At Academy Risk Managers (ARM) we focus on providing solutions to the problems you might be faced with as a Charter School. With all of the vulnerabilities to consider, you need an insurance partner that is well-versed in the necessary risk management techniques that prevent these kinds of losses and will properly respond if something unthinkable were to happen. ARM will worry about your insurance coverage so that you can focus on the hundreds of other things you need to handle.

Protecting School Property

Property and Casualty coverage is designed to protect the physical property that comprises your school campus, against fire, acts of nature, etc. This includes the buildings that you lease from the school district for which you must provide insurance. You should also procure insurance for tenant improvements and the contents within the buildings, which provides coverage – even when the property is off campus. For instance, if the insured property is band instruments and the band is at a parade or competition, and something happens; or the football team has an away game and all of the equipment is stolen. This Property Coverage will insure against this type of a loss.

Additionally, as part of this policy, Casualty Coverage should be obtained to protect against legal action taken on the part of a third party, such as parents.

Commercial Property

This coverage protects the buildings, the school-owned contents in the buildings, and the contents belonging to others. This insurance would even cover the briefcase of a parent if they accidentally left it behind after a meeting, and the laptop inside of it were destroyed.

Protecting Your Revenue

Business Interruption

Recovering from a cataclysmic incident is difficult enough. Business Interruption Insurance is designed to help you recover from a covered loss during the restoration process. When you consider a fire, for example, and the school is completely demolished, you need some means of compensating your best staff and administration during the rebuilding process which could take up to two years to complete. Even if you are classified as a non-profit, you still have to compensate your employees. You don’t want to lose them to your competition. You might also need funds to pay rent on a temporary location. The proper business interruption coverage will help you get back on track with minimal “fallout.”

Automobile Exposures

Insurance for Autos and Busses

If your school owns vehicles – cars, buses and/or vans – or if faculty/administrators utilize their vehicles for school purposes, they need to be covered on the school’s Auto Insurance Policy. This will not only protect the vehicles, but also the passengers in the vehicle. An Auto Liability Policy will also cover a vehicle you might rent on behalf of the school. This is an area of vulnerability that is important to protect against.

Protection from Lawsuits

General Liability

This coverage is what people are typically familiar with when insurance is considered. Many claims occur which involve Bodily Injury of the people on or Property Damage of the assets on your campus. This crucial protection is the very basic coverage which is required to protect your Charter School.

Umbrella Liability

In many instances, a Charter School is contractually required to carry additional coverage beyond the limits of its General Liability Policy. In these cases, an Umbrella Policy can act as a policy to augment the coverage and meet the Total Insurable Exposure, over and above the base policy already in place. This Umbrella Policy can be added to the Commercial Auto Liability, Employer’s Liability and the General Liability Coverage.

Educator’s Legal Liability

This insurance coverage protects claims that fall outside the areas of Property Damage and Bodily Injury. This coverage defends and indemnifies those that claim that perhaps the experience in the classroom is in some way not meeting their expectations. This coverage protects against wrongful termination, wrongful dismissal, perceived discrimination, inappropriate disciplinary processes, sexual harassment, and bullying. Any or all of these can occur at any school and can result in an expensive lawsuit. This coverage can compensate up to the limits of the policy.

Active Shooter/Workplace Violence

What about when violence is brought onto your campus? The risk of this is real in today’s world. Your typical insurance policy only covers bodily injury and property damage and that is only as a result of your negligence. How can you possibly be considered negligent if someone comes onto your campus with a gun and uses it in an inappropriate and illegal way? Having an insurance policy and risk management techniques that prevent these kinds of losses, and will properly respond if something unthinkable were to happen, is a good game plan. Academy Risk Managers (ARM) can help you develop this protection for your Charter School.

Abuse and Molestation Coverage

Unfortunately, in addition to the mundane insurance issues, Abuse and Molestation is part of the complex world we live in, and need to protect against. These are therefore risks you must consider as part of the Liability Insurance elements you should include as you decide how to defend against allegations of third parties with regard to administrators, faculty and staff of the school. Bear in mind that these types of allegations can also be as a result of child to child interaction. As a Charter School, you can still be held accountable or party to a lawsuit because a parent thinks that you should have or could have intervened. Protection against lawsuits, while protecting your reputation as a school and indemnifying the third party if it is determined that negligence came into play in some way are critical components for which Academy Risk Managers (ARM)can help you plan.

Employment Practices Liability

Despite every effort to create a safe, ethical and legally correct environment for your employees, sometimes claims arise from those employees who believe their rights may have been violated. These claims include discrimination, wrongful termination and sexual harassment. This could even be the case if a delivery person harasses a receptionist, who in turn believes that their employer should take appropriate action. Juries decide the dollar amount associated with how much a person’s reputation has been damaged in these instances up to the limits of the policy. Insurance protection against these issues is critical as they could completely cripple the finances of the Charter School, and stop educational efforts from moving forward.

Protecting your Teachers and Students

Worker’s Compensation

Although Worker’s Compensation Insurance is required in the State of California, it is also the right thing to do for your employees. If an employee is injured on the job, they should have the means to heal and still provide for themselves and their families. Academy Risk Managers (ARM) has carriers for Worker’s Compensation that have tremendous coverage, fair rates and that are geared specifically to educators and their unique requirements. These factors allow you to offer tremendous benefits to your employees, should the need arise.

Employee Benefits

You want to keep your key employees happy, and healthy, don’t you? Of course, you do! Investing in employee morale and well-being is one of the best investments you can make. Aside from health insurance, many other non-cash benefits can be offered to employees. Social Security, Unemployment Compensation and Worker’s Compensation are mandatory; however, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, a Pension Plan and a Retirement Plan can be offered to attract and retain employees. The financial services planners at Academy Risk Managers (ARM), can help to craft an extensive employment package that is both attractive to potential applicants, will help maintain employees and is still affordable.

Student Accident Coverage

This coverage applies to those times when students hurt themselves. When a child falls off of the monkey bars and breaks an arm, or when a field trip results in a trip to the Emergency Room. When children get hurt, sometimes parents think that not only must the medical bills be covered, but damages due to negligence should be considered as well. These instances can result in expensive lawsuits which are damaging to Charter Schools. Student Accident Coverage will combat these claims and take care of the expenses.

GET IN TOUCH

Protecting School Property

Protecting Your Revenue

Automobile Exposures

Protection from Lawsuits

Protecting your Teachers and Students

Helpful Information

Corporate Office