Article ID: 63d321dad32e590d01de649f6be71be53d4b86dd4a5cb7539cccef5cc29febfe
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URL: https://www.businessinsurance.com/universities-turn-to-data-to-manage-abuse-risks/
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Universities turn to data to manage abuse risks - Business Insurance Skip to content Register for free Search Search Log In Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Risk Management Cyber Risks Pricing Trends Mergers & Acquisitions Technology Sponsored Content WSIA RISKWORLD Workers Comp & Safety Workers Comp Cost Control Pain Management Workplace Safety International EMEA Asia-Pacific Latin America People Events BI Intelligence Top 100 Agents & Brokers Best Places to Work 2026 Lists Directories Insurance Pricing BI Stock Index Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Subscribe Women to Watch ALL INsurance Resources Risk Perspectives Sponsored Content Webinars White Papers Universities turn to data to manage abuse risks by Claire Wilkinson Emerging Risks , General liability Beazley , Willis Towers Watson Oct 13, 2026 PHILADELPHIA — Universities face tighter underwriting requirements for sexual abuse and molestation coverage, and data and analytics can help them better manage those risks, speakers said Monday during sessions at the University Risk Management & Insurance Association’s annual conference. “The insurance market, when it comes to abuse, has really tightened over the last 10 years, primarily led by some really large public incidents that … I’m sure we’re all very familiar with within education, but also outside of education as well,” said Ben Accardo, U.S. focus group leader for Safeguard at Beazley. Although insurance capacity has increased, some policyholders have seen coverage limits reduced following large claims and changes to statutes of limitations, he said. “We’ve seen many insureds of ours go from having full limits down to nothing, or maybe even just small sublimits of coverage,” Mr. Accardo said. A growing standalone market is allowing organizations to build larger coverage towers and access abuse prevention services, he said. Sexual abuse and molestation risks extend across university operations, including youth programs, health care, residential life, Greek life, international programs, research and third-party activities. Craig McAllister, assistant vice president, risk management at the University of Miami, said insurers are offering smaller amounts of capacity, making it more difficult to build coverage programs. “Before, where you could get $20 million chunks of capacity, everybody’s down to five now,” he said. Data and analytics can help institutions determine how much risk to retain or transfer to insurers, Mr. McAllister said. The analysis should consider historical claims, institutional operations, existing safeguards, insurance structures and financial capacity. Collecting reliable data remains challenging because sexual abuse and molestation claims are not always clearly identified in the information available to actuaries, said Jeremy Pecora, a managing director at Willis Towers Watson. “The toughest part in all this is collecting the data, any data,” he said. WTW developed a data repository that collects insurance claims information and uses artificial intelligence to identify claims potentially involving sexual abuse and molestation, Mr. Pecora said. Insurers are also requiring more detailed abuse prevention measures, said James Bourgeois, director of consulting, higher education at Praesidium. Underwriters previously focused on background checks, general policies and mandated reporter training but now examine specific procedures governing one-on-one interactions, transportation, overnight activities, electronic communications, supervision and incident reporting, he said. More than 50% of incidents in data collected by Praesidium from youth-serving organizations occurred in lodging, transportation or outside-contact settings, Mr. Bourgeois said. Youth protection should be treated as an enterprise-wide risk rather than managed separately by individual departments because it has financial, operational and reputational implications, said Cathy Krane, senior director of enterprise risk management at the University of Arkansas. Universities should centralize oversight of youth programs, strengthen supervision training and establish clear procedures for reporting incidents and policy violations, said Dawn Riddle, deputy chief compliance officer of Vanderbilt University. “Youth protection needs to be baked in, not bolted on,” she said. Related News E&S market slowing as some warn of ‘excess’ capital October 13, 2026 Hurricane Isaias insured loss estimates range from $1B-$3B October 13, 2026 Texas high court orders another look at refinery settlement dispute October 13, 2026 Mass. pot repeal vote puts work safety, medical-use protections in focus October 13, 2026 Early planning, documentation key to university property claims: Experts October 13, 2026 Aon names Siccardi to new global execution role October 13, 2026 Airport to close for a week after attacks October 13, 2026 Strife spurs MENA reinsurance growth: A.M. 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