After the 2018 Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, more than 60 lawsuits were filed against the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO). The lawsuits claimed the BCSO failed to secure the campus. The BCSO asked its insurer, Evanston Insurance Company, for coverage under an excess policy. This policy required a $500,000 self-insured retention (SIR) per occurrence and a $500,000 aggregate deductible. The main issue was whether the shooting was one occurrence or multiple occurrences under the policy.
Evanston argued that each time the gunman fired should count as a separate occurrence. This would mean the BCSO would need to pay more than 60 SIRs before insurance coverage would begin. Evanston based this argument on a 2003 Florida Supreme Court decision, Koikos v. Travelers Insurance Company, which found that two shootings were two separate occurrences.
The BCSO argued that the entire shooting should be considered a single occurrence. This would require only one SIR and one deductible. The Eleventh Circuit Court agreed with the BCSO. The court found the term ‘occurrence’ in the policy was unclear…