Forty-one K-12 school districts and higher education institutions reported damage awards and settlements of $2.5 million or more in 2025, totaling $1.2 billion in reported costs.
The Large Loss Report 2026, published by United Educators, a member-owned insurance company providing liability coverage and risk management services exclusively for K-12 schools, colleges, and universities, draws from published, publicly reported accounts of loss. The incidents in the latest report were publicly reported between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 22, 2025. The authors note that some losses occurred in prior years but were not reported until 2025.
Broken down, higher education campuses lost $909 million in jury verdicts and negotiations while K-12 schools lost $203 million.
2 Largest Losses Driven by Sexual Misconduct Claims
According to the researchers, both higher education institutions and K-12 schools continue to experience losses related to sexual misconduct, accounting for approximately 30% of all claims costs over the past few years. In fact, the report’s two largest losses — $750 million (Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital) and $36.2 million (Mountain View School District) — were related to sexual misconduct cases. Furthermore, 16 of the 23 K-12 large losses involved sexual misconduct.
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The report notes that many losses in the report came about after states enacted legislation to allow childhood sexual abuse survivors to bring civil claims after the statute of limitations has passed. Of the 17 settlements or awards involving alleged sexual misconduct, all but three alleged incidents occurred 10 or more years ago.
Other Top Causes of Loss
Additional top causes of loss for UE claims related to campus safety include:
- Accidents and crimes resulting in death, such as:
- 2023 Michigan State University shooting ($29.75 million)
- 2022 San Diego State University hazing death ($7.9 million)
- Cybersecurity, such as:
- 2023 University of Minnesota data breach ($5 million)
- Discrimination, such as:
- 2024 UCLA antisemitism lawsuit ($6.45 million)
Why Are School Damage Awards Trending Upward?
According to the researchers, UE closed more claims of $2.5 million or greater in 2025 than it has in company history. Social inflation, defined as the increased cost of litigation above general economic inflation, has dramatically increased the cost of claims, the company says. The main factors driving social inflation are reportedly increased advertising by attorneys soliciting plaintiffs, third-party litigation financing (TPLF), increased legislative risk, and mistrust of institutions.
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Defense costs are also contributing significantly to increasing claims costs along with larger awards and settlements. From 2019 to 2024, the average cost nearly doubled for UE primary general liability (CGL) and ELL claims.
Download the full report to see a breakdown of each loss.
