The sexual abuse and molestation (SAM) insurance market is broken. Not stressed. Not hardening. Broken.
Here are the numbers: 87.5% of insurance brokers report that carriers are restricting coverage or reducing limits for improper sexual conduct insurance — up from 77% just five years ago. 70.5% of brokers report that carriers are non-renewing entire classes of nonprofit organizations regardless of claims history. California alone has seen abuse insurance premiums climb from $114 million in 2019 to $490 million in 2025, driven by extended statutes of limitations that opened decades-old claims. The Boy Scouts of America compensation fund exceeded $7 billion.
For youth-serving nonprofits, religious institutions, residential programs, camps, and any organization that works with vulnerable populations, these aren't abstract market statistics. They're the reality of your next renewal.
The crisis has two dimensions. The first is availability: carriers are leaving the market entirely for high-risk classes. Residential child welfare agencies, overnight camps, and organizations with any history of abuse claims — even decades old — face genuine coverage gaps. Some organizations are being forced into the excess and surplus lines market, where coverage is more expensive and terms are less favorable. Others are going without coverage entirely, which is an existential risk for organizations serving minors.
The second dimension is underwriting requirements. 94% of carriers now require defined abuse prevention practices before they'll issue a quote — up from 82% three years ago. 88% require formal monitoring and supervision policies. Carriers want to see background checks on every person with access to vulnerable populations. They want two-adult rules prohibiting one-on-one unsupervised contact with minors. They want documented training programs, clear reporting procedures, and — increasingly — third-party accreditation from organizations like Praesidium or Stewards Trust.
These requirements aren't unreasonable. They're the minimum standard of care for organizations working with children and vulnerable adults. But they represent a significant operational and financial investment that many smaller nonprofits struggle to implement, especially when they're already operating on thin margins.
The retroactive date issue compounds the problem. SAM policies typically have a retroactive date — a cutoff before which abuse allegations are not covered. If your organization has been operating for 30 years but your current policy has a retroactive date of five years ago, any abuse alleged to have occurred before that date falls into an uninsured gap. Extended reporting period riders can address some of this exposure, but they're expensive and increasingly difficult to obtain. For organizations with legacy exposure — and in an era of extended statutes of limitations, that's most of them — the retroactive date is the single most important provision in the policy.
At PFTN, we specialize in navigating the SAM market for nonprofits. We know which carriers are still writing coverage for each risk class. We understand the underwriting requirements and help organizations implement the prevention programs that make them insurable. We fight for retroactive dates that reflect your actual operating history, not the carrier's convenience. And we structure programs that coordinate SAM coverage with your general liability and umbrella policies to eliminate gaps between layers.
This market isn't going to fix itself. The claims environment that created the crisis isn't going away. The only path forward is a broker who understands the market, knows the carriers, and is willing to do the work that generalists won't.