For organizations of all kinds—from schools and retailers to event venues and corporate offices—understanding how to prepare for Active Assailant threats has become an essential part of modern risk management.
Active Assailant Insurance is designed to help organizations respond to and recover from violent events, offering financial protection, crisis support, and resources that go far beyond traditional insurance policies.
This FAQ breaks down the key concepts, coverage details, and practical use cases of Active Assailant insurance.
What incidents does the Active Assailant/Workplace Violence policy cover?
McGowan’s Active Shooter/Workplace Violence Insurance covers liability and extra expenses tied to violent attacks and/or threats, including firearm, knife, vehicular, explosives, and acid attacks.
Violent incidents with a weapon include third-party incidents, employee-on-employee events, or domestic violence events that affect an organization.
How does an Active Assailant/Workplace Violence policy coordinate with a General Liability policy?
When a General Liability policy includes coverage for a violent event, the Active Assailant policy becomes secondary coverage.
For example, if the client has $5 million general liability policy and a $1 million active assailant policy, the primary general liability policy would take the defense.
All first-party benefits, such as medical, counseling, security, and business interruption, would be covered under the Active Assailant policy.
If the client has an umbrella policy, the order of coverage is:
- General liability policy
- Active Assailant policy
- Umbrella policy
It’s important to note that more General Liability policies have Active Assailant exclusions. It’s important to review the General Liability policy to understand what is included and what’s not.
Also Read:
Policies to Prevent Workplace Violence
What benefits does an Active Assailant policy provide?
McGowan’s Active Assailant policy provides benefits day one without determining legal liability including:
- Victim expenses (funeral expenses, medical expenses, counseling, rehabilitation)
- Insured General Liability (defense and indemnification in the event the insured is sued)
- Business interruption expenses
- Property damage
- Crisis management services
- Extra expenses such as security or social media monitoring
Benefits are paid up to the aggregate limit of the policy and as specified in the policy document.
Examples:
- Retail stores recovering from a violent incident: coverage helps pay for crisis counseling for employees, store repairs, and lost revenue during closure.
- Schools implementing post-incident security upgrades: policies fund new access control systems, threat assessment training, and communication tools.
- Event venues managing liability exposure: after an incident, insurance may cover legal claims, PR support, and temporary relocation of scheduled events.
- Corporate offices facing prolonged business interruption: coverage helps maintain payroll, relocate staff, and restore operations.
- Hospitality businesses addressing loss of attraction: hotels or restaurants may use coverage to offset reduced bookings following a violent event.
For the Business Interruption coverage, what happens if an event is not on your property but affects your business?
For example, a shooting event happens at the business next door and the block is shut down for a period of time for investigation.
Business interruption coverage would depend on the policy. Some available policies have either loss of attraction type coverage or include a radius surrounding the premises (ex: 1 mile) where business interruption coverage could apply even if the event didn’t take place on the insured’s premises directly.
For businesses that do experience an Active Assailant event on the insured’s property, the policy does allow the business to provide a claim for costs incurred during the interruption of the business (up to the aggregate of the policy).
The insured’s General Liability is excluding Assault and Battery, would adding on an Active Assailant policy help?
An Active Assailant policy can help fill some gaps of the Assault and Battery exclusion but not all. An Active Assailant policy covers violent attacks with a weapon. The policy would not cover fist fights or sexual assault that happen on the insured’s property.
One of our London-based carriers recently started offering an A&B extension. With the purchase of an Active Assailant policy, the insured can add on an A&B extension for up to $500K (max limit) any one occurrence/aggregate with a $10,000 deductible any one occurrence.
The A&B extension provides important protection:
- Third-party claim for bodily injury from the A&B incident
- Third-party claim for physical loss or damage to property from the A&B incident
- Damage to the contents of the property from the A&B incident
The A&B extension does not cover molestation or sexual abuse. Email activeshooter@mcgowanprograms.com for more information on the A&B extension and full details on the A&B extension.
What’s the appropriate limit that clients should apply for?
The appropriate limit depends on the exposure for the client. Large resorts, school districts or healthcare systems can see claims above $50 million. Smaller businesses and organizations may consider $1 million – $5 million policy limits.
Reviewing the package of general liability and any umbrella policies to understand what’s included is also important in determining the amount of Active Assailant insurance needed.
About McGowan’s Active Shooter/Workplace Violence Insurance
McGowan Programs’ Active Shooter Workplace Violence Program partners with domestic and international carriers to provide Active Shooter/Workplace Violence insurance protection to a broad spectrum of organizations including restaurants, bars, houses of worship, hospitals, manufacturing, schools and universities, as well as large event space including stadiums.
For additional questions or to get a customized quote, email activeshooter@mcgowanprograms.com.