A hurricane is a storm with rotary circulation that originates in a tropical depression over the sea with winds in excess of 74 miles per hour. Hurricanes are usually accompanied by torrential rains and flooding along coastal areas. Hurricane season typically runs from June 1 to December 1.

The National Weather Service tracks tropical storms as they intensify into hurricanes. They issue advisories every six hours while a storm is more than 24 hours away from land and more frequently as it approaches landfall. The advisories state the storm’s location, wind velocity, speed and direction. The National Weather Service issues warnings when they determine that a coastal area will be affected by the storm’s high winds or a combination of high water and rough seas.

Every facility located in a coastal area should develop a hurricane emergency plan. The plan should include a detailed procedure and checklist for shutting down processes and protecting buildings, contents, equipment and yard storage. In addition, the procedures should include guidelines to follow to mitigate losses during the hurricane and salvage procedures to follow after the hurricane has subsided.

The plan should include the amount of time required (in hours or days) to complete each major task to ensure preparations are initiated at the appropriate time. Hurricane preparedness also should include the appointment of a qualified group of individuals to form a salvage squad. The objective of the salvage squad is to restore operations to normal as quickly as possible.

Preparation for a hurricane should include both long-term and short-term plans.

Long-term plans should be established, completed and reviewed periodically. These plans will mainly encompass improvements to construction features and site preparation to minimize hurricane damage. Long-term preparations could require several weeks or months to complete.

Long-term planning should concentrate on installing and maintaining construction features to increase the “hurricane resistance” of the property. Any hurricane resistance feature that cannot be permanently installed should be arranged so that the specialized protection can be quickly and easily installed. Protection features will need to be inspected and tested at least annually (prior to hurricane season) to keep them in good repair. The following items should be included on the pre-hurricane checklist:

Any new construction or building remodeling should comply with the hurricane preparedness plan. Short-term plans should be developed well in advance of a hurricane, but need only be implemented when the projected path of a hurricane puts your facility in imminent danger of receiving damage. To prepare for an oncoming hurricane, detailed procedures and a checklist should be developed to ensure an orderly shut down of all production processes and all property is properly protected. The amount of time required (in hours or days) to complete each major task should be determined in advance to ensure preparations are initiated at the appropriate time..

As the hurricane approaches, quick action will need to be taken to install temporary protection features. The following actions should be completed:

Arrangements should be made to evacuate the emergency response team before the hurricane strikes. If the emergency response team is able to stay on site, a safe area of substantial construction should be available for the team members to occupy. The emergency response team plans should be communicated in advance to local law enforcement officials. The emergency response team should continually patrol the facility as long as it is safe to do so and complete the following:

Once the storm has subsided, the salvage squad should be assembled and the squad leader should assign job priorities to safely repair and restore production processes and buildings.

A properly staffed salvage squad generally consists of personnel who are qualified to repair electrical, mechanical, plumbing and fire protection systems. In addition, an adequate complement of personnel for general cleanup may be required. If outside contractors are used, they must be supervised to ensure safe operating conditions are maintained.

The squad leader should verify the salvage squad is properly staffed and equipped to complete their objectives. Typical supplies will include construction tools, mops, buckets, rust inhibitors, fans, water vacuums, brooms, dehumidifiers, squeegees, and wiping rags. Other non-typical items may include the need to order replacement motors, mechanical equipment, etc.

The salvage squad leader should verify the following items are completed

Immediate damage assessment should be completed and action plans developed to address priorities:

Familiarize personnel with any unsafe or hazardous conditions and update them with the progress of salvage operations.

The information provided in this document is intended for use as a guideline and is not intended as, nor does it constitute, legal or professional advice. Travelers does not warrant that adherence to, or compliance with, any recommendations, best practices, checklists, or guidelines will result in a particular outcome. In no event will Travelers, or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, be liable in tort or in contract to anyone who has access to or uses this information for any purpose. Travelers does not warrant that the information in this document constitutes a complete and finite list of each and every item or procedure related to the topics or issues referenced herein. Furthermore, federal, state, provincial, municipal or local laws, regulations, standards or codes, as is applicable, may change from time to time and the user should always refer to the most current requirements. This material does not amend, or otherwise affect, the provisions or coverages of any insurance policy or bond issued by Travelers, nor is it a representation that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or loss under any such policy or bond. Coverage depends on the facts and circumstances involved in the claim or loss, all applicable policy or bond provisions, and any applicable law.

Contrary to public perception, earthquake preparedness is not just an issue in California. This resource from Travelers, the insurance company for MJ Sorority clients, offers tips to help protect your business before, during and after an earthquake.

Get information on preparing for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, tornados, hurricanes, wildfires, etc. This resource from Travelers, the insurance company for MJ Sorority clients, discusses exposure assessment, protection, planning and preparation, response, and recovery.

A resource developed for universities from Travelers, the insurance company for MJ Sorority clients, much of which is applicable to sororities as well.

A guide developed by Travelers, the insurance company for MJ Sorority clients, to help you plan for the unexpected and explain why it is critical to do so.

Risk management resource geared toward college administrators, but equally applicable to sorority leadership from Travelers, insurance company for MJ Sorority clients.

Most areas of the United States are susceptible to tornadoes, but a majority of the tornadoes and severe damage typically occur east of the Rocky Mountains, particularly in the Plains states. This stretch of land is often referred to as “Tornado Alley.”

Tornadoes typically occur during the spring and summer months, but they have occurred at other times of the year, as well. More than 1,000 tornadoes are reported in the United States each year, resulting in serious property damage, injuries and deaths.

A tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air that extends from a thunderstorm to the ground. The larger and more violent tornadoes can result in serious destruction and, at times, winds can reach speeds of 250 mph or more. Sometimes the damage from a tornado can extend up to one mile in width. Some tornadoes have been known to stay on the ground for as long as 50 miles.

Tornadoes typically develop quickly – sometimes with little or no warning. However, because tornadoes typically occur during predictable times of the year, this will allow for some preparation. In most cases, damage from a direct tornado hit cannot be avoided, but there are steps that can be taken to lessen the damage from a near miss.

Prepare a written pre-emergency plan and practice it on a routine basis, whether it is for your home, commercial occupancies, schools, etc. The following is a list of recommended items that should be put into practice and covered routinely to ensure a timely response in the event of a tornado.

Once the storm has dissipated, you should put your disaster recovery procedures into practice.

Various resources are listed below that will help in the development of a Disaster Recovery Plan.

The information provided in this document is intended for use as a guideline and is not intended as, nor does it constitute, legal or professional advice. Travelers does not warrant that adherence to, or compliance with, any recommendations, best practices, checklists, or guidelines will result in a particular outcome. In no event will Travelers, or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, be liable in tort or in contract to anyone who has access to or uses this information for any purpose. Travelers does not warrant that the information in this document constitutes a complete and finite list of each and every item or procedure related to the topics or issues referenced herein. Furthermore, federal, state, provincial, municipal or local laws, regulations, standards or codes, as is applicable, may change from time to time and the user should always refer to the most current requirements. This material does not amend, or otherwise affect, the provisions or coverages of any insurance policy or bond issued by Travelers, nor is it a representation that coverage does or does not exist for any particular claim or loss under any such policy or bond. Coverage depends on the facts and circumstances involved in the claim or loss, all applicable policy or bond provisions, and any applicable law.

We often receive phone calls and emails from new volunteers asking whether or not their organization carries Directors and Officers (D&O) coverage. First, yes, your organization carries D&O coverage to protect you as an officer of the Fraternity/Sorority. However, we wanted to take the opportunity to explain some common misconceptions regarding D&O coverage.

D&O coverage provides errors and omissions coverage to protect individuals who serve on boards of an organization and is commonly referred to as wrongful acts coverage for an organization’s directors and officers. For example, a D&O claim would arise if a third-party alleged that they didn’t approve of the money the house corporation spent on a recent renovation project. Since January of 2005, the Sorority Book of Business (the totality of our women’s fraternity/sorority clients) has had thirteen D&O claims in which the insurance company has paid indemnity or defense costs. In the last several years, we have seen an uptick in the number of D&O claims. Breach of contract and wrongful termination (typically membership) appear to be the leading allegations in those claims.

Conversely, we see the greatest exposure for our clients’ volunteers as the exposure to being named in a liability lawsuit. For these reasons, it is important to verify with any organization on whose behalf you are volunteering your time and talents that the organization carries adequate liability limits that protect the organization’s volunteers in the event of a claim. Fortunately for the volunteers of our clients, your organization has already ensured that their volunteers are protected from a liability standpoint whenever they are acting on the behalf of and in the best interests of the Fraternity/Sorority.

Refer to your Insurance Overview to verify your organization’s specific liability and umbrella limits. While acting in the capacity as a volunteer for the Fraternity/Sorority, it is important to make certain you are following your organization’s policies and guidelines in order to guarantee protection under the insurance program. As a volunteer for your fraternity/sorority or other volunteer positions that you likely hold, it is important that you arm yourself with as much information as possible about the liability associated with your position with the organizations you serve.

In 2007, Virginia Tech brought national focus on the need for campuses to set strategies to prevent and rapidly address mass violence. Since that time, there has unfortunately been several other incidents where gun violence occurred on college campuses.

This national scourge of gun violence has fueled extensive debate by state legislators about the appropriate course of policy action to mitigate the public safety threat that active shooters pose to the campus communities. Much of this debate has centered on the issue of allowing firearms on the college campuses, which up until most recently have been considered no guns zones!

Currently, there are nine states that allow concealed carry permit holders to bring guns on to college and university campuses. These states are Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, Colorado, and Oregon. In contrast, twenty states have effectively banned firearms on campuses. This legislation, however, does not reflect the substantial change in direction of the state legislature’s advocacy taking place currently.
Women’s fraternities and sororities have long prohibited the presence of concealed carry hand guns on their property. This prohibition is not unlike other prohibitions that the house corporation property owners are at liberty to set as a private organization, such as no smoking, no candles, no halogen lights, no alcohol, etc.
We maintain that any legislation being considered is addressing specifically colleges and universities obligations only. We recently saw this play out in Texas with their recent concealed carry legislation, which specifically excludes private property such as fraternities and sororities.

The only exception, of course, would be if your chapter house is owned by the university and, in that case, you would be subject to the same housing requirements as if the university occupied the property. Therefore, as a private property owner of a sorority chapter house, you are in your rights to deny the presence of any concealed carry weapon by any member, employee or guest to your chapter house.

In order to make this clear to all, we recommend at a minimum the following risk management advice:

This is an evolving area of legislation, so it is important that you monitor any specific state legislative action to the contrary. We clearly have the university and college communities as allies as they too are very opposed to this requirement because they view it also as increasing a risk of further violence on their communities.

Should you have any additional question on this subject, feel free to contact your Client Executive at MJ Sorority Division.

Forty-two states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized marijuana or approved marijuana use for medical purposes, which obviously poses problems for women’s fraternity and sorority House Corporations and chapters regarding the use of a federally-banned substance on chapter property. From an insurance standpoint, we recommend that your housing and membership agreements require compliance with all state and federal laws.

Fraternal Law addressed medical marijuana in their September 2009 issue. In the article, Timothy Burke sited several recent court cases that would support our recommendation above:

Since that time, the courts have continually upheld the rights of employers over their anti-drug policies. The Chronicle of Higher Education addressed the use of medical marijuana on college campuses. According to the Chronicle article, “medical marijuana users at Humboldt State, Fort Lewis and other colleges are advised to live off campus and leave their medicine at home.” At a panel session during the National Conference on Law and Higher Education, “speakers on the panel here pointed out that the ‘federal trump card’ gives universities legal cover to ban marijuana use without fear of challenge under the Americans With Disabilities Act or similar state laws.” Colleges in Colorado, for example, which has approved marijuana even for recreational use, have the right to define what conduct is expected and permissible within the respective communities and campuses, on or off campus. The same is true for women’s fraternities and sororities.

Women’s fraternities and sororities have the same right and ability to require more prohibitive rules on their property than are required in non-sorority-owned housing. Just as women’s fraternities and sororities ban alcohol on their properties, so too can they ban the use of illegal substances. Experts agree that it is important for women’s fraternities and sororities to communicate well in regards to behavioral expectations with their members and volunteers upfront.

We understand that this is a difficult issue to tackle, and we want to help you determine how best to manage this risk. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We are seeing an increase in an exposure that is not as we had previously presented to the insurance company regarding the type of the individuals who are serving as House Directors. The conventional understanding has been that the individual is a single female performing this function of overseer of the property on behalf of the house corporation and the chapter.

We are now uncovering an environment which is quite contrary to this scenario. We have seen examples of the following:

· Single Female with a child

· Husband and Wife Couple

· Single Male

· Husband and Wife Couple, expecting a child

The role of the House Director is to be the one individual who can be responsible for the management of the chapter house which includes, but is not limited to, the safety and security of the members and the physical property. This is indeed a big job that needs the time and attention given to it that only a single person can do. Having a husband or worse yet, a child on the property is, in our opinion a huge distraction, just on the issue of work performance alone, let alone the increased liability exposure.

The liability exposure is severe for the following reasons based on the type of exposure:

Male House Director:

· The resident members and general membership are women. Having a male in this position could create some safety and security issues.

· As a male, this person would be restricted from a number of areas within the house in which he has responsibilities. This would render him unable to perform all of his duties.

Male Husband not employed by the house corporation:

· Potential for this individual to be considered an “employee” of the chapter or house corporation and be eligible for what is 24 hour Worker’s Compensation coverage.

Child:

· Chapter property does not contemplate infants/children and all those associated concerns about safety of the child.

· Potential for the fraternity/sorority policy to become a health insurance policy for the child should he/she be injured while on the property. We

have had such a claim already from one of our clients who had a four-year-old in residence.

· Injuries to children are especially problematic when it comes to how insurance coverage applies. If the injured child is less than 18 years old, the claim basically remains open by the insurance company until the child reaches the age of maturation (typically either 18 or 21 years old) for the state in which the injury took place.

The insurance underwriters do not support the presence of single male House Directors. Though not ideal, in the case of a married House Director whose husband wants to live in the chapter house, we ask that you call your Client Executive for the sample agreement we recommend. We have one in which the House Corporation/Chapter is hiring both the husband and wife, and one in which the House Corporation/Chapter is only hiring the woman. Employing a House Director’s husband has not only far-reaching liability ramifications and workers’ compensation concerns, but it is also a matter of tax implications.

In addition, we cannot allow any children of House Parents/House Directors to live in the facility. We ask that no exceptions be made for this exposure.

We welcome your comments and hope to continue to keep our policy “contemporary” to the collegiate landscape as it changes. The above guidelines will be further refined after we have had an opportunity to gain some additional insight from our clients on this important matter.

We understand that this is a difficult issue to tackle, and we want to help you determine how best to manage this risk. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The insurance company underwriters have accepted the sorority class of business based upon the exposures that are normally present for housing, such as member-only female tenants, no alcohol allowed on the premises and having a House Director live on the property. The coverages provided under your organization’s national insurance program have been designed and priced based upon these guidelines.

The House Corporation may desire, on occasion, to rent out the chapter property to a third party. There are certain parameters that must be in place in order for the insurance carrier to consider supporting the arrangement, which include the following:

Please contact us to discuss any potential rental arrangement you may be considering, and we can determine if the arrangement is acceptable from an insurance and risk management standpoint. We will talk through the plans, discuss the exposures involved and help you determine the best course of action and discuss other risk reduction/management techniques you may want to consider.