A Catastrophe Standard Policies Were Never Built to Answer.
Specialty protection for a violent attack on your business
Violence against a business — a shooting, stabbing, vehicle-ramming, or other deadly-weapon attack — is one of the few catastrophes a standard commercial insurance program was never designed to answer. Active shooter and workplace violence insurance is a specialty, usually standalone, policy that blends first-party and third-party coverage to respond to that event: caring for victims, defending negligent-security claims, funding crisis response, and replacing lost income.
Its defining feature is the trigger. General liability may exclude assault and battery and won't respond until a suit is filed, property coverage needs physical damage, and workers' compensation covers only employees — leaving the crisis, counseling, and bystander exposures unfunded. This coverage is triggered by the violent act itself.
What Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Insurance Covers
Coverage combines victim support, liability, and crisis response into one product:
Victim Support & Personal Accident — Pays death, disability, medical, rehabilitation, and trauma-counseling benefits for victims, employees, and witnesses.
Third-Party Liability — Covers bodily injury and property-damage claims by customers and bystanders, including negligent-security suits and legal defense.
Crisis Management — Provides specialist crisis and security consultants, PR and reputation management, and family communication for a defined window.
Business Interruption & Extra Expense — Replaces income lost from property damage or from a law-enforcement denial of access to the premises.
Recovery Expenses — Covers ongoing counseling, victim salaries, staff retraining, temporary staffing, and funeral and repatriation costs.
Property & Rebranding — Pays to repair the building and contents, upgrade security, and relocate or rebrand to overcome a location's stigma.
What It Does Not Cover
Coverage terms vary, so several exclusions must be checked:
Terrorism, which is often carved out and may need a separate policy
Domestic-violence-related events, a significant exclusion on some forms
Attacks by or among employees, which may be limited
Events below a minimum-casualty threshold on policies that carry one
War, nuclear and chemical events, and intentional acts by the insured
Who Needs Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Insurance
Coverage fits any organization with public exposure or elevated risk, including:
Schools, universities, and houses of worship
Healthcare facilities, hotels, and large venues
Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and retail with public foot traffic
Office buildings, property owners, and manufacturers
Businesses with prior threats, a high-crime location, or domestic-violence spillover risk
How Coverage Is Structured
The structure and trigger are what set this coverage apart:
It combines first-party costs — crisis, business income, property, victim care — with third-party liability and defense
Limits are often a combined first-party and third-party aggregate, with sublimits for counseling, funeral, crisis-consultant fees, and the business-income period
The trigger is the violent act itself, not physical damage or a filed lawsuit, and can extend to a credible threat or the brandishing of a weapon
Coverage can reach malicious acts in the proximity of the insured location
Real-World Claim Examples
A shooting at a public-facing business draws a negligent-security lawsuit alleging inadequate protection given the location
An attack produces victim medical and counseling costs, funeral expenses, and PR fees that no property policy pays because nothing was structurally destroyed
A multi-week police lockdown halts operations, triggering denial-of-access business interruption
Trauma counseling and staff retraining continue for months after the event
Why Proper Placement Matters
Because standard lines leave structural gaps, placement turns on:
Confirming assault and battery is covered rather than excluded
Understanding that general liability protects the insured and only after a suit is filed, leaving early crisis costs unfunded
Recognizing property coverage needs physical damage and may not trigger denial-of-access income loss
Checking the treatment of domestic violence and employee-perpetrator events, and any casualty threshold
Sizing crisis and business-income sublimits and clarifying whether a threat alone triggers coverage
Regulatory & Contract Context
OSHA's General Duty Clause requires a workplace free from recognized hazards, and OSHA treats workplace violence, including active-shooter events, as a recognized hazard employers must address where a feasible fix exists — citations can be significant. Premises-liability and negligent-security law impose a duty of care to protect customers and employees, with foreseeability from prior incidents or a high-crime area driving the third-party suits this coverage defends. Landlords, lenders, and venue tenants increasingly ask for evidence of the coverage or minimum security measures.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we place active-assailant coverage to fill the exact gaps your standard program leaves — confirming assault and battery is covered, sizing crisis and business-income sublimits to a real event, clarifying the trigger so a threat or a low-casualty incident still responds, and checking the domestic-violence and employee treatment before you rely on it. We coordinate it with your liability, property, and workers' compensation so the whole program answers together. We also insure related exposures, including general liability, commercial property, and workers' compensation.
Our goal is coverage that funds the response from the first hour — not a claim waiting on a lawsuit and physical damage that may never come.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See what to confirm in a active shooter & workplace violence policy — what's standard, what's often limited, and what to add if needed — plus the gap most often missed, in the Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Policy Feature Checklist.
Complete the Active Shooter & Workplace Violence Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get active shooter & workplace violence insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate active shooter & workplace violence insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What does active shooter & workplace violence insurance cost?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of active shooter & workplace violence insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Is active shooter & workplace violence insurance required?
It depends on your situation. Some coverage is required by law; more often, active shooter & workplace violence insurance is required by a contract, lease, lender, or client before they will do business with you — and even when it is not mandated, it guards against exposures that can be severe. We review your operations and obligations and tell you plainly what you need and why.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.