As we barrel towards the end of the school year, my own inbox has an email for the summer camps that will be taking place at my child's school in the coming months. These camps are a staple of our summers, and one of our clients named Susan uses them too.
Susan runs a private school in Fort Worth, and during the school year, everything runs smoothly. Her teachers are trained, her students are thriving, and her building is well cared for. But during the summer, she offers summer camps for her students.
They use STEM days, art weeks, outdoor play, and even field trips to local museums to keep kids engaged during the break. But before putting out the flyers for this year and taking sign-ups, Susan had one big question on her mind. “What happens if something goes wrong during camp?”
She didn’t want to move forward without knowing her school was protected. What she learned gave her confidence to move forward the smart way.
Susan found out quickly that her school’s package insurance coverage was focused on what happens during the regular school year. That includes classroom learning with certified teachers, carpool lines, and normal staff schedules.
But summer camps often look very different. They can involve outdoor sports, water activities, off-campus trips, and even bringing in outside instructors that may not be certified. Susan could understand that these types of activities weren’t automatically covered by her school’s current liability insurance policy.
Her school insurance expert at Insurance For Texans helped her identify the right kind of coverage to add so she wouldn’t be left on the hook if someone got hurt at a summer event. Susan felt better knowing that her camp’s unique activities were now protected.
As she kept planning for the upcoming summer, another question came up about who would be working during the camps.
Since many of her regular teachers took the summer off, Susan planned to bring in some part-time college students and parent volunteers to help with the camps including teaching. This sounded simple at first, but then she realized she needed to make sure that her workers compensation coverage would apply since they are not her regular private school teachers.
If something went wrong and one of these temporary staff members got hurt, the school could still be responsible for what happened. That could include medical bills, legal fees, or even a lawsuit.
Susan made sure to update her policy so that every person working during the summer was covered. She also decided to put in a quick training session so all helpers knew what was expected. With that in place, she felt better about keeping the students safe along with the teachers.
Just when she thought everything was covered, she remembered the waivers she has used in the past. She wanted to double-check those too.
Susan had planned to collect permission slips and liability waivers for every student in her summer camp. She thought those forms would protect her school from any problems. But after talking with her agent, she learned something important.
Waivers are helpful. They let parents know about the risks. But they don’t stop a parent from suing if the school is found to be careless or negligent. If a child is hurt and the school didn’t provide enough supervision or used unsafe equipment, a waiver won’t keep the school out of court.
That’s why Susan didn’t just rely on paperwork. She made sure her summer camp had the right liability insurance coverage in place too. That way, both the school and her staff were protected no matter what.
Now that all her questions had been answered, Susan felt ready to open registration.
Susan wasn't the only one learning something that day. Much like the discovery of her kids in class, she found that offering a summer camp needs special event insurance coverage. This is because summer camps can bring new risks that don’t always show up during the school year.
Thanks to the help she received from her experienced school insurance agent, Susan had the right protection in place. Her summer activities were covered. Her activities were clearly listed. And her students’ safety was top of mind.
The True Texas Education Insurance program helps private schools across Texas get the right protection for what they actually do. Whether it’s summer camp, field trips, or regular school days, the team at Insurance For Texans understands what you’re working hard to build.
Click the button below to get started on coverage that keeps your school and your staff protected. No matter what season it is.