Download the Paper “Are You Really Prepared to Respond to an Active Shooter?”
More and more, we are reminded that acts of violence occur everywhere – educational institutions, public and private companies, places of worship and everywhere in between. The statistics of violence are a wake-up call to us all.
What can we do? Act. We have the tools and knowledge to stop the violence before it’s too late.
On August 18, 2016, we were fortunate to have an excellent Firestorm Founder’s Forum webinar with special guest Paul Marshall of McGowan Programs – Senior Care and Active Shooter Divisions.
In this webinar session, Mr. Marshall and Firestorm Founders Harry Rhulen (CEO), Suzy Loughlin (CAO) and Jim Satterfield (President/COO) discussed business exposures and predictive programs that all organizations can put in place to protect people and property, now.
As a follow-up, we are pleased to share a recording of the webinar, a follow-up insights paper and the below information from McGowan Programs. McGowan’s new Active Shooter Program is new form of coverage specifically designed to provide additional financial security when one of these tragic events happen.
The horror stories show up on the news all too frequently. Our social media feeds are clogged with videos of it. The sad reality is that active shooters remain a very real and dangerous part of our society today. While it might be impossible to eliminate this threat at the moment, business owners and executives can still implement precautions that can potentially alleviate the repercussions from one of these grisly incidents.
Brokers and agents working with healthcare organizations, educational institutes, retail establishments, entertainment facilities and more, should speak with these clients to ensure they understand all of the risks facing our country every day – including active shooters. By having a sound active shooter insurance policy in place, businesses, groups and other organizations can mitigate the fallout from these terrifying and chaotic events.
According to the FBI, all U.S. government agencies, including the White House, U.S. Department of Justice and others, use this agreed-upon definition of an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area,” which involves the implicit use of a firearm.
“The past 10 years have seen the three deadliest shootings in U.S. history occur.”
Unfortunately, the most common places to fall victim to an active shooter is while a person is at work or in school, CNN noted. Further, according to the source, the past 10 years have seen the three deadliest shootings in U.S. history occur. With 49 individuals killed, the recent shooting in the Orlando, Florida, nightclub Pulse took the notorious record of being the most fatal shooting in U.S. history. Not only are active shootings on the rise in the the United States, the country is also at the greatest risk for experiencing a mass shooting. According to an analysis by CNN, between 1966 and 2012, despite the U.S. only having 5 percent of the world’s population, the country accounted for 31 percent of all public mass shootings in the world.
Many groups and organizations have a “duty of care” to ensure the safety of everyone who enters and operates in their building and on their property, whether they’re patients, clients, customers, employees, vendors, guests or other visitors to their campus and facilities. Because of this duty of care, if an individual is injured or killed during a deadly active shooter attack, the organization or business could potentially be found liable for regulatory and civil actions.
“Owners and managers should implement training sessions for all employees and staff members.”
This makes it crucially important that any business or organization take the utmost care in ensuring they’ve enacted the necessary precautions to keep everyone they’re responsible for safe from harm. Having clearly marked emergency exit signs is always a good option. These doors should remain unlocked and easily accessible during working hours.
Although it can be difficult to keep calm and reasonable in the midst of an active shooting incident, owners and managers should still implement training sessions for all employees and staff members. With sufficient preparations, these workers can potentially reduce risks and help visitors and guests stay calm during an otherwise extremely turbulent time.
High-profile and high-traffic businesses can be more difficult to secure with current staff levels, but a well-trained security team on watch at all times can help protect visitors, employees and the organization. Allocating resources to increase the feeling of customer trust, safety and peace of mine will only support the brand or business. Resiliency and preparedness are brand attributes.
Unfortunately, no amount of training, security guards and warnings can totally eliminate the chance of an active shooter launching an attack at a business or school. Thankfully, when one of these incidents occurs, another smart option is for these organizations to have active shooter insurance.
Brokers and agents who partner with McGowan Program Administrators gain access to our newly developed active shooter insurance program. Whether it’s a stand alone policy or part of a larger McGowan bundle of policies, we offer coverages to help businesses and organizations pick up the pieces following an active shooter incident. With our “Power of the Pen,” McGowan offers uniquely tailored policies with primary liability limits between $1 million and $25 million.
Related:
MPA’s Active Shooter Program was mentioned in a front page story on Insurance Journal!
There’s a new insurance market emerging in light of a disturbing reality in today’s world – active shooter risks. The new coverage is meant to address a gray area in insurance policies that may leave insureds vulnerable to claims in the aftermath of an active shooter incident. Incidents involving an active shooter, defined as one […]
Cleveland, OH, August 10, 2016- McGowan offers Active Shooter Liability, Creates Dedicated Program Division. McGowan Active Shooter Program will operate as a division under McGowan Program Administrators. McGowan is expanding its operations. “Unfortunately, the most common places to fall victim to an active shooter is while a person…[read more]
Are You and Your Clients Really Prepared to Respond to an Active Shooter?
Are You and Your Clients Really Prepared to Respond to an Active Shooter? August 18 @ 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm EDT Firestorm’s Crisis Management Team and Paul Marshall, McGowan’s Active Shooter Program Manager will be co-speaking in upcoming agent/broker webinar: Firestorm has worked with hundreds of businesses, organizations, and schools to keep tens of […]
“What should we do now?” “What should we say?”How you answer the question “What should we do now?” can have far reaching implications for your company or organization. Preparedness and Resiliency are key brand attributes for every company. Crises come as surprises. Control of events and message are lost. Impacts accelerate. Public scrutiny intensifies.
Are you ready? How do you know? Are you sure?
In a crisis,
The above dynamics work aggressively against traditional empirical management decision processes. Decisions must be made quickly with limited and often incorrect information.
A crisis is not business as usual. A crisis is business as unusual.
Crises have a short duration, but have consequences that can determine the viability of a business or organization for years to come. If you are explaining, you are losing.
Crises have impacts – for good and bad. Every crisis starts with a combination of opportunity and danger. Where the risk/crisis conundrum balances depends upon your initial critical decisions, your crisis communications, your monitoring of events, and your adjustments made to strategy and actions as events develop. Your company’s reputation, brand, legacy, and profitability hang in the balance in a crisis. Crises are personal. Every crisis is a human crisis. It is your company. It is your people. It is your brand. It is your reputation. It is your career. Doing the wrong thing or doing nothing can create a point of no return.
In crisis, we assist senior management in developing or implementing a Crisis Management Plan. We provide advice and insight to help managers make crucial decisions, and communication experts to assist with social media communications and public relations. Our Senior Team is ready to help your senior team.
As the leading crisis management company, our founders, executives, principals, and Executive Council are available to assist as needed. We put together the right team for you.
