School districts are exposed to many different types of risk. These types of risk can come from visitors, students, employees, the buildings and grounds, transportation, and just about anything you can think of. In the event of a claim, a school could be put in a tough situation. This is where insurance policies can come into play.

What type of insurance should schools carry? According to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association’s endorsed insurance program, the following are all different types of insurance that schools should consider:

  • Property and Liability
  • Worker’s Compensation
  • Privacy Protection
  • Owner-Controlled Insurance
  • Excess Liability
  • School Leaders Legal Liability

Property and liability insurance can provide coverage when it comes to property, general liability, automobile, and boiler and machinery. This type of insurance offers the broadest protection for public schools.

Workers compensation insurance can help to protect a district when a school official or employee becomes injured on the job. This could also help to cover medical costs as well as any other costs associated with that worker’s injury.

Privacy protection insurance can help to protect against issues that arise when computer equipment is lost, network breaches occur, or there are human errors including those made by outside sources. This coverage can also include identity theft, broad network liability, internet media liability, and cyber extortion.

Owner-Controlled insurance is an additional or alternative product that can better protect a district from risks associated with a major construction project by consolidating and improving various insurance coverages into one unified insurance program.

Excess liability insurance can help when catastrophes occur. This provides extra coverage when your normal liability coverage does not or is used to its fullest extent.

School leaders legal liability can help to protect school officials and employees against unforeseen professional liability. It is designed to help you protect your district against claims arising from violations of civil rights, punitive damages, discrimination, wrongful termination, and other actions.

It is important to make sure that your school district, as well as your employees, students, and visitors, are protected. When determining what type of insurance policies are right for your school, the best solution is to sit down with an insurance expert and work through the options to determine what best fits your needs.