When transporting students to field trips, sporting events, or school outings it is important to ensure safety above all else. However, when things take a wrong turn, you should understand how the situation will be handled by insurance.
Beyond the potential injuries and angry calls from parents, who is driving and what vehicle they are operating can cause their own potential issues.
At Berry Insurance it’s our mission to keep our clients informed on any scenario they may encounter, so you can be prepared for when the worst happens to you. In this guide we will be diving into what schools should be aware of when faculty or volunteers/parents are transporting students, including how accidents will be covered, and our own recommendations.
Table of contents:
- What if school faculty are driving students in their personal vehicles to a school event/activity?
- Coverage issues to consider when having faculty drive students in personal vehicles
- What if a volunteer/parent will be driving students in a school-owned vehicle to a school event/activity?
- Coverage issues to consider when having parents/volunteers drive students in school-owned vehicles
What if school faculty are driving students in their personal vehicles to a school event/activity?
If a teacher or faculty member of your school is responsible for driving students to and from a school-sanctioned field trip, sports event, or other outing - the vehicle they are operating can be an important aspect on how any potential accidents would be covered.
The team at Berry Insurance always recommends that if a faculty member is going to transport students, they should only do so in district vans or activity buses, not their own personal vehicles.
Why? Well it can be difficult to:
- Ensure the faculty/driver has adequate insurance coverage
- Determine the condition of the vehicle
- Prevent potential distracted driving
- Determine if the driver has anything inside their vehicle that could pose a hazard to students
By providing a district van or school activity bus, it eliminates some of these potential problems even if faculty must operate the vehicle.
Coverage issues to consider when having faculty drive students in personal vehicles:
1. Review employee’s personal auto policy coverages
Since it would be the primary policy in the event of an accident, you will need to review the personal auto insurance policy coverages of any faculty member operating a vehicle with students.
Important aspects to look out for when reviewing an employee’s policy include:
- Whether their insurance carrier considers transporting students as “business use” or “use for hire”
- Optional bodily injury (OBI) limits: $100,000 per person / $300,000 per accident is low when transporting multiple students. Limits should be higher than this because if a severe accident were to occur, that limit would be exhausted quickly before the school’s excess coverage is triggered.
- Collision & comprehensive coverage: Ensure the driver has collision and comprehensive coverage, because if their vehicle is damaged then their policy would be the primary one to provide coverage.
- Personal Injury Protection/Med Pay: Massachusetts PIP/Med Pay would still apply through the employee’s policy for occupants of the personal vehicle.
- Umbrella: Ask if the employee has an umbrella policy in case a lawsuit were to occur.
2. Injuries to students if there is an accident
In the event that students are injured while being driven in the personal vehicle of a teacher or faculty member, the employee’s PIP and Med Pay would pay first and only from that policy.
Be aware that the student’s family could potentially sue the faculty member to seek reimbursements for medical expenses under the employee’s OBI limits. If the student’s family has their own auto policy, their uninsured motorist coverage could apply once the employee’s OBI limits have been exhausted (since from a policy perspective the at-fault driver/employee would now be considered “underinsured”)
Alternatively, if your school has student accident coverage, the school could submit a claim for reimbursement, as injuries sustained to students while being transported to field trips/school events are typically covered.
3. The school’s policy would be excess if there was an accident
- Who is an insured: Schools should confirm with their insurance carrier that employees using personal vehicles for field trips/school events are indeed covered under the “Who Is an Insured” provision and that there are no specific exclusions (e.g., volunteer or employee exclusions).
- Non-owned vehicle liability: Make sure your school has non-owned vehicle liability to provide excess coverage.
- Excess/Umbrella Coverage: Excess umbrella coverage will kick in after the hired and non-owned vehicle insurance (HNOA).
4. Workers compensation for employees driving students
If an employee is injured in an auto accident while driving for work, they are covered by the school’s worker’s compensation policy. Excess/umbrella coverage would kick in after the worker’s comp is exhausted.
What if a volunteer/parent will be driving students in a school-owned vehicle to a school event/activity?
If a volunteer/parent will be driving groups of students to and from a school field trip, sports event, or other outing on behalf of the school, it is always recommended that they operate a school-owned van or activity bus rather than operating their own personal vehicle.
Why? Because a school-owned vehicle allows the school district to maintain control over vehicle maintenance, safety standards and insurance coverage. It also eliminates the need to verify personal insurance coverage for each volunteer driver.
However, schools should still ensure volunteers are properly screened and authorized to operate school vehicles before a trip.
Consider implementing the following controls when having volunteers drive school-owned vehicles:
- Require proof of a valid MA driver’s license
- Review driving history/MVR of each volunteer when possible
- To obtain MVR as a business:
- obtain “unattested” driving records from each employee/volunteer. They can do this online at https://www.mass.gov/how-to/request-a-driving-record. This comes at a cost of $8.
- The RMV does offer some services to businesses to access, through an e-Service account, and may allow access to some driving records: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/rmv-system-access
- Alternatively, there are private vendors a business can work with to run MVRs and monitor them (ex: Samba Safety)
- Provide written authorization/approval for volunteers to operate school vehicles
- Ensure seat belt compliance, hands-free compliance, and passenger limitations are followed
- Confirm school vehicles are properly maintained and inspected
Coverage issues to consider when having parents/volunteers drive students in school-owned vehicles:
1. The school’s auto policy would be primary if there was an accident
Due to the vehicle being school-owned, the commercial auto policy of the school will be the primary coverage in the event of an accident.
Important things to confirm before allowing volunteers to operate school-owned vehicles:
- Who is an insured: You will need to confirm that volunteer drivers are included as insured while operating a covered auto with the school’s permission under the “Who is an Insured” provision
- Under Massachusetts auto policies, PIP, or Medical Payments may pay initial medical expenses for injured occupants regardless of fault. These benefits are typically limited and are intended to address immediate medical bills.
- If the accident results in a claim or lawsuit alleging negligence by the school district, the commercial auto liability coverage would respond first, and the excess/umbrella policy would apply if damages exceed the primary auto limits.
2. If a student is injured in an accident
If students are injured while riding in a school-owned vehicle:
- PIP or Medical Payments under the school’s auto policy may pay initial medical expenses regardless of fault.
- If negligence is alleged, the insured student or their family could pursue a liability claim against the parent/volunteer driver and/or the school district.
- If the school has student accident coverage, it may provide reimbursement for certain medical expenses regardless of fault. Typically injuries sustained to students while being transported to field trips will be covered.
3. Excess/Umbrella coverage
If the damages exceed the school’s auto liability limits:
- The school’s excess/umbrella liability policy would provide coverage once the school’s commercial auto policy is exhausted.
- The excess policy should list the commercial auto policy as scheduled underlying coverage.
4. Injuries to the volunteer driver
If the parent volunteer driver is injured in an accident while operating a school-owned vehicle:
- Most worker's compensation policies apply only to employees, not to volunteers. But be sure to confirm with the carrier, as some will extend coverage to volunteers as well.
- If negligence is alleged, the driver could pursue a liability claim against the school district.
- The volunteer driver may also rely on their personal health insurance for medical treatment.
Covering every trip
Field trips and other school outings can be a fun way to teach students beyond the confines of the classroom, but when things don’t go according to plan it’s important for schools to know exactly how the situation will be handled.
Now that we’ve dived into the ins and outs of how insurance carriers will cover auto accidents related to field trips, you can implement the best way to ensure your school’s next field trip is safe and fully covered.
Want to know more about keeping your students safe and school protected? Then read up on everything student accident insurance, including the most common claims schools will encounter, in this article: Student Accident Insurance: The Claims Process and Common Problems.
