Tarique Nageer
Managing Director Property, Terrorism Placement and Advisory Leader, Marsh
In a perfect world, your students and staff's school year should be one of education, fun, and growth. However, unthinkable, damaging events can sometimes happen.
Active assailants are one of these events. An active assailant is someone who intentionally and physically attacks others with some kind of weapon. Among other things, weapons can include guns, knives, or vehicles.
According to an FBI report on active shooter incidents in the U.S., 48 shootings occurred in 26 states in 2023. These events can happen out of nowhere and leave lasting physical and mental impacts on everyone. Pre-K through 12th-grade schools offer protection by utilizing general insurance coverages and physical security measures like school resource officers. Even then, protection and recovery gaps still need to be filled.
Active assailant coverage is a policy that helps schools plan and prepare for the worst.
What is active assailant coverage?
Active assailant coverage provides additional protection for your school. This coverage fills the gaps in your institution’s general liability and property policies when an active assailant event occurs. Active assailant coverage goes into effect when a present and armed individual commits premeditated, malicious physical attacks.
Generally, active assailant policies can offer:
- Business interruption coverage
- Denial of access coverage
- Extra expense coverage
- Legal liability coverage
- Limits of up to $100 million
- Property damage coverage
- Crisis management
Active assailant coverage specifications vary between insurers. Some provide additional risk management assistance like counseling. Others have policies that only go into effect when certain weapons are brandished. In general, these policies require physical damage to people or property to go into effect.
Finding ideal active assailant preparedness coverage can be a thought-intensive process. The cost of the school insurance market adds more complexity to the search.
What’s going on with insurance pricing for schools?
“Educational Institutions continue to see insurance pricing increase year over year as a result of both property and liability challenges the market is experiencing. While most organizations are familiar with the catastrophic weather events our country continues to see, educational institutions also have the unique liability exposures of dealing with children. We continue to see an uptick in mental health challenges, abuse and molestation, traumatic brain injury, active assailant, and discrimination claims that are all having negative impacts on liability pricing.” said Marsh McLennan Agency’s National Education Practice Leader, Murphy Holderness.
Active assailant coverage is also facing similar price hikes. Our internal research reveals that costs are up 10 to 25% yearly. Part of the cause is the prevalence of these types of events. As active assailant events continue to become more prevalent, the industry is seeing more loss activity.
Searching for the right active assailant coverage in a pricy and sometimes restrictive market can feel tiresome. We're here to help relieve the stress of an already demanding scenario.
How can our active assailant coverage support your school?
One crucial step any school can take to enhance its active assailant preparedness is to be proactive. Our active assailant coverage provides your institution with timely support to prepare for the worst and recover from it should it ever happen.
Starting from day one of our partnership, we work with you to develop, test, and refine your crisis management responses and business continuity plans. Work with our consultants to assess your potential risks, conduct on-site employee training, and develop active shooter response plans.
Our coverage solutions can go beyond the traditional support of your current property and general liability policies. A few offerings our active assailant coverage provides include:
- Affirmative coverage
- Business interruption coverage
- Buy-down options for lower retentions
- Loss of attraction and denial of access coverage
- Non-physical damage time element coverage
- Reimbursement for public relations consulting, crisis management, and medical services costs
We always strive to help your school be as prepared as possible. Even then, an active shooter event can still occur. When these moments arrive, we’re here for you, your students, and your staff. Receive humanitarian support for your employees and students, effectively communicate with the community with the help of our public relations firm connections, and get funeral cost coverage.
We're always here to support you and your school through life's realities. Our active assailant policies and procedures help protect your students and staff so they can continue to learn, grow, and connect.
Contact one of our education specialists today to learn more about our active assailant coverage.
