In the 21st century, there’s a new kind of threat that business owners in the United States are facing: active shooters.
An active shooter incident is defined as any situation in which one or more people are actively using firearms in the attempt to kill individuals in populated locations. The statistics on these types of dangers are staggering. Between 2000 and 2017, 250 active shooter incidents occurred, and 2,217 people were killed or wounded, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) reports. The statistics on these types of situations in 2018 prove that they are on the rise, as a total of 297 mass shootings have already occurred, and the year isn’t even over.
These statistics are scary, indeed, but as a business owner, there is a way that you can protect yourself, your employees, consumers, vendors, and anyone else who might be impacted if a mass shooting occurs at your organization. How? With active shooter insurance.
With the increase in active shooter incidents and the need to protect people from these types of dangers, the insurance industry is responding by offering insurance policies that aim to offer coverage from this type of peril. These policies offer coverage for the perils that are associated with active shooter situations.
This includes not only the injuries and loss of life that can occur in a mass shooting, but also the mental and emotional damage that is associated with this type of incident. They also provide coverage for any potential lawsuits that could arise in the event that those who have been affected take legal action, citing business owners for negligence.
While the coverage that active shooter insurance policies offer varies, generally, they offer coverage against any lawsuits that might arise as a result of an attack. They can also provide coverage for things like crisis management, emergency responders, and any counseling that might be required after such an incident.
These types of policies are intended for all types of businesses, including schools, religious organizations, banks, sporting and concert venues, and hospitality establishments (hotels, restaurants, night clubs, etc)
Active shooter liability coverage is for claims related to injury and added expenses arising from claims involving the insured premises or grounds having been breached by a person using firearms with the intent to kill and injure persons on or at the facility. Claims are typically based on allegations of negligence on the part of the facility staff in not providing an adequately secure premises.
Given the sharp increase in mass shootings in the United States, it’s safe to say that investing in an active shooter insurance policy is a wise investment. But, before you invest, you might be thinking to yourself, “won’t my commercial general liability or property policy cover this type of peril?” It depends.
While your commercial property insurance policy will likely cover any physical damage to your building, your commercial general liability policy may or may not cover a mass shooting incident. While these policies are meant to protect business owners and third parties that interact with their organization from injuries, they are not designed to cover situations in which individuals open fire in a place of business. Furthermore, liability policies do not offer coverage for employees.
With an active shooter insurance policy, you can safeguard yourself and anyone who interact with your business, in the unfortunate event that someone does open fire at your establishment with the intent to kill.
Active Shooter incidents are, sadly, becoming an exposure that is happening with enough frequency that educational facilities must take into consideration in its insurance and risk management program. With respect to coverage under an ELL, it may depend on policy wording and how a claim is presented.
Liability for active shooting may fall within the definition of a wrongful act related to an educational facility. A claimant would likely allege that a given facility was negligent for failing to provide and adequately safe premises or grounds and injury or damage arose from that failure.
It may be that coverage could fall under a base ELL policy or a coverage option may be available via an endorsement.
Besides coverage for bodily inury or property damage created by a shooter, insurers are using a wider approach that puts a greater emphasis on risk management and incident recovery, offering elements involving pre- and post-incident preparation. Preventive measures include training staff on how to respond to an active shooter. Post-incident measures include providing payments for counseling, rehabilitation and even public relations.
Commercial insurance underwriters will want to know the answers to a variety of questions including:
These are only a few of the factors that underwriters consider in their coverage decisions to write active shooter policies.
In addition to investing in an active shooter insurance policy, there are other ways that you can protect your business – and those inside of it – from a mass shooting situation. It is strongly recommended that business owners take a proactive stance and develop an active shooter response plan in the event that such an incident does occur.
This should include teaching employees how to handle this type of situation to improve their safety and the safety of others. For example, you can hold lock-down drills on a regular basis.
Currently, not all insurance companies offer active shooter insurance coverage; however, given the constant rise in these types of events and the need to protect individuals, many carriers are starting to adopt these types of policies. To find out which insurance providers offer active shooter policies and how much coverage you should invest in, speak to a reputable commercial insurance broker.
We hope this article on active shooter insurance was informative. As a business owner, protecting your assets is vital. With active shooter insurance, you can protect your most important assets. Beazley, AIG, Willis, application, active shooter insurance for schools, and active shooter insurance programs.
