Today's gun tragedies prompt wide search for liable parties By Joseph S. Harrington, CPCU

For good reason, the property/casualty insurance business has sought to stay out of America's debate over gun violence, and to avoid being assigned a role in addressing a problem it didn't create and can't correct on its own. The reasoning is that no one can be insured for intentional harm to another (except in self-defense) and that accidental gun injuries and fatalities are rare enough to be insured under existing parameters of coverage.

The ability of P/C insurers to steer clear of exposure to gun violence is being tested in the aftermath of mass shootings, however.