The horror stories show up on the news all too frequently. Our social media feeds are clogged with videos of it. The sad reality is that active shooters remain a very real and dangerous part of our society today. While it might be impossible to eliminate this threat at the moment, business owners and executives can still implement precautions that can potentially alleviate the repercussions from one of these grisly incidents.
Brokers and agents working with healthcare organizations, educational institutes, retail establishments, entertainment facilities and more, should speak with these clients to ensure they understand all of the risks facing our country every day – including active shooters. By having a sound active shooter insurance policy in place, businesses, groups and other organizations can mitigate the fallout from these terrifying and chaotic events.
Active shooters on the rise
According to the FBI, all U.S. government agencies, including the White House, U.S. Department of Justice and others, use this agreed-upon definition of an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area,” which involves the implicit use of a firearm.
“The past 10 years have seen the three deadliest shootings in U.S. history occur.”
Unfortunately, the most common places to fall victim to an active shooter is while a person is at work or in school, CNN noted. Further, according to the source, the past 10 years have seen the three deadliest shootings in U.S. history occur. With 49 individuals killed, the recent shooting in the Orlando, Florida, nightclub Pulse took the notorious record of being the most fatal shooting in U.S. history. Not only are active shootings on the rise in the the United States, the country is also at the greatest risk for experiencing a mass shooting. According to an analysis by CNN, between 1966 and 2012, despite the U.S. only having 5 percent of the world’s population, the country accounted for 31 percent of all public mass shootings in the world.
Taking precautions
Many groups and organizations have a “duty of care” to ensure the safety of everyone who enters and operates in their building and on their property, whether they’re patients, clients, customers, employees, vendors, guests or other visitors to their campus and facilities. Because of this duty of care, if an individual is injured or killed during a deadly active shooter attack, the organization or business could potentially be found liable for regulatory and civil actions.
“Owners and managers should implement training sessions for all employees and staff members.”
This makes it crucially important that any business or organization take the utmost care in ensuring they’ve enacted the necessary precautions to keep everyone they’re responsible for safe from harm. Having clearly marked emergency exit signs is always a good option. These doors should remain unlocked and easily accessible during working hours.
Although it can be difficult to keep calm and reasonable in the midst of an active shooting incident, owners and managers should still implement training sessions for all employees and staff members. With sufficient preparations, these workers can potentially reduce risks and help visitors and guests stay calm during an otherwise extremely turbulent time.
High-profile and high-traffic businesses can be more difficult to secure with current staff levels, but a well-trained security team on watch at all times can help protect visitors, employees and the organization. Allocating resources to increase the feeling of customer trust, safety and peace of mine will only support the brand or business. Resiliency and preparedness are brand attributes.
Who can help?
Unfortunately, no amount of training, security guards and warnings can totally eliminate the chance of an active shooter launching an attack at a business or school. Thankfully, when one of these incidents occurs, another smart option is for these organizations to have active shooter insurance. This is a new form of coverage specifically designed to provide additional financial security when one of these tragic events happen.
Brokers and agents who partner with McGowan Program Administrators gain access to our newly developed active shooter insurance program. Whether it’s a stand alone policy or part of a larger McGowan bundle of policies, we offer coverages to help businesses and organizations pick up the pieces following an active shooter incident. With our “Power of the Pen,” McGowan offers uniquely tailored policies with primary liability limits between $1 million and $25 million.
