Think about this scenario: You’re mowing your lawn and an unseen rock is hurled by the mower onto your neighbor’s property. Your neighbor comes over and politely informs you that not only did you damage her house, but the blood on her face from the broken window now requires a trip to the emergency room.
Consider another scenario that could happen at school: You’re accused of harassment by a student’s parent.
This article reviews different types of liability insurance every educator should investigate: personal, professional and commercial.
Liability losses occur when someone becomes legally obligated to pay compensation for harm done to someone else. For a liability loss to occur, all of the following conditions must exist:
A basic concept of civil liability (or criminal responsibility) under laws in the United States is that one party must prove that the other party was at fault in their actions and caused the loss or injury for which the law holds them liable or responsible.
Most personal liability risks are covered as part of a comprehensive homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy and a comprehensive automobile insurance policy. If a neighbor slips on your icy walkway, then your home insurance policy will provide liability coverage and medical coverage for you and your neighbor.
What if a situation involving you causes property damage or bodily injury while you are at work, either on school grounds or at a school function? Personal liability insurance will not cover that risk—you need teacher liability insurance for this purpose.
The National Education Association (NEA) has recognized the importance of having such protection—so much so, that the Educators Employment Liability (EEL) insurance program is just one of many benefits of membership provided at no additional cost to the member. This policy protects you in most instances if a student or a student’s parents sue you. It also reimburses you if your personal property is damaged in assault-related incidents.
Coverage applies to legal charges arising out of the member’s educational work, or what under the policy is called, educational employment activities for an educational unit, such as a school or college, in most but not all instances. The basic coverage provided by the EEL policy includes:
NEA’s EEL policy is an occurrence policy. This means that claims arising from covered acts (“occurrence”) during the contract period are covered no matter when the claim is made—whether during that current period or years later. Benefits protect insured NEA members as of the time of the occurrence.
The EEL policy covers criminal and civil rights cases, but not cases arising out of the discharge or layoff of a member, or involving other “job rights” issues. These types of cases are covered by the Kate Frank-DuShane Unified Legal Services Program. This policy pays its benefits when other sources of insurance (e.g., a school district professional liability policy) are exhausted.
In some cases, NEA members may need to obtain additional liability insurance protection for operating a tutoring services business in their own residences. Operating a business (whether compensated or not) is not covered by the member’s personal homeowner’s, renter’s or condo insurance policy, or by the NEA professional liability policy.
As a business, the commercial insurance needed is distinct from the member’s professional liability insurance, under NEA’s EEL insurance, that covers members who tutor students as part of the member’s work for an education institution. Most insurance companies will modify an existing homeowner’s, renter’s or condo policy with a business-pursuits coverage rider (usually called the Permitted Incidental Occupancies—Residence Premises Endorsement).
Contact your insurance representative to inquire about the types of activities that are covered under your homeowner’s, renter’s, or condo insurance policy. Depending on the activity, you may need to obtain a separate commercial liability policy.
