School violence coverage

Expense reimbursement coverage

Catastrophic violent response coverage

 Introduction

 Shooting incidents at schools go back beyond the twentieth century; the first recorded incident is July 26, 1764, in Pennsylvania when four Lenape American Indians entered the schoolhouse and shot and killed the schoolmaster and nine or ten children; only two children survived. Almost by decade shootings increased. Many of the shootings in the 1800s were related to shooting of teachers or principals due to disciplinary action, with many siblings and parents sticking up for younger siblings or children who had been whipped or punished a day earlier. There are also disputes between teachers and administrators about things such as which dishes to use for an event, trying to control a drunken parent at an event, and a variety of other interpersonal relationships or interactions gone badly. Student shootings involve everything from competition for affections to fountain pens, and again punishments levied by teachers or principals. In January of 1910 "a black bearded maniac drew an automatic pistol" and fired five shots into a crowd of boys, killing one and seriously wounding another.

 In August of 1966, an engineering student at the University of Texas Austin, after killing his mother and wife at their homes, went to the school and killed fourteen people and injured another thirty. (There seems to be no agreement on the exact number of wounded/dead; accounts range from thirteen to seventeen killed, and thirty to thirty-two wounded). This was the deadliest college shooting until Virginia Tech in 2007. The shooter was under psychiatric care at the time.

 January of 1989 saw a twenty-four year old with a history of violence, alcoholism, drug addiction, and criminality kill five children and wound thirty-two others at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton California. The next shootings with significant numbers were in 1998, with five killed and ten wounded in Arkansas in March and four killed and twenty-three wounded in Oregon. In that span of nine years there were a total of thirty-one shootings. In the next nine years, another thirty-five shootings took place before the Virginia Tech incident where thirty-three were killed and twenty-five injured. In another five years the Newtown shooting would take place, with twenty-eight killed and two injured. In the five years from Virginia Tech, another forty-two shootings took place.

 Schools are not the only places for public shootings. On May 25, 2015 a man opened fire in a Knoxville, Tennessee, church while children were performing, killing one person and wounding eight. Just one month later on June 17, 2015 a man killed nine people during a prayer meeting at a Charleston, South Carolina, church. In September 2015 a man shot his girlfriend, their baby, and the pastor at an Alabama church; all survived and the man was arrested shortly after the shooting. While this may seem anomalous, estimates show 781 deadly attacks on church property from 1999 to 2014, 604 of which involved guns. One of the worst church shootings took place in a Texas church in 1999, where seven people were killed and seven more injured. Churches actually provide an easy target with minimal if any security and predictable times when large numbers of people will be present. Because of events such as these, and the growing frequency, some carriers have developed specialty lines coverage for just such events. Such coverages are often added to school or church policies.

 Extra Expense Coverage

 Extra expense coverage is a popular coverage in many commercial property policies. It provides coverage for expenses the insured incurs after a loss that are related to the loss and additional expenses for the insured. For example, rental of property to conduct business in while the building is restored is an extra expense. In most of these policies there must be direct physical damage to the property in order to trigger the extra expense coverage. With a school or church shooting, there may not be any or enough property damage to trigger coverage, and the traditional coverage is not designed for what is often needed in a shooting situation, which is counseling, medical expenses, funeral costs, and other services. A school may be closed temporarily or even permanently.

 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. defines "extra expense" as the excess of any cost during the policy period chargeable to the conduct of the insured's operations over and above the normal cost of operations during the same period had no violent act occurred, including overtime and the cost of obtaining property for temporary use to conduct operations. As with most extra expense coverages, the insured is to resume normal operations as soon as practicable. Any salvage value of property obtained for temporary use will be taken into the consideration of extra expense costs. For example, if the school gets extra desks while displaced at another location and retains some of those desks after the loss, the salvage value of those desks will be subtracted from the extra expense payments. The insured is keeping the property, so it is no longer extra expense. Limits are available on a per occurrence/annual aggregate basis, with coverage from $1 to 5 million with a $15,000 deductible. Five percent of this limit is available for crisis counseling included in the limit selected.

 School Violence Coverage

 The Ohio School Plan Program provides coverage laid out a little differently. This coverage pays up to $25,000 for group trauma counseling, $25,000 for extra required security, $25,000 for additional substitute teachers, and $10,000 for extra transportation costs. There is also a $25,000 death benefit for a student, employee, elected or appointed board member, grad/student teacher, or an authorized volunteer. Once other sources of funds have been exhausted, the coverage may also provide coverage for EMT and medical expenses. The total benefits available for a covered violent act is $1 million. The violence coverage is a master policy for the Ohio School Plan; members with Ohio School Plan Liability policies automatically receive the violence coverage.

 Expense Reimbursement Coverage

 Hartford provides a broader expense coverage that includes not only violent crime, hostage situations, kidnapping, stalking and abduction, but also covers intentional contamination of food, beverages, or pharmaceuticals; illness caused by food-borne bacteria; legionnaires, hepatitis, or noroviruses; or fire, explosion, accident, or equipment failure that results not only in bodily injury or property damage, but adverse media coverage as well. Aggregate coverage limits range from $25,000 to $250,000. This is the maximum regardless of number of individuals sustain injury or number of covered events. Coverage is on a reimbursement basis and is an endorsement that adds on to the general liability policy.

 The incident must occur during the policy period and be on or within 1,000 feet of premises owned, rented, or leased to the school. Off-premises coverage is provided for activities the school sponsors or authorizes, including transportation to and from the activity. So sports team playing away games would be protected if something happened.

 Covered losses include expenses for first aid, ambulance transportation and other medical care, psychological counseling, funerals and burials, increased post-event security, overtime pay and temporary facilities, hiring of crisis management and public relations firms to mitigate negative publicity. Counseling is available for those injured and those who were in peril as well. Medical expenses include rehabilitation facilities and prosthetic devices as well as basic medical care at the scene or after. Hartford can help insureds develop business continuity plans in case of a violent event.

 Catastrophic Violent Response Coverage

 The Church Mutual Catastrophic Violence Response Coverage attaches to the general liability form and provides scheduled coverage per person per violent incident and an aggregate limit. The endorsement defines "violent incident" as an event that is caused by an intentional criminal act or a series of related intentional criminal acts, which results in two or more persons (not including the perpetrator) sustaining serious bodily injury or being held in a hostage situation. If a member of the congregation or a group meeting at the church has a concealed carry permit and accidentally shoots others, that is not covered under this endorsement. A violent act begins when the first act or series of acts begins, and ends when the last in a series is completed or when the premises have been secured by the proper authorities, whichever comes first.

 For example, a shooter comes to a church and shoots a number of people, with a delay from the time he started shooting to when he went to an upstairs section and began shooting again; that is considered one single incident. If a different shooter attacks people at church two days in a row for a separate reason, that is two separate acts and two separate incidents. A "violent incident" does not include "disruptive behavior." "Disruptive behavior" is defined as an altercation or dispute that would not cause a reasonable adult to conclude that he was in immediate danger of serious bodily injury, including fist fights, brawling, punching, kicking, biting, yelling, use of profanity, and other such behaviors. A "hostage incident" is when people are held captive and restrained by someone threatening to inflict serious bodily injury, and the circumstances of the threat would lead a reasonable adult to believe the captives are at such risk. "Serious bodily injury" is defined as death or injury that creates substantial risk of death or serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any significant bodily member or organ. So the injury incurred has to be substantial; even a few broken bones is not considered serious bodily injury unless it puts the individual at risk of death or permanent disability, and usually it does not. Emotional or mental injury are not considered serious bodily injury, as is typical of most liability policies or forms.

 Coverage is provided for events that occur during the policy period, during the organization's organized activities, and occurs on premises the insured owns or leases. Expenses are covered as long as they are incurred within 395 days of the violent act.

 The standard exclusions for war, insurrection, rebellion, nuclear reaction, radiation or contamination, sexual molestation or misconduct, vehicle liability including autos, boats, motorcycles, lawnmowers, golf carts, planes, recreational vehicles, or expenses incurred by the perpetrator regardless of his relationship to the insured exist. Also excluded are legal costs, attorney fees, judgments, settlements and damages from any claim brought against or by an insured in connection with a violent incident, obligations under workers compensation, disability or other similar compensation laws, damage to property including loss of use, services provided by governmental entity except for services normally charged to the public, and indirect or consequential loss resulting from a violent expense. The form is truly designed to provide coverage for the victims of a violent crime as those needs are unique and are not covered in the standard general liability coverages.

 A unique feature is that expenses that are not emergency medical expenses are not covered unless they are approved by the carrier before incurred. On the spot medical coverage is covered, but counseling for the members of the congregation must be approved beforehand. Some coverages are bound by the per person limit and others by the violent incident limit. Coverages subject to the per person limit are medical expenses including ambulance, airlift, and physical therapy. The coverage is excess over any amount due from other valid and collectible insurance available to the injured party. Counseling services are available for up to 90 days after the violent incident for anyone who received serious bodily injury or who was held in a hostage situation or their immediate families. There is no counseling for bystanders who witnessed the event, but weren't directly in peril.

 Losses subject to the violent incident limit include funeral expenses, with a maximum of $10,000 per funeral, two-thirds of lost wages by those who incurred serious injury or who were held hostage or their caregiver for up to thirty days and a total of $2,500. If another policy pays part of the wage loss, this policy pays the difference between that and the two-thirds amount. Proof of wage loss is required. Costs for a public relations consultant and group counseling services are available for thirty days after the incident, and independent security is covered for fifteen days after the incident. Wages of temporary staff are covered for thirty days after the incident but only up to the wages of the employee who normally fills that position. Rental of another facility is covered for up to thirty days after the incident. For the first anniversary of the incident, group counseling, security, and public relations services are provided for seven days before and seven days after the anniversary date.

 The duties in event of a violent incident require notification of the carrier as soon as it is known that a violent incident may result in a claim, with information as to what happened, when and where, names and addresses of any injured parties or witnesses, and the nature of any injuries sustained by any individuals. This policy is primary coverage except for medical expenses; it is excess of medical coverage of any sort and explains coverage when other carriers are present; this is fairly standard policy language.

 Conclusion

 School and church shootings are unfortunately becoming more common. Violence spills out in many public venues. There are many variables that factor into why this is happening, but the result is generally the same: devastation of a school or church community where psychological treatment is a primary need, as well as medical treatment, funeral expenses, and possible security. A number of carriers have developed specialty policies or endorsements to address these issues. Institutions that face these threats are encouraged to take them seriously and seek coverage, as such events are virtually impossible to predict and plan for in advance beyond basic emergency procedures.