Educational institutions are not immune to the challenges associated with a troubled economy.

In fact, because they rely on gifts, investments, and state and federal funding, it may affect them even more. Cost-cutting measures are the new norm.

“It's gone beyond cutting muscle. They are down to the bone,” said Janice M. Abraham, president and chief executive of United Educators, a reciprocal insurer owned by more than 1,160 member colleges, universities, independent schools, public school districts, public school insurance pools and related organizations throughout the United States.

Administrators are faced with difficult decisions. The possible insurance implications of some budget-cutting decisions are immediately evident. A decision not to fix the stairs, for example, may mean people are more likely to fall.

The impacts of other choices may not be so directly evident, such as the possibility that an institution might face retaliation claims after a planned layoff.

United Educators has seen a rise in retaliation, discrimination, alcohol-related and slip-and-fall claims. Ms. Abraham said a recent claims analysis showed slips and falls accounted for 36 percent of all general liability claims and 20 percent of all claims paid.

These challenges are emerging as post-secondary schools deal with increased enrollments.

“It always happens during a recession, especially at community colleges,” Ms. Abraham said. “People go back to school for more education to have a better chance at a job.”

Maybe now more than ever, insurers of educational institutions have taken a holistic view, incorporating risk management and creating partnerships with policyholders.

“Most schools can't afford risk management,” said Steve Sims, president of WRM America, which offers a comprehensive program of property and casualty insurance coverage and services for K-12 private independent schools, public schools, and accredited colleges and universities.

Recognizing that institutions may not have the financial means to repair infrastructure all at once, Mr. Sims said WRM works “to come up with a way to remediate a risk exposure in the near term and to find a permanent solution over an appropriate period of time.”

Like United Educators, WRM does not conduct its insurance and risk management in separate silos.

“We can work out a plan to get over the hurdles they face,” Mr. Sims said. “Ninety percent of solving a problem is being aware one exists.”

Therefore, the insurers engage in hands-on site inspections of the institutions they insure.

“They can't travel to us. We go to them,” said Ms. Abraham, referring not only to site inspections but to education. Informative downloads on topics like preventing harassment, defraying risk management costs and the risks associated with parking lots have “increased incredibly,” she said.

“We've made a big investment in online learning,” Ms. Abraham added.

Mr. Sims said more risk arises as schools look to loan or rent space to outsiders for additional revenue. Lecture halls are used for meetings and auditoriums for concerts.

“Schools are typically the center of a community and the facilities are used for a myriad of purposes,” he said. “This increases a school's risk exposures, which need to be mitigated through a combination of strong policy and a robust risk management program.”

Les Nichols, Boys & Girls Club of America's vice president of risk management, said many of the youth-serving organization's sites have offset risk and the costs of building management–or are at least sharing them–by becoming parts of schools. Of the thousands of sites nationwide, 40 percent are owned by BGCA, whereas a decade ago, about 60 percent of sites were owned.

“With this risk transfer, traditional challenges are reduced, but others arise,” said Mr. Nichols. In May, Markel Corp. launched the Boys & Girls Club of America National Insurance Program after the BGCA approached the specialty insurer and asked for help in getting coverage for a lower, more competitive price to help control costs.

Now, Mr. Nichols said supervision and jurisdiction definitions need to be clear, as sometimes after-school activities and the BGCA mix and use the same space, such as bathrooms.

“There is a great demand to define the responsibilities of these situational uses,” he said.

Like the rest of the industry, insurers of educational institutions see a soft market. Ms. Abraham called it “unrealistic” and “unsustainable.”

Special Reports /

Higher Admissions, Expense Cuts Mean Claims For Education Facilities

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