An Ounce of Prevention I n recent years, stories of childhood sexual abuse have become more and more common. These are devastating accounts of innocence lost. While some of these terrible events happened recently, others only came to light after decades of secrecy. A common question is, “Why did it take so long for victims to speak up?” The terrible truth is that it can take decades for victims to realize what happened to them, and even longer for them to seek justice. The #MeToo movement and growing demands for social reform have helped many victims realize they are not alone, giving them the courage to come forward with their stories. As these stories come to the light, people are calling for justice and change.
HOW INSURANCE CAN HELP PREVENT CHILD SEX ABUSE
promoting prevention, the insurance industry is missing the opportunity to help protect children across the nation.
Attorney Marci Hamilton is the founder and CEO of Child USA, a nonprofit think tank at the University of Pennsylvania focused on research to prevent child abuse. Hamilton believes that insurance carriers can do far more than compensate victims of childhood sex abuse. In fact, she’s suggested strategies for insurance carriers to prevent the abuse from ever happening. In an article written for Verdict, Hamilton offered two proposals: 1. States should require insurers to provide coverage for the negligent failure to prevent child sexual abuse. At the moment, no state has this sort of mandate. 2. Insurance providers must develop child protection audits. If a business fails the audit, the insurer can deny them coverage. As organizations that serve children are often required by law to carry insurance, not having insurance could put them out of business. This incentivizes companies to do more to protect children and pass their audits. “This is an enforcement mechanism in our private industry that other countries don’t have,” Hamilton says. “Insurers do financial audits and building inspections. We have the science and the capacity to ask the right questions.” The data insurance providers have access to would be key in creating predictive modeling. Understanding the circumstances in which child sex abuse occurs and how to prevent it can help improve risk-management practices. In every industry, protecting children begins with stronger risk assessment. “Insurance is a really bad remedy for an injured person,” says Ed Hancock, the chief underwriting officer at Church Mutual. “We cannot put their lives together because they’ve received an award of damages. We need to remove the predators from the workplace.” As the insurance industry struggles to find its role in battling child sex abuse, businesses must also take proactive measures. Companies that serve children need to practice stronger vetting of employees, contractors, and volunteers. Additionally, organizations need to conduct appropriate training about increasing awareness so all members of the organization can recognize the signs of a predator before they have the chance to harm a child.
In 2019, a number of states created new laws to help victims of childhood sex abuse seek justice. Many states offered “look back windows,” which allow victims to bring their cases to court even if the statute of limitations had already expired. One major law in New Jersey had a massive impact when lawyers decided that if a nationwide organization was ever stationed in New Jersey, they could be held accountable for cases of childhood sexual abuse committed by members of their organization — even if those crimes were committed outside of New Jersey. As states help victims seek justice, the cost of the growing number of cases continues to rise. The settlements from these cases can be expensive, which is why even the insurance industry is being changed by child sex abuse cases. However, some experts fear these changes are going in the wrong direction. Many insurance brokers have reported seeing the cost of liability insurance that covers child abuse increase dramatically. In an interview with Leader’s Edge, Chris Kenyon, a partner at M3 Insurance in Madison, Wisconsin, said that “one renewal was $75,000 to $100,000 in premium.”
While the cost of this insurance goes up, the coverage decreases.
“It used to be I would have all the way up to $10 million in coverage if I had an umbrella policy,” Kenyon said. “But now they are restricting it or not offering it at all.” This isn’t just a problem for businesses who need this kind of insurance, such as schools or daycares. By prioritizing self-preservation rather than
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