Insurer Refuses To Cover Gun-Carrying Kansas Schools

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An insurance company based in Iowa has refused to renew coverage for Kansas schools that permit teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms on campus, the Des Moines Register reported on Sunday.

EMC Insurance Cos. made the decision after Kansas enacted a new law to allow the concealed guns on campus. The company told the newspaper the decision was based on financial policy, not politics. The company reportedly covers 85 to 90 percent of Kansas school districts.

“We’ve been writing school business for almost 40 years, and one of the underwriting guidelines we follow for schools is that any on-site armed security should be provided by uniformed, qualified law enforcement officers,” Mick Lovell, EMC’s vice president for business development, told the Des Moines Register. “Our guidelines have not recently changed.” 

The Kansas law passed in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school shooting went into effect July 1, allowing Kansas schools to permit teachers and staff to carry weapons to protect children. No school districts in the state had adopted a concealed-carry policy as of Saturday, according to the Register.

[Image via Micha Klootwijk/Shutterstock]

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