A professional society for historians has started offering liability insurance to members, but several people are questioning whether the coverage is worth the cost given most members will probably never use it, Inside Higher Ed reported.

The Organization of American Historians recently unveiled a new insurance program that offers coverage for legal representation and court costs for cases in which members are accused of criminal misconduct and/or dismissed from their jobs. Critics have noted that many OAH members are teachers and university professors who already receive such coverage through their institutions.

"When it comes with the imprint of the OAH itself and is sent out in an at least official-appearing email to members, that sends mixed messages about how you should be thinking about this issue and using your time," Andrew Urban, an assistant professor of American studies and history at Rutgers University, wrote in an email to OAH. "Should you be involved in and working with your university to increase protections for, say, adjuncts, or should you just cover your own ass, for lack of a better term?"

Many professional societies, trade associations and unions offer insurance coverage to members. OAH's program is administered by Forrest T. Jones & Co., an insurer that provides coverage plans to a large number of associations and professional societies. On its website, the company said its coverage offers "peace of mind" to educators in those situations in which a school district doesn't have the resources to provide that protection or refuses to do so.

"Although a large number of our members do work at universities and colleges, we also have a growing number of adjuncts/part-time, high school teachers, and those working totally outside the academy who don't have the benefit of quality, low-cost insurance programs," OAH Executive Director Katherine Finley told Insider Higher Ed.

"We have continued to offer this because some of our members (especially those not associated with the university) may not have one or all of the products they offer," she added.

So far, 48 of OAH's 7,500 members have signed up for coverage. http://bit.ly/2bzhFxq

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