a plain-language fact sheet and web content tailored to the home sharing sector.

Trina Plamondon, executive director of the Home Sharing Support Society BC, notes that clarity around Personal Coverage is especially important for providers who aren’t employees. “Because many home sharing providers are independent operators, Personal Coverage can be an important source of protection if they’re injured,” she says. “It helps fill a gap for people providing this service outside a traditional employment relationship.”
Together, these perspectives show a shared focus on helping home sharing providers better understand how Personal Coverage fits within their agreements and what supports may be available.

For more information

Visit our Home sharing providers webpage at worksafebc.com to learn more about Personal Coverage, or contact our Employer Service Centre team at 604.244.6181 (Lower Mainland) or toll-free at 1.888.922.2768.

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2026 issue of WorkSafe Magazine.

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