Educator's Legal Liability Insurance

Print Version

This policy covers the college as an institution and each individual employee. The coverage limit is $2,000,000 for each claim and annual aggregate, with a $1,000 deductible. Insured losses include defense costs as well as any judgment the employee or college might be legally obligated to pay. Not covered are fines, other penalties, or taxes.

All employees are covered for wrongful acts. Wrongful act means any actual or alleged error, omission, act, misstatement, or breach of duty in the discharge of duties to or on behalf of an insured entity. The insured entity is the College. Multiple claims arising from a single wrongful act are treated as one for purposes of the $2,000,000 limit.

The College pays extra for an endorsement that specifically includes the more likely allegations facing college employees at the present time. These are as follows:

1. Discrimination against any person or any violations of a person's civil rights
2. Sexual harassment
3. Wrongful employment practices, including discrimination in the terms and conditions of employment, failure to hire or promote, failure to grant tenure or the wrongful termination of tenure, wrongful termination of employment, or breach of the employment contract
4. Educational malpractice or failure to educate
5. Infringement of copyright, trademark, or patent
6. Plagiarism or idea misappropriation
7. Oral or written publication of material that slanders or libels a person or organization or violates the right to privacy or disparages a person's or organization's goods, products, services, character, or reputation
8. False arrest, wrongful detention, or malicious prosecution; wrongful entry into, or eviction of a person from, a room, dwelling, or premises a person occupies
9.  Any misstatement, misleading statement, or libel, slander, or other defamation in any book, newspaper, or other publication of the "educational entity," or broadcast over any radio, cable, or television station owned and/or operated by the "educational entity"
10. Failure to grant due process

The policy does contain exclusions, too, as all policies do. It does not cover any type of criminal activity proven or admitted (not just accusations) or knowing violation of laws and regulations. It also excludes physical injury or destruction.

The college and each individual employee are covered for physical injury or destruction under the general liability and umbrella liability policies. Here the coverage limit is $21,000,000 per occurrence and aggregate, with no deductible.