Insurance for All
Protecting your Investment Property
I wrote a blog a couple of months ago about keeping your tenants safe and avoiding liability. Richey Barrett has also written and repeatedly posted information about active shooters at religious institutions. Now, these two topics need to come together!
Management plans for landlords must address active shooter situations and the insurance industry needs to start providing coverage for these horrific situations.
While the chance of facing a live shooter in a shopping mall or apartment complex is low, the potential is there and the statistics indicate an alarming increase in violent acts involving active shooters. When does the building owner become legally liable for the crimes that took place on their property?
According to Mark Lies II, an employment and labor attorney, “Legal Liability hinges on whether the landlord or owner possessed a duty to protect the victim from the shooter, and this duty is typically created when a crime becomes foreseeable for the landlord or the building owner.” The standard General Liability policy only provides coverage if the insured is legally liable. However, it would provide defense coverage until it is discovered the insured was not legally liable for the acts that occurred.
But the civil lawsuit does not stop just because the General Liability doesn’t provide coverage because the landlord or building owner was not negligent in their efforts to maintain a safe premise. This is why coverage for active shooter and violent acts needs to become an available endorsement to main-street insurance policies. The costs that could be incurred by the owner of a small strip center or apartment building from a civil lawsuit could bankrupt them. The endorsement should address economic loss, victim death benefits, and additional medical benefits for victims.
To discuss the risks that face your business every day, contact the Trusted Choice insurance agents at Richey-Barrett.
