SCHOOLS ARE NOW BUYING SPECIAL INSURANCE POLICIES IN CASE THEY GET SHOT UP 
The market for “active-assailant” insurance is alive and well, reports the Wall Street Journal, as more and more private schools, public schools, charters, and universities go on fiscal defense against the threat posed by fire-armed students — who cost districts a lot of money in counseling expenses, crisis management, extra security, and of course lawsuits. (“If you’re a risk manager for a school district, you have to look at it with the same eye that you might look at coverage for a tornado,” says a researcher at the University of South Carolina. “We live in a very litigious United States.”) The policies function as a type of gap insurance, covering expenses not typically included in general liability like funeral costs and death benefits, often up to $250,000 per victim. For smaller schools, premiums range from roughly $1,800 to $1 million, and for larger ones up to $20 million. Just last month, Ohio underwriter McGowan Program Administrators wrote over 60 policies, a representatives tells the WSJ. And of the 300 policies it’s written total, some have already been paid out. [Wall Street Journal; previously on Swamplot] Photo of Santa Fe High School, Santa Fe, Texas: Santa Fe ISD
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I laughed at the headline.
Imagine if the Bible said firearms are terrible. Then Republicans would outlaw them. Gotta do what the book says! Basing your life on a printed book with ink and paper..
Trucks and American flags.. we get it
Welcome to Trump’s AmeriKKKa.
@ Swamplot: This has absolutely nothing to do with “Houston’s Real Estate Landscape”.
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@ HITBK: Any major religion that came out against armaments would not remain a major religion for long. States enforce the rule of law at the point of a gun/spear/bludgeon/whathaveyou. Even Buddhism is essentially a statist enterprise. And you’ll note that neither political party is at all interested in arms control in general — only the arms that those politicians don’t themselves wield control of, such as in other countries or in the hands of individuals.
HIBTK,
Dont worry. Republicans routinely ignore what the bible says when its inconvienent to their political position. Just look at how the poor are treated.
I think the whole school shoot up thing is stupid. The highest risk, “super high”, is in distant rural, simi-rural suburbs for this. I hate how it should be looked at as a high threat for urban schools like they need to be putting money towards anything like that. They have their own problems. More than 90% percent of the times that this mass school shooting stuff has happened is far from urban areas. This situation won’t get solved if it keeps getting looked at out of focus, and could just lead to the breaking up of the country’s entire school setup if you become even more unfocused with it.
@TheNiche – Seems like this hit a nerve. Nothing to do with our real estate landscape? You do understand where most funding for schools here, including these premiums, come from property taxes? Or do you get equally upset when we have a property tax related article that doesn’t mention firearms?
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How about we pay for this with a tax on guns and ammunition?
@ Chris C: If information is given by Swamplot which reflects the relative risk of school shootings at various campuses, yes that would perhaps be of interest to consumers and relevant to the housing market. If information is given by Swamplot reflecting specific costs to specific school districts of these insurance policies alongside cost data and the likelihood of such events impacting them — yeah, that’s an article that I’d like to read, but it’ll never be written.
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In any case, there are just so very many more important, more costly, and more consequential issues that relate to the property tax rate that is levied by school districts on property owners. This is a drop in the bucket. It is unimportant.
It would be extremely interesting to hear about their underwriting process. Surveillance footage shows students regularly wearing trench coats? That’s a 10% premium boost. Lack of school spirit at the pep rally? Easily another 10% more. Students posting or liking extremist material on Facebook — have you considered our Elite package?