What Is Professional Liability Insurance?
Professional liability insurance helps schools when someone claims that a teacher or staff member didn’t meet their professional responsibilities. It’s a safety net for situations like allegations of negligence or mistakes in educational services.
In Suzanne’s case, the parent believed she hadn’t taught important parts of the curriculum. If her school had professional liability insurance, it would have covered the legal costs to defend Suzanne and the school. This type of coverage also helps with settlements if the school needs to resolve the claim. Shifting this cost to the insurance company helps with the financial stability of the school.
With so many expectations placed on private schools, having professional liability insurance allows administrators to focus on providing a great education while being ready for the unexpected.
What Professional Liability Insurance Doesn’t Cover
While professional liability insurance is helpful for many situations, it doesn’t cover everything. Private schools often need other types of coverage for liability to fill in the gaps. Here are a few examples of what professional liability insurance does not handle:
- Injuries to employees: If a teacher or staff member gets hurt while working, that’s covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
- Injuries to visitors: If a parent or guest is injured on campus, general liability insurance covers the costs.
- Abuse or misconduct claims: Allegations of abuse or misconduct require a separate policy called sexual abuse and molestation insurance.
Suzanne’s school realized that professional liability insurance was one part of a larger puzzle. Combining it with other extra coverages created a complete protection plan for the school.
Why Private Schools Need Professional Liability Coverage
Private schools are different from charter schools and public schools in many ways. But the smaller class sizes foster closer relationships between student families and teachers. As a result, parents often expect personalized attention and higher academic results. While these high expectations create wonderful opportunities, they also come with added liability risks.
Suzanne’s experience showed how quickly a disagreement about what is being taught in a classroom could turn into a formal complaint. Professional liability insurance helps schools and teachers deal with these challenges without creating financial strain in other areas, like classroom improvements or staff salaries.
This coverage also protects teachers and administrators from the stress of facing legal claims alone while also providing financial safety. By having this protection in place, schools can handle disputes while continuing to focus on their mission of education.
Real-Life Scenarios Where Professional Liability Coverage Helps
Private schools face different types of challenges than public school districts that can possess sovereign immunity. The good news is that professional liability insurance can address these challenges to your school's financial stability. These scenarios of professional negligence show how the coverage works in real situations:
- Parent concerns about academic support: A parent claims their child didn’t receive the extra help they needed, leading to poor grades.
- Disputes over supervision: A teacher is accused of not properly supervising students during a field trip, resulting in claims of negligence leading to legal action.
- Conflicts over advice: A staff member gives advice about college preparation that a parent believes harmed their child’s chances of success.
In each of these cases, professional liability insurance helps schools cover the legal costs and, if needed, settlements. This allows schools to move forward without losing focus on their educational goals.
How Suzanne’s School Found the Right Coverage
After the incident with Suzanne, her school decided to look for professional liability insurance as part of their private school insurance program. They worked with an experienced insurance agent who specializes in helping Texas private schools. The agent asked about their unique risks and needs to determine how to best protect them from their personal complex risks. The agent helped them find a policy that addressed issues like curriculum disputes, field trips, and teacher negligence as part of their risk management solution.
In this process, the school also learned the importance of keeping good records. Suzanne’s administrators started documenting lesson plans, parent communications, and other details. These records gave the insurance agent a clearer picture of the school’s operations, making it easier to find the right coverage.
By taking these steps, the school created a stronger foundation for handling future challenges. Part of preparing for legal risks is having a solid plan to document the great things that your teachers and staff are doing on a regular basis.
Protecting Private Schools Like Suzanne’s
Suzanne’s story is a reminder that even the best schools can face unexpected claims. Professional liability insurance helps private schools handle these situations without putting their finances or reputation at risk. This is one part of the True Texas Education Insurance Program. This program is only available through Insurance For Texans and helps find customized insurance solutions for private schools across Texas.
If you want to protect your school from potential claims, click the button below to talk with an independent agent at Insurance For Texans today!