Insurance Primers cont. - Victor O. Schinnerer & Co.

Public Entities

Insurance Primers

We provide an array of coverages for public entities. Since some coverages can be confusing to understand, we've developed this primer to help answer some questions you may have.

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Additional Insured

What is it?
An additional insured is a person or organization who obtains insurance coverage through an insurance policy purchased by another person or organization.

Why is it needed?
A person or organization (the purchaser) may be legally liable for the acts of others, or may agree in a contract to provide protection to others in certain circumstances. Making those others additional insureds on the purchaser’s insurance policy (with the insurer’s permission) allows the purchaser to provide the needed protections through an insurance policy paid for by the purchaser.

What are the benefits?
To the Additional Insured:

Protects the additional insured against claims that could arise out of the purchaser’s activities as they relate to the additional insured or actions of the additional insured for which the purchaser is legally or contractually responsible.
Reduces claim activity from the additional insured’s own policy for the actions of the other party and reduces premium charges for the additional insured resulting from the reduced loss potential.

To the Purchaser:

Provides a method for the purchaser to meet legal or contractual responsibilities through use of insurance.

What are the disadvantages?

To the Additional Insured:

The additional insured loses control of claims administration and may have inadequate protection if the purchaser fails to provide sufficient coverage, if the purchaser’s limits are reduced or exhausted by other claims or the insurer goes out of business.

To the Purchaser:

The purchaser’s insurance premium may be increased, additional losses may affect the ability to purchase insurance in the future, the limits of coverage may be reduced or exhausted by losses from the additional insured, reducing protection for the purchaser for other losses.

What does it cover?
Coverage for an additional insured can be as broad as the coverage provided for the purchaser of an insurance policy. A properly worded additional insured endorsement should limit coverage to that specifically required by law or contract.

Educators Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance

What is it?
This coverage provides professional liability to protect an educational institution, its management team and other employees during the course of their institutional duties from claims arising out of actual or alleged wrongful acts or other breach of duty. The policy covers indemnity and defense cost; this specialty coverage usually offers additional endorsements such as non-monetary relief and employment practices liability.

Employment practices liability claims include allegations such as wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and discrimination. Non-monetary relief is a defense only coverage where a plaintiff injunctive relief. Most policies of this type are written on a claims-made basis.

Who needs it?
All educational institutions need Educators E&O insurance. Entities that fall into this category include, but are not limited to:

Public school districts
Private schools
Charter schools
Cyber schools
Public and private colleges
Public and private universities

Why do they need it?
Academic organizations have a high professional liability exposure. Claims arise from charges such as failing to provide an appropriate education, improper hiring and training practices, breach of contract, breach of confidentiality, and lack of adequate supervision. Governmental immunities or tort caps do not always protect schools from these types of claims.

The examples shown below list just of a few of the many reasons why schools should carry E&O insurance.

Many non-monetary claims arise from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA),when parents of special needs feel that their children are not having their specific educational requirements addressed.
Claims can occur when teachers either intentionally or unintentionally introduce material that is not age, race, or religious appropriate.
Failure to maintain proper hiring and employment practices & procedures result in claims from both staff and students.
An exposure to breach of contract exists between the schools and teachers and the schools and outside vendors.

What does it cover?
Claims arising out of actual or alleged:

Wrongful acts
Errors & omissions
Breach of contract
Negligent employment practices
Claims seeking non-monetary relief

Educators Errors & Omissions coverage protects for both the insured educational entity and other individuals named in suits who are insureds on the E&O policies.

What do we offer?
Schinnerer's Public Entities program works with school board associations in Pennsylvania and Texas for their E&O coverages. In other states we have long-term relationships with several other prominent carriers to provide quotes to retail agents for their school coverage needs.

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