The FBI reported 250 active shootings with 799 deaths and 1,148 injuries from 2000 to 2017.
“Alarmingly, a majority of these incidents started increasing around 2010 and continually skyrocketed up until this day,” said Summer Ho, a recent graduate of ULM’s risk management and insurance program.

Ho noticed this growing trend of active shootings in the U.S. and decided to focus a required research paper on the issue in the course surplus lines and reinsurance. She used her understanding of the insurance industry to propose an option for protection when shootings occur that had yet to be explored before.

RMI professor and instructor of the surplus lines and reinsurance course Dr. Christine Berry, urged Ho to enter her paper in the Wholesale and Specialty Insurance Association’s spring 2019 White Paper Contest.
Ho’s entry, “A Bullet-Proof Plan,” took a closer look at trend of active shootings and stated the insurance surplus lines insurance industry should help manage the problem by offering coverage in case an incident occurs.
“Only one insurance group discusses and offers active shooting coverage,” Ho said. “Other insurance companies do not specialize or emphasize this risk.”
Ho went on to be one of two national winners in the contest and became the second ULM student to place in the contest.

“We are extremely proud of Summer’s accomplishment. It is an excellent paper and a well-deserved honor,” said Berry in an article posted in ULM’s News Center.
Ho was happy that her research topic allowed her to raise awareness to sensitive subjects “that society tends to shy away from” and possibly make a change with her work.
“Instead of merely declaring active shootings as a tragedy or pointing fingers at people, I believe we should all unite and start a conversation on how we can confront this problem,” Ho said.
The two winners received $1,000 and their papers were published on the WSIA website.