How Much Can A Single Sex Abuse / Molestation Incident Cost?

Source: sadlersports.com - How Much Can A Single Sex Abuse / Molestation Incident Cost?
Author: John Sadler

Youth sports organizations should consider carrying a sufficient sex abuse / molestation limit (SAM) to cover these types of claims which can evidently reach $1.9M per claimant and higher as in the Sandusky case.

Penn State has just settled with its first claimant, victim 5, for an undisclosed amount but has set aside $60M to be spread between 31 claimants for an average settlement amount of $1.9M per claimant. Not including the amount set aside for settlements, Penn State has already spent $50M on attorneys fees, public relations, and other mitigation expenses.

No wonder the insurance carriers that insure youth sports organizations for sex abuse / molestation demand that risk management controls be put in place prior to offering coverage. Not only can the damages per claimant be very high, but also dozens of claimants can be victimized by a single predator. These controls typically involve running criminal background checks on all staff with access to youth, written policies and procedures to make an incident less likely to occur such as the use of buddy system where a single adult is never alone with a single unrelated child, and having a written incident response plan including a requirement to notify law enforcement.

Sadler Sports And Recreation Insurance provides its clients with a full array of free sex abuse / molestation risk management tools including training videos and word doc templates of written programs that can be adopted by a program. We offer versions ranging from one page to seven pages but all include the essential risk management controls.

Source: First Penn State Abuse Claim Settled, Lawyer Says; August 17, 2013; Associated Press

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