Americans have become accustomed to the availability of insurance products for everything from homes and cars to medical care and even pets. However, one of the most frightening and insidious threats to prepare for in today’s society is gun violence in schools. 

School shootings result in significant financial ramifications on top of the obvious emotional and physical trauma. The need for active shooter insurance in the modern world is an unfortunate yet accurate sign of the times.

The Reality of School Violence

More incidents of gunfire occurred on school grounds in 2021 and 2022 than any other school year since school gun violence tracking began in 2013. From the beginning of August 2021 through the end of May 2022, 193 gunfire incidents occurred in preschools and K-12 schools — almost four times the average of all other school years. These shootings took the lives of 59 individuals and wounded 138 others. 

Impact of School Violence

The increasing frequency of gun violence in schools not only presents physical safety concerns but also affects the academic, emotional, and social development of students. Trauma from exposure to shooting violence interferes with students’ ability to focus, spurs school dropouts, and jeopardizes testing performance. 

Community Partnerships

In addition to acquiring active shooter insurance to deal with the threat of violence, schools are partnering with law enforcement and other resources within the community. Some schools focus on providing counseling to families, creating safe passages to school, finding disciplinary alternatives that include educational opportunities, increasing mentoring relationships, and implementing restorative practices into behavior policies. These initiatives have shown promise in reaching troubled youth and providing services that improve the community as a whole.

Economic Costs

The emotional loss that a family and community experience after a school shooting is immeasurable. However, there is also an economic toll that accompanies these incidents, underscoring the need for deadly weapon insurance. It accounts for:

• Direct medical costs of physical and emotional care for victims, survivors, and families
• Reduced lifetime earnings for children negatively impacted by exposure to gun violence
• Costs of increased security measures
• Costs of decreased housing prices and slowed business development

Need for Active Shooter Insurance

When a school falls victim to an incident of gun violence, it experiences financial consequences in addition to physical and emotional damages. Expenses for lawsuits, legal liability, repairs to the building, medical expenses, and trauma counseling can easily total in the millions. Demand for insurance as protection against this financial hardship is growing as the risk of experiencing an active shooter incident increases.

Common Coverage Areas

Active shooter insurance typically offers coverage for incidents involving premeditated attacks from active armed assailants. Common coverages generally have limits up to $100 million and include the following:

• Property damage and non-physical damage
• Lawsuits and legal liability
• Costs of public relations and crisis management
• Medical and counseling services
• Costs for additional staff and security

Consequences of No Coverage

The aftermath of gun violence costs the local, state, and federal governments of the United States $557 billion annually, which is five times the national budget for education. Schools need active shooter insurance to protect against academic loss, decline in public trust, and physical, emotional, and financial consequences when an armed assailant victimizes them. 

School Safety First

Gun violence has taken a tremendous toll on our country, and no institutions feel it more than our schools. Insurance is critical to ensure schools’ continued stability and effectiveness at every level. Contact PGUI for a risk management program, including active shooter insurance for educational institutions.

About PGUI

Professional Governmental Underwriters, LLC., is a full-service risk management company dedicated to assisting public, educational, and non-profit entities in the management of their professional liability exposures, including educators liability insurance. We are dedicated to providing state-of-the-art professional underwriting management and loss control advisory services on behalf of our designated carriers. For more information, call us toll-free at (800) 586-6502.