Risk Management and Insurance Programs for Municipalities & Educational Institutions

Municipalities and educational institutions encompass a wide variety of services, activities, and responsibilities undertaken by towns, counties, cities, schools and other special districts.  Risk management including the insurance needs of such a wide-ranging group of entities is just as varied and ever-changing as the entities themselves.

When responsibilities extend to disparate public services like road maintenance, public transportation, special events management, school districts, emergency response, and more, we can help.  Sidle Insurance can provide a complete risk management program including contract reviews, loss analysis, and training.  The use of contractors can present a host of issues when managing your risk.  Our proprietary method of categorizing and assigning insurance requirements by type of contract can make dealing with contractors a breeze, while ensuring that your exposures are adequately dealt with.

The Municipal and Educational Institution Risk Management and Insurance team at Sidle Insurance can help you sort through the unique risks you face.  And we have the options to help you craft an effective, economic, risk management and insurance program. Our agency has worked with municipal organizations and educational institutions throughout the central Finger Lakes region of NY since our founding in 1972. 

Why do schools need insurance?

Parents and students both rely on schools to keep attending children safe. No matter how hard a school works to ensure the safety of the students, accidents and injuries can occur and schools are at risk for lawsuits both frivolous and sound. In order to protect its own interests and ensure its future operation, schools should secure both liability and property insurance specific to their individual risks.

Liability Insurance for Schools

While a general liability insurance policy will cover many of the liability risks schools face when having students, parents and visitors on its grounds, more specific policies may also be necessary. Student and athletic accident insurance is one such policy. This policy will generally cover injuries and accidents that can occur during sports-related extracurricular activities both on school property and when away on field trips.

In addition to this coverage, schools may also consider catastrophic accident insurance in order to cover the long-term medical care and excessive medical care expenses faced by students who are injured. An additional accidental death and dismemberment policy may also be advisable.

In order to protect employees, schools should consider employment practices liability insurance, which offers protection from the expense of lawsuits and claims for inappropriate employment practices. If automobiles are operated on behalf of the school or are owned by the school, the proper liability insurance to comply with state regulations should be purchased. Finally, directors and officers liability insurance can protect board members, principals and others against claims of assault and abuse.

Property Insurance For Schools

To protect the building and contents of the school, a commercial property insurance policy may be necessary. This will not only protect school property against fires and other covered hazards, but will also generally protect against crimes such as theft and vandalism. School administrators should be careful to structure the policy’s limits to cover the real financial risks involved in losing expensive school equipment, such as computers.