Guides
Abuse and molestation liability coverage
Why general liability policies often exclude sexual abuse claims, what standalone abuse and molestation coverage pays, and how lookback laws raise the stakes.
Abuse and molestation coverage pays defense costs and damages when an organization is sued because someone in its care was sexually abused or molested, typically on a theory that the organization negligently hired, supervised or failed to report the abuser. Many general liability policies now exclude these claims by endorsement, so organizations that work with children, patients, clients or vulnerable adults usually need a separate sexual abuse and molestation (SAM) policy or a sublimited endorsement. The coverage is narrower and more heavily underwritten than most liability lines, and it matters more now that many states have reopened old claims.
Why the general liability policy often will not respond
The ISO commercial general liability form (CG 00 01) does not mention abuse in its base exclusions, but carriers routinely attach the ISO Abuse or Molestation Exclusion (CG 21 46) or a carrier-specific equivalent, particularly for churches, schools, child care, youth programs, camps, fitness businesses and home care providers. The exclusion typically bars injury arising out of actual or threatened abuse or molestation by anyone of a person in the care, custody or control of any insured. A second limb reaches the organization's own negligence in the employment, investigation, supervision or retention of the person involved, and in reporting or failing to report to the authorities. That second limb is what stops a plaintiff from avoiding the exclusion by suing the church or club for negligent supervision rather than suing the abuser. See CGL exclusions: what a general liability policy does not cover for how the other exclusions work.
Two practical points follow.
- If your CGL has the exclusion, an abuse claim is not covered at all unless you bought separate coverage. Read the forms list at renewal rather than the summary of coverages.
- If your CGL has no exclusion today, the carrier can add one at renewal. Many accounts discover this only when the renewal quote arrives.
Abuse claims are also different from a bar fight. A customer who is punched at a nightclub is an assault and battery question, covered in assault and battery exclusions. A child abused by a coach over two years is a molestation claim with a different legal theory, a different statute of limitations and a different coverage form.
What a SAM policy covers
Terms differ by carrier, so read the form, but a typical SAM policy or endorsement has these features.
| Feature | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Insuring agreement | Legal liability of the organization for damages arising from actual or alleged abuse or molestation |
| Who is insured | The entity, and often employees and volunteers for their duties; the person who committed the abuse is generally not covered |
| Trigger | Occurrence or claims-made, with claims-made more common now; see occurrence vs claims-made policies |
| Defense | Often inside the limit, so defense spending erodes what remains for a settlement; see duty to defend |
| Limits | Frequently a modest limit or sublimit, with a single aggregate across all claimants |
| Retroactive date | Claims-made forms exclude abuse before a stated date |
| Exclusions | Criminal acts by the insured, claims against known abusers, prior known incidents, and sometimes claims by employees |
Pay attention to three details. First, a single aggregate across all victims means one perpetrator who harmed several children can use up the policy. Second, defense inside limits shrinks the real limit. Third, the retroactive date and extended reporting period determine whether a claim filed years later is covered at all.
Why old claims have become today's problem
Abuse victims often do not come forward for decades, and until recently civil statutes of limitations blocked them. Legislatures have been reopening those claims. CHILD USA's 2026 SOL Tracker counts 19 states that have eliminated the civil statute of limitations for child sexual abuse, and 30 states and three territories that have revived expired civil claims at some point, with some windows closed and some open.
Two examples show the scale of the change. New York's Child Victims Act, signed on February 14, 2019, extended the civil age limit to 55 and opened a lookback window for previously barred claims. Maryland's Child Victims Act of 2023 repealed the statute of limitations and a statute of repose for certain child sexual abuse civil actions, applies retroactively, and took effect on October 1, 2023. Those laws are state-specific; New York and Maryland are the state profiles.
For insurance, this has two consequences. The older the abuse, the older the policy that may respond. A claim about abuse in 1988 may trigger the occurrence-based general liability policy in force in 1988, not your current coverage. So do not discard old policies, broker files or loss runs, and if the carrier is gone, a broker or attorney can help trace it. Expect underwriters, aware of reopened claims and large verdicts, to offer lower limits, higher retentions and exclusions for exposed classes. nuclear verdicts and social inflation: why liability costs keep rising explains the claims environment.
What underwriters ask
Expect a supplemental application on abuse prevention. Typical questions cover:
- background checks for employees and volunteers, and how often they are renewed
- a written abuse prevention and reporting policy
- training for staff and volunteers
- two-adult or "rule of three" requirements and no unsupervised one-on-one contact
- visibility of rooms, windows, overnight stays and transportation
- procedures for handling allegations and reporting to authorities
- prior incidents, claims and settlements
Organizations with no controls will find coverage hard to get, expensive, or both. The controls are also the best defense when a claim arrives.
A worked example (hypothetical)
Say a youth sports nonprofit with 15 coaches carries a general liability policy with the abuse exclusion and a $1 million claims-made SAM policy with defense inside the limit and a retroactive date matching its first policy year.
- A former player sues, alleging a coach abused him a decade ago and the organization ignored warnings. The CGL excludes the claim.
- The SAM policy responds only if the abuse and claim fit the trigger and the retroactive date. If the alleged abuse happened before the retroactive date, the SAM policy does not apply.
- If it does respond, defense costs reduce the $1 million available for settlement. If a second former player later makes a claim from the same coach, the same limit is shared.
- The decade-old general liability policies in force when the alleged abuse happened could also be triggered, if the organization or its broker can find them and they have no abuse exclusion.
The figures and facts are invented to show how the pieces interact; they are not typical limits.
How to buy
- Ask your broker whether your CGL has CG 21 46 or a similar exclusion, and what, if anything, replaces it.
- Get written quotes for a standalone SAM policy and for an endorsement. Compare limits per claimant and in the aggregate, defense inside or outside, retroactive date and who is insured.
- If the coverage is an endorsement, ask whether it is a sublimit inside the CGL limit or has its own aggregate.
- Check that board members, volunteers and contractors are insureds, and see D&O insurance for nonprofit boards for how directors' claims over oversight are handled.
- Save every policy permanently, and tender notice of allegations as soon as they arrive.
- Ask counsel about state reporting laws and mandatory reporter duties for your staff.
Employee-on-employee misconduct such as harassment is a different line; see Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI): what it covers. For organizations that run programs in a church, school or fitness setting, the industry profiles for Church insurance, Child care center insurance, Private school insurance and Gym and fitness studio insurance list the usual coverages.
Key takeaways
- Many general liability policies exclude abuse and molestation, so organizations serving children and vulnerable people typically need separate SAM coverage.
- SAM policies are usually claims-made with modest limits, defense inside the limit and one aggregate for all claimants; read those terms before the price.
- Lookback windows and eliminated limitation periods mean old abuse can create claims today, so keep every old liability policy.
- Underwriters want documented screening, training, supervision rules and reporting procedures; these are also your best defense.
- State law varies sharply; confirm your state's limitation rules and reporting duties with counsel.