With proper insurance and safety management, your school district can avoid various losses and complaints. And you can go on providing a great environment for students to travel to and from school and events.
Every day, around 26 million kids hop on a school bus, according to the New York School Bus Contractors Association. School buses are among the safest vehicles on the road, involved in less than 1% of all traffic fatalities nationwide, as per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). But what if one of those rare fatalities happens in your district? And what about the other risks associated with getting groups of kids safely on and off buses, or traveling with children who don’t always follow the rules?
Now, consider the added challenge of distracted bus drivers, who are trying to keep their eyes on the road and the kids simultaneously. A driver who brings their own behavioral issues on board, such as cellphone usage or problems handling stress and anger, adds further risk.
It’s a lot to manage. That’s why every public and private school system needs a comprehensive insurance and risk management plan for its bus fleets.
Insurance to Protect Your Fleet
Your transportation fleet may consist of the standard yellow school bus, but it might also include smaller activity buses and vans. The NHTSA defines a “bus” as any vehicle with a capacity of 11 or more (including the driver) that is used to carry students to and from school or related events. Buses are categorized as “passenger transportation vehicles,” which means each driver needs a commercial driver’s license.
Buses also require special insurance:
Commercial Auto Liability: Mandated in every state, this protects your driver and the school district if the driver is accused of negligence or found to be at fault for an accident. It covers the medical costs of any pedestrians or other motorists who are injured or killed, as well as the repair and replacement costs of any property damage or loss. In most cases, the school employing the driver or contractor carries insurance for the vehicle and the driver.
Each state has its own liability requirements. For example, Georgia expects all school buses to have a liability limit of at least $5 million, while Illinois requires only $25,000 if you meet additional standards. Your insurance professional can inform you of the proper levels for your state and provide the necessary certificates of insurance to prove you have met the standards.
Commercial Auto Physical Damage: This protects the fleet itself. It covers the value of each bus and reimburses you for replacements and repairs. There are three forms of physical damage coverage:
- Collision Coverage: Pays for physical or mechanical damage that may happen when a bus is hit or hits another vehicle or stationary object, or when a bus overturns.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Compensates you for any physical damage not addressed with collision coverage. This includes theft, vandalism, fires, hail, animal strikes, falling objects, and broken glass that is not the result of a collision or overturn. As with all policies, confirm the details and any exclusions with your insurance professional.
- Specified Causes of Loss Coverage: A limited version of comprehensive coverage that identifies and extends protection for individual loss scenarios, such as mischief and vandalism. Some districts choose one or more of these narrower policies to save money and because they do not feel the benefits of the broader all-risks coverage are worth the premium.
Enhanced Protection Options
Other popular policies or enhancements that some school districts add to their protection packages are:
- Workers’ compensation (as required by the state)
- Zero-deductible glass repair
- Towing
- Electronic equipment
- Sexual abuse and molestation, an unfortunate but real-life issue that school districts must consider
- Employment practices liability insurance, which protects you from employment-related claims like failure to promote or hire, wrongful termination, discrimination, sexual harassment or retaliation
- Crisis management for help following a major incident or fatality, including image restoration
- Excess medical payments or personal injury protection to cover drivers and passengers injured on your bus, regardless of fault
- Underinsured/uninsured motorist for other at-fault drivers who don’t have enough coverage to pay for your losses
Safety and Risk Management Steps
Of course, the best approach to protecting your bus fleet is a proactive risk management program. Every state builds in some risk management via legislated bus specifications, such as allowable seat heights, swing arm attachment standards and annual compliance reviews.
But there are some additional risk management steps you should take:
- Driver Screening: You can rely on DMV records to screen for a clean driving record. Check for speeding tickets, traffic violations, and reckless operation or DUI offenses. Consistently good driving records can help reduce your annual premiums. For an ongoing review of current employees, there are vendors who provide 24/7 monitoring of DMV records as well. As soon as a citation is issued to one of your drivers, you will be notified. It is also a good idea to conduct criminal and sexual offender background checks.
- Driver Training: Require drivers to drive their bus routes in advance of the school year, noting any safety issues on the streets or at each stop. Consider on-road training or search for online safety programs that highlight a particular safety concern, such as distracted driving.
- Telematics: This technology allows you to track driver behavior in real time. This could include on-bus cameras or monitoring units that track and store acceleration rates, braking, sharp turns and other driving behavior. The trick with any telematics is to properly introduce the program to drivers. You want them to know it is in place for their protection and to help minimize accidents, not as a punitive device. Never install telematics without clearly communicating and framing how you plan to use them. If you do choose this as a risk management tool, the supplier you select should be able to help with proper introduction and training.
Make it a Joy Ride
As you consider your overall insurance and risk management program for your fleet, remember that you’re protecting much more than a bus.
When you provide your drivers the training, support, and safeguards they need, they’re free to focus on what really matters. And that’s safely delivering kids to and from school and creating an environment that helps kids prepare for or decompress from their day.
Contact Us
For more information please contact Matt Maguire, Regional President, North Country at MMaguire@OneGroup.com or Todd Goodman, Risk Management Consultant at TGoodman@OneGroup.com.
This content is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing professional, financial, medical or legal advice. You should contact your licensed professional to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Please refer to your policy contract for any specific information or questions on applicability of coverage.
Please note coverage can not be bound or a claim reported without written acknowledgment from a OneGroup Representative.
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