Ask a School Insurance Underwriting Expert: What Are Some of the Main Liability Concerns Now That Winter Is Upon Us?

Kevin Beer, President, Wright Specialty Insurance • December 11, 2025

Question: Weather extremes have become a more frequent topic of discussion at conferences and among top administration at our school. What are some of the main liability concerns now that winter is upon us?

For many U.S. colleges, key winter risk management liability issues primarily revolve around premises safety and the associated duty of care, including potential liability for personal injuries (e.g., slip and fall accidents) and property damage.

Question: Can you provide some examples of key liability issues to which we need to pay special attention?

Premises Liability (Slip and Fall Accidents)

This is arguably the most significant winter risk. Colleges have a duty to maintain safe premises for students, staff, and visitors.

Snow and Ice Removal: Failure to adequately and promptly remove snow and ice from walkways, parking lots, stairs, and building entrances can lead to slip and fall injuries.
Inadequate Maintenance: Liability can arise if walking surfaces are uneven, poorly lit, or if melting snow refreezes into black ice due to poor drainage or lack of proper salting/sanding procedures.
Insufficient Procedures: Lack of documented, consistent snow and ice management protocols (e.g., who is responsible for which area, response times, monitoring) can be a major liability in a lawsuit.

Negligence in Operations (Duty of Care)

Forcing Travel in Dangerous Conditions: Colleges that do not cancel classes despite severe weather may face negligence claims if students or staff are involved in accidents while commuting to or from campus. This includes individuals in college-owned or personal vehicles used for university business.
Ensuring Essential Services: Colleges must ensure that essential services and infrastructure (e.g., heat, running water) remain operational to prevent health and safety issues for on-campus residents.
Emergency Communications: Failure to have a clear and effective communication plan for weather-related closures, emergencies, and resource availability can create additional liability.

Property Damage

Infrastructure Failure: Severe winter weather can cause frozen/burst pipes, roof collapses from heavy snow loads, and other facility damage. Liability can stem from deferred maintenance or failure to take reasonable preventative measures (e.g., proper building winterization).
Natural Disasters: The increasing frequency of severe weather events (including intense winter storms) due to climate change presents significant risks and challenges for institutions in ensuring adequate insurance coverage and proactive risk mitigation strategies.

Question: How should we organize our efforts to limit these risks?

Risk Management Considerations

Clear Policies and Procedures: Having well-defined, regularly reviewed, and consistently enforced policies for winter operations is crucial.
Documentation: Meticulous documentation of snow and ice removal efforts, maintenance records, and communication logs can serve as key evidence in the event of a lawsuit.
Training Programs: Ensuring that facilities management, safety personnel, and all relevant staff receive proper training on winter safety and response protocols.
Insurance Coverage: Collaborating with risk management and insurance providers to ensure adequate general liability and property insurance coverage is in place for winter-related incidents.
Balancing Safety and Operations: Institutions must balance the need for campus operations with the primary concern for the safety of the entire campus community, which may involve making the difficult call to close campus or move classes online.

About the Author: Kevin Beer is president of Wright Specialty Insurance, an underwriting manager of specialty insurance and risk management solutions for public and private universities, colleges and K-12 schools. Visit their website or call (877) 976-2111.

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