MJ Sorority offers the following position not as a directive, but as guidance to support informed decision-making. Ultimately, each sorority must evaluate the risks and make its own determination about what policies align with its values, resources, and risk tolerance.

Background
Some organizations have inquired about the feasibility of allowing minors—individuals under the age of 18—to stay overnight in chapter housing. While the desire may stem from efforts to accommodate family members or prospective members, this change introduces a number of complex insurance, legal, and operational considerations that should be carefully evaluated.

Insurance Limitations and Liability Exposure
The current General Liability (GL) insurance policy carried through the MJ Sorority program includes a $1,000,000 per occurrence limit. However, this coverage includes very limited protection for claims related to abuse or molestation and does not extend into your Excess Liability (umbrella) policy. Critically, the current underwriting model does not contemplate the exposure introduced by allowing minor guests to stay overnight. Introducing this risk could jeopardize your ability to retain insurance at current rates or could result in the denial of coverage for future claims.

The greatest concern from the insurer’s perspective involves the potential for abuse or molestation—whether involving a resident member, another guest, or even another minor. These are high-severity, low-frequency claims that are difficult to predict and expensive to litigate. They are also subject to “long-tail” exposure, meaning a minor who is harmed while on the premises retains the right to file a second claim upon reaching the age of majority if they are dissatisfied with the outcome of the original resolution.

Illustrative Example
In one case from a property insured by MJ Sorority, a four-year-old child suffered severe facial burns after falling against a hot water heater. While the child received cosmetic treatment and the claim was resolved at the time, an additional claim was filed at age 18 for further medical procedures. These types of claims are difficult for insurers to close out and significantly complicate the underwriting of this type of exposure.

Operational and Practical Considerations
Beyond insurance limitations, chapters must also consider the operational realities of accommodating minors in a communal, college-age living environment:

Recommendation
In our role as your risk management and insurance partner, MJ Sorority recommends against allowing minors to stay overnight in chapter housing due to the significant liability concerns, supervision challenges, and insurance limitations involved. However, we recognize that each sorority must make its own decisions based on the needs of its members and its willingness to accept associated risks.

If a chapter or national organization is considering this policy change, we strongly encourage early consultation with your MJ Sorority Client Executive to evaluate whether the risk is insurable and to understand the limitations of your existing coverage.

Conclusion
This position is intended to support your decision-making process by highlighting the key considerations involved in allowing minor guests to stay overnight in chapter housing. We understand that every sorority’s context and culture are different, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, the risks are real and must be thoughtfully addressed through deliberate policy development, stakeholder communication, and alignment with your organization’s broader risk management practices.

MJ Sorority offers the following position not as a directive, but as guidance to support informed decision-making. Ultimately, each sorority must evaluate the risks and make its own determination about what policies align with its values, resources, and risk tolerance.

Background
The proposal to eliminate existing guest policies and permit overnight guests in chapter housing introduces a series of insurance, risk management, and operational concerns that require careful evaluation. While the intent may be to align with evolving campus housing norms or member preferences, sorority chapter facilities differ significantly from residance halls or apartments in both purpose and structure. As such, any change in guest policy must be considered in the broader context of liability exposure, duty of care, and the unique communal living environment of a sorority chapter house.

Insurance Considerations
The current underwriting and pricing model for General Liability coverage through MJ Sorority’s insurance program has not contemplated the exposure presented by unrestricted guest access or overnight stays. Introducing such a policy without first consulting the insurance provider could jeopardize the chapter’s ability to secure coverage under current terms. Of particular concern is the elevated risk of sexual assault involving resident members or guests—an exposure that insurers view with significant caution. While no such incidents have been reported to date among facilities we insure, the introduction of overnight guests materially increases this risk.

Should an organization wish to pursue this policy shift, MJ Sorority would need to engage directly with the insurance carrier to evaluate whether the exposure can be underwritten and under what conditions, which could include significant cost increases or restrictions.

Community Living and Duty of Care
Permitting overnight guests in a communal, single-gender living environment stands in contrast to the standard of care typically applied in sorority housing. This change would make the organization an outlier in its risk management practices and potentially open the door to additional liabilities, including:

Operational and Cultural Impacts
Allowing overnight guests within a sorority house alters the nature of the chapter’s communal environment and requires significant operational adjustments. These include:

Conclusion
While some may argue that campus dormitories and apartments permit overnight guests, sorority housing exists to support a unique member experience grounded in safety, sisterhood, and shared responsibility. Chapter facilities are not designed or staffed to support co-ed or mixed-gender residential arrangements. Introducing such a policy would require not only a review by the insurance carrier but also robust operational protocols, legal considerations, and community buy-in to ensure the protection of all residents.

MJ Sorority strongly recommends proceeding with caution and engaging your Client Executive in this conversation. We advise any organization considering the elimination of guest policies to engage in comprehensive stakeholder discussions, conduct a risk assessment, and consult with your MJ Sorority team before implementation.

This month’s newsletter is focused on setting the stage for a smooth and safe break—and a strong start to the next academic year. 

Read the whole thing.

This summer’s devastating floods in Texas and North Carolina are sobering reminders that severe weather can escalate quickly—sometimes in minutes. For sorority chapter facilities, where dozens of members may live, sleep, or gather under one roof, having a clear evacuation plan isn’t just a precaution—it’s a necessity.

Whether it’s a flood, fire, hurricane, or another emergency, conditions can deteriorate rapidly, leaving little time to think, much less coordinate. That’s why preparation and practice are key. Every chapter facility should have an evacuation plan that is:

To make it easier to take action, we’ve developed a Sample Evacuation Plan you can use as a template. It includes key roles and responsibilities (like who grabs the emergency binder), a meeting location, and tips for communicating during a crisis.

Keep in mind: a plan that just sits in a binder isn’t a plan that will protect your members. Practicing your evacuation procedure helps identify weak points and builds the muscle memory needed to respond calmly under pressure.

Whether you’re a chapter leader, house director, or local volunteer, you have a role in making sure your chapter is ready. Start the conversation now. Schedule a drill. Assign roles. Walk the exit routes. These small actions could make a life-saving difference.

We have more Emergency Planning resources in our website library.

Across the U.S., disaster-related losses have exceeded $1 trillion in just the past seven years—but it’s not only hurricanes or wildfires causing damage. More frequent threats like water leaks, power outages, and storm damage are becoming costly realities. For house corporation volunteers, the old approach—“buy insurance and react to loss”—is no longer sufficient. With insurers tightening terms and raising premiums, proactive risk hardening is now essential.

Risk hardening means taking proactive steps to make your chapter house stronger, safer, and better prepared to handle damage from things like storms, water leaks, or power outages.

It’s about investing in simple upgrades, preventive maintenance, and smart planning to reduce the chances of serious damage—and to help your facility bounce back quickly if something does go wrong.

For example, installing leak detection sensors, reinforcing the roof, trimming back trees, or creating a basic emergency plan are all ways to “harden” your risk.

Think of it as safeguarding the chapter house now to avoid bigger problems later.

Taking preventive steps can significantly reduce both financial and operational impact for chapter houses. Every $1 spent on mitigation saves roughly $4–6 in post-disaster recovery costs. That’s savings you can invest back into your facility and protect your members’ well-being.

Risk hardening isn’t just about upgraded building materials—it’s about thoughtful planning and clear communication:

Being proactive is more than a best practice—it’s a duty of care. Your role is to steward the property for current and future members. Strengthening the chapter house today not only limits financial loss—it fosters a safer, more secure environment for your members and your organization.

As always, contact us with any questions.

As the academic year winds down, this month’s newsletter is packed with practical tips to help your chapter close out the year safely and smoothly. This month’s newsletter is focused on setting the stage for a smooth and safe break—and a strong start to the next academic year. 

Read the whole thing.

Summer often brings quieter campuses—but it also brings an uptick in severe weather risks. From torrential rain and flash flooding to high winds, hurricanes, and even tornadoes, the summer season can cause serious property damage, particularly when chapter houses are unoccupied or unmonitored.

While you can’t prevent storms, you can reduce their impact by preparing the facility in advance. Here are five smart steps house corporations and property managers can take now to protect the chapter house during the summer months.

1. Identify and Address Hidden Vulnerabilities

Storm damage is often worsened by small maintenance issues that have gone unnoticed. Roof leaks, cracked foundations, blocked drainage, or worn seals around doors and windows can all become big problems when severe weather hits.

Before the height of summer storm season, walk the property or coordinate a professional inspection. Focus on known weak spots—roof seams, basement entries, foundation cracks, and aging drainage systems. Clear gutters and downspouts to ensure water flows away from the house, not toward it. Fixing these issues now can help avoid emergency repairs and insurance claims later.

Applicable MJ resources to help:

2. Establish a Local Emergency Contact

With the chapter members away during the summer, having someone nearby who can respond quickly is essential. Designate a local point of contact—such as a House Director, House Corporation volunteer, chapter advisor, or trusted contractor—who can monitor severe weather alerts and physically check the house following a storm.

This person can assess damage early, prevent additional losses (such as water intrusion), and coordinate immediate repairs. Even something as simple as tarping a roof or boarding a window can make a major difference in preventing further damage.

Applicable MJ resources:

3. Don’t Underestimate Flood Risk

Flooding isn’t just a coastal or river-adjacent risk—it can happen anywhere, especially when sudden storms overwhelm local drainage systems. Older homes or those with basements are particularly vulnerable.

Evaluate your property’s risk and consider steps such as:

Read more about increasingly severe storms and how best to prepare. Learn more about leak detection technology to help minimize water damage.

4. Prepare for Wind Damage Before It Happens

High winds from summer storms can be incredibly destructive. They can tear off shingles, topple trees, and turn outdoor furniture into airborne hazards.

Help reduce your risk by:

Applicable MJ resources to learn more:

5. Emergency Planning Isn’t Optional—It’s Essential

Having a documented emergency response plan is a crucial part of risk management, but a plan that’s never shared or practiced won’t be much help in the middle of a storm. House Corporations should take time each year to review and update their storm and emergency procedures. Make sure everyone involved—house directors, local volunteers, advisors, and key vendors—knows their role before a crisis occurs.

Think through the key questions:

Even if the house is unoccupied, a clear response protocol helps minimize damage, speeds up repairs, and keeps everyone informed and prepared.Bottom of Form

Advance Planning Makes a Big Difference

With the chapter house unoccupied, it’s easy for minor issues to go unnoticed until they become major problems. Taking time now to prepare for summer weather can protect the property and reduce your to-do list come fall move-in. If you’re unsure where to start, your MJ Sorority team is always here to support you.

A special edition newsletter from MJ Sorority to help you make the most of the summer season.

When you’re hosting an event at a venue or other third-party location, your organization’s guidelines require that you obtain proof of insurance from that venue. This is done through a certificate of insurance. A certificate of insurance (COI) is a document that shows a business has insurance coverage. The venue may very well also request to see your organization’s COI, which you can request here (remember you need to have a written request from the venue, often found in your contract!). And be sure to obtain a venue’s COI before signing a contract with the venue for your event.

A certificate of insurance is an official document that summarizes an organization’s insurance coverage. It is the only acceptable form of this confirmation and is part of your due diligence in vetting the venue for an event. Sometimes venues offer declarations sheets or other parts of their policy as proof of insurance. This is not the same as a certificate and should not be accepted.

So you’ve gotten a venue’s certificate of insurance—now what? Certificates of insurance include a wide variety of information, some of which is important, and some of which isn’t relevant to your review. When you receive a certificate, the following are items you should absolutely look for:

Who is the named insured? The named insured should be the name of the vendor. Sometimes this may be a different name “doing business as” the “name of the venue”. For example, if you’re hosting an event at ABC Event Center, the venue’s COI may have the named insured listed as “XYZ Corporation, doing business as ABC Event Center”.

What are the policy limits? MJ recommends that third parties hold the following minimum limits of liability insurance:

If a third-party does not hold these minimum limits, please contact your headquarters to determine whether you need to identify an alternative option. There may be some exceptions and differentiations in your organization’s event guidelines.

Liquor liability in particular can be tricky as sometimes it’s listed separately and sometimes is included in the general liability coverage. If it’s included under the general liability section, liquor liability coverage will be noted specifically and you should be able to easily deduce that there is adequate coverage.

What are the policy effective dates? The effective dates are typically one year in length and should cover the date(s) of your event. If the policy is for a short period of time or do not cover the date(s) of your event, the certificate does not provide proof of coverage for your event and you should reach back out to the venue to get clarification and another certificate that provides proof of adequate coverage for your event.

Is your organization listed as a certificate holder? Being a certificate holder means you’re receiving a (COI) to verify that the policyholder has adequate insurance coverage. You are not covered by the policy and don’t have any rights under it. While this may not be required by your organization, it confirms that you have received an up-to-date policy pulled specifically at your request.

Most certificates are relatively straightforward, however, there are some things to look out for that may be problematic:

Obtaining a COI is a vital risk management practice when planning events and is a lifelong skill! When hiring a contractor to work on your home or hosting a wedding or baby shower for a friend, you will again run into certificate review.

Click here for a sample COI with our recommendations.

Introduction

Partnering with other student organizations to co-host social or philanthropic events is a common and valued part of campus life. However, these co-sponsored events increase your chapter’s liability—and potentially that of your national organization—beyond what you’d face by simply attending an event as a guest.

As a co-sponsor of an event, your chapter’s liability, or duty of care, is elevated. Because of this elevated liability, it is crucial you engage in good risk management to ensure your event is safe for attendees. This responsibility should not be delegated to the other co-sponsoring organization and you must be an active participant in this important part of hosting an event.

Managing Risk as a Co-Sponsor

Good risk management starts at the beginning of the event planning process. If you are not going to be part of planning the event, you should never agree to co-sponsor. Don’t bring this increased liability to your chapter if you are not going to have an influence on the event and its focus on being safe. There have been cases where chapters were held liable for injuries at events they didn’t help organize, simply because they agreed to co-sponsor. These have resulted in serious and expensive legal claims—a reminder that putting your chapter’s name on an event carries real responsibility.

Before agreeing to co-sponsor, make sure the partnering organization is adequately insured. Just as you would require proof of insurance from a venue, the same should apply to your co-sponsor. If the other organization lacks adequate coverage at acceptable limits of liability, your chapter could be left to shoulder most of the financial burden in the event of a claim.

Where a co-sponsor or third party, such as a venue, is not insured or inadequately insured, it will likely fall on the sorority to cover most of the costs of the claim(s). In the history of the sorority insurance program, we have had several situations where a co-sponsoring organization, such as a men’s fraternity, did not have sufficient limits, and the sorority policy was forced to pay more for the claim than their negligence equated to in the incident.

Spotlight on Co-Sponsoring Events with Men’s Fraternities

In many cases, the other co-sponsor is a men’s fraternity and the co-sponsored event is held on the men’s fraternity’s property. As owners of the property, they are in a much better position to control potentially risky exposures, such as egress from a building, proper lighting of the exterior, etc. Liability follows control and as the owner of the property their liability should be greater than that of a guest to the property, like the co-sponsoring sorority. All the more reason why the men’s fraternity should have sufficient limits of insurance.

Conclusion

Co-sponsored events can be successful and safe, but only when all parties take risk management seriously and are properly insured. If those conditions aren’t met, the event should not move forward.

Officer transitions are a pivotal time for any sorority chapter. A well-executed transition maintains stability and preserves institutional knowledge. Without proper planning, chapters risk losing valuable experience and insight. We are noticing how important it is for chapter officers and advisors to help train their replacements to ensure continuity, especially in the area of event planning.

No matter what time of year your officers are transitioning, here are some tips to make officer transitions seamless and effective:

Transitions shouldn’t begin when new officers are elected—they should be an ongoing process. Encourage outgoing officers to document their roles and responsibilities throughout their term so new leaders don’t have to start from scratch.

Each position should have a detailed manual outlining key duties, deadlines, and best practices. This can include:

Outgoing officers should meet individually with their successors to provide hands-on training. Walking through daily tasks, software tools, and decision-making processes helps new officers feel more prepared. We are also available to develop and deliver risk management education for officers during larger officer transition periods. Contact Kit Moorman, Director of Risk Management Education, for more information.

A group meeting with both outgoing and incoming executive boards fosters collaboration and alignment on chapter goals. This is also a great time to discuss upcoming initiatives, potential challenges, and strategic plans for the year ahead.

Advisors and alumnae can provide continuity by offering historical context and best practices. Encourage new officers to maintain open communication with these key resources.

A shared, organized digital archive (such as Google Drive or a chapter management platform) ensures critical documents are easily accessible and not lost between transitions.

Ask outgoing officers to share what worked well and what could be improved. Creating an open dialogue allows new leaders to learn from past experiences and refine their approach.

By prioritizing a structured transition process, chapters can ensure their new officers step into their roles with confidence, armed with the knowledge and resources they need to succeed. A strong transition plan not only preserves the chapter’s legacy but also sets the foundation for future success.