“Brokers need to be careful that policies are affirming coverage for traumatic brain injuries and that they are purchasing the right limits,” Turkalo adds.

Although some carriers in the Sports & Recreation sector have added exclusionary language around concussions, insurers serving the school sector have been unsuccessful in doing so. “We started to see a few [exclusionary] rumblings last renewal cycle, but the feedback was the market would not accept that,” says Mike Lucas, vice president and manager of industry practices at Liberty Mutual Insurance. “Coverage is still available, but carriers are watching the situation intently, including the NFL's lawsuit.”

Risk management around concussions should not be a matter of excluding coverage or asking schools to buy separate coverage, says Karen Randazzo, vice president of Baltimore-based risk management, insurance and benefits advisory firm RCM&D: “It's a matter of changing behavior and working with schools to be sure they are not letting student athletes play if any risk is suspected.”

Another top concern for schools, particularly colleges and universities, involves claims around Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and addresses schools' responsibilities around allegations of sexual harassment and violence. “Schools are terrified of not just harassment claims, but also the retaliation claims from people accused of harassment,” Randazzo adds.

“What we often see is a hybrid claim,” says United Educators Vice President of Underwriting Bryan Elie. “An incident can trigger two different policies—a GL or umbrella policy to address the bodily injury, and educator's legal liability to address the discrimination in the form of harassment.”

Although the legislation dates back to the early '70s, Title IX has become a pressing issue today. “This is definitely an area of emerging risk,” says Elie. “There is greater scrutiny, a greater willingness to report and greater activity on the part of institutions to get ahead of claims.” That scrutiny includes new legislative proposals, including a bipartisan bill in the Senate that would increase the enforceability of Title IX penalties and create new training requirements for colleges.

Understanding this trend is important for brokers to help schools create proactive policies around discrimination, harassment and assault. Brokers also need to evaluate the loss control services and coverages that carriers offer.

United Educators has a package endorsement that ties together the GL and professional forms; having a package endorsement allows both policy limits to be available for the insured while having only one deductible or self-insured retention apply. “We're also unique in the market in that we have our own proprietary coverage forms, and we have defined our peril of personal injury to include student sexual harassment in our GL,” Elie adds.