A student breaks an arm at recess. This is the policy that pays the bill before anyone argues about fault.
Student accident coverage is a medical benefit a school, a district, a camp or a youth program buys for the children in its care. It pays medical bills after an injury on school grounds, in a program or in a sport, without anyone having to prove the school was at fault, which is what keeps a broken arm from turning into a liability claim. Schools buy it for all students or for athletes only, camps buy it by the session, and the price is per head. We place it for private and charter schools, districts, camps, clubs and youth sports organizations, with the liability package alongside it.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
What school or youth program businesses actually need.
Accident medical, all students
Medical expenses for any enrolled student injured during school hours, on school grounds or at school-sponsored activities, paid up to a per-injury limit on top of family insurance or in its place.
Without it — The family pays its deductible or, with no insurance, the whole bill, and a family with a bill finds a lawyer.
Athletic accident
Higher limits for interscholastic and club sports, where the injuries are more frequent and more expensive: fractures, concussions, knees.
Without it — Football, wrestling, cheer and soccer produce the claims that exceed a basic plan's limit.
Catastrophic accident
Very high limits, often millions, for a permanent injury: paralysis, brain injury, loss of a limb.
Without it — A catastrophic sports injury is the claim that ends a small school; state athletic associations often require this layer.
Accidental death and dismemberment
A stated benefit to the family for a death or dismemberment from a covered accident.
Without it — No other policy pays a family anything without a finding of fault.
Voluntary 24-hour plans
Optional plans families can buy through the school covering the student around the clock, including at home.
Without it — Families without health insurance have no coverage for the injuries that happen outside school.
The claims we actually see.
Ordered by how often we see them, not by how dramatic they are. Each one names the coverage that answers it — and the policy people wrongly assume already does.
Most common
A playground or recess injury
Covered by Accident medical
Emergency room, x-rays and a cast. The plan pays quickly and the family has no reason to ask who was watching.
Common
A sports injury: a fracture, a concussion, a torn ligament
Covered by Athletic accident
Surgery and rehabilitation exceed basic limits. Athletic plans are priced for it.
Rare, catastrophic
A catastrophic injury in a sport or an activity
Covered by Catastrophic accident
Lifetime care is the exposure. The layer costs little per student and is the one a school cannot afford to skip.
Less common, severe
A field trip or transportation injury
Covered by Accident medical, when school-sponsored activities are included
Read whether trips, buses and after-school programs are within the plan's definition of covered activities.
What the policy will not cover.
Pick a procedure to see what the exclusion actually means and whether it can be placed somewhere else.
It is a medical benefit for injuries. It does not replace the school's liability policy and it does not cover everything that happens to a child.
What student accident coverage does not do
Sickness
Illness, including illness caught at school, is not an accident.
Can it be placed? No; the family's health plan is the answer.
Liability for the injury
If the family sues the school for negligence, that is the general liability policy's claim, and the accident plan's payment often satisfies the family before it starts.
Can it be placed? Yes, on the school's liability package.
Non-sponsored activities
A student hurt in a pickup game after school or at a private party is outside a school-time plan.
Can it be placed? Yes, on a voluntary 24-hour plan the family buys.
Pre-existing conditions and re-injuries
Some plans limit a re-injury of a previously treated condition.
Can it be placed? Depends on the plan wording; ask before choosing.
What the insurance company will ask about your school or youth program business
We read 2 applications the markets use for this kind of business and pulled out what they actually ask. Have these answers ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week, because nobody has to come back to you for the missing piece.
About the business
- What is your school or district's name, address, and contact information?
- How many students do you have, broken down by grade level (Pre-K, K, 1-8, 9-12)?
- How many junior high schools and senior high schools do you operate?
- Are you recognized as a tax-exempt organization by the IRS?
How you operate
- Do you have a governing board, and if so, how many members?
- Does your board have written bylaws or an operating agreement?
- Does your school have a Personnel or Human Resources department, and how do you handle HR functions?
- Do you run an internship program, and if so, which types (teaching, nursing, physical therapy, etc.)?
- Do you offer any football programs at the junior or senior high level, and how many students participate?
Safety and controls
- Does your board have written policies on student acceptance, discipline, harassment and bullying, alcohol use, academic standards, and threats of violence?
- Does your board have conflict of interest guidelines for business dealings with board members?
- Do you conduct federal and state criminal background checks on all employees before they start?
- Do you have a comprehensive employee handbook covering ADA, discipline, harassment, terminations, and equal employment opportunity?
- Have your policies and procedures been reviewed by your attorney?
Your history
- Have there been any disputes involving discrimination, civil rights violations, or harassment at your school?
- In the past two years, how many teachers, administrators, or professional staff have left due to involuntary termination, resignation, or layoffs?
- In the past 12 months, has any board member or officer resigned for reasons other than health, promotion, retirement, or term expiration?
- Do you anticipate any school closings, layoffs, or workforce reductions in the next 12 months?
- Have there been any acquisitions, mergers, or new entities created in the past 12 months, or are any planned?
Money and people
- What is your current enrollment and the number of employees (teachers, administrators, counselors, volunteers, security, and other staff)?
- What percentage of your employees are classified as exempt?
- Do you have systems in place to track employee hours and restrict overtime where possible?
- Are you projecting a budget deficit for the coming fiscal year?
- What are your current insurance policies, carriers, limits, and expiring premiums for directors and officers liability, educators liability, employment practices, and cyber coverage?
Have these ready
- Last three years of financial statements (revenues, expenses, surplus or deficit)
- Current insurance policies for all requested coverage types
- Your employee handbook with written policies on hiring, discipline, harassment, and terminations
- Your board bylaws or operating agreement
- Copy of your most recent three years of claims or loss runs from your current insurance company
You answer what you can; a licensed agent fills the rest with you.
What our school or youth program clients ask us.
How much does student accident insurance cost?
It is priced per student per year, and for a school-time plan on all students the figure is small, a few dollars each for basic limits. Athletic plans cost more per athlete and catastrophic layers are inexpensive because the claims are rare. A school choosing between plans is choosing limits and whether the plan pays first or after family insurance.
Is student accident insurance required?
Many state athletic associations require accident and catastrophic coverage for interscholastic sports, and many districts require it for participation. For general school-time coverage it is a choice, and schools make it because it is cheaper than the liability claims it prevents.
What does a student accident insurance application ask for?
The applications we work from ask the enrollment by grade, the sports offered and the number of athletes in each, whether the plan should be school-time, athletic or 24-hour, whether it pays before or after family insurance, the limits and deductible wanted, whether camps, field trips and transportation are to be included, and prior claims experience. The enrollment and the sports list are the rating.
Does the plan pay if the family has health insurance?
That depends on whether it is written as primary or excess. A primary plan pays first regardless of family coverage; an excess plan pays what the family's insurance does not, including the deductible and co-pays. Excess plans are cheaper and most schools buy them; primary plans matter where many families are uninsured.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.