U.S. Active Assailant Insurance Market Doubles Over Six Years as Inquiries Rise

U.S. inquiries about its active assailant coverage triple over the last year. The company recorded a serious uptick in interest following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner last month, after which the suspect was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.

Blackthorn also saw heightened interest after Charlie Kirk’s assassination in September, the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024 and last summer’s deadly shooting in the midtown Manhattan skyscraper that housed the NFL headquarters.

Julian Vero, the company’s managing director and head of broking, said these incidents drive demand for coverage that traditional terrorism policies do not provide. "These events really lead to an uptick of inquiry, concern, worry and the need to protect their people by buying the active assailant or active shooter policy, which a traditional terrorism policy wouldn't be covering," Vero said.

"That attack with that lone wolf individual unsettled lots of people. " The market for active shooter and active assailant insurance policies has doubled in the last six years. Annual premiums for these products now total $100 million, according to the Financial Times.

Clients on average pay tens of thousands of dollars for active shooter or active assailant policies that provide $1 million in coverage, according to Reuters. The Independent reported that these policies typically cover property damage, legal costs and other expenses resulting from an armed attack. Active assailant policies first emerged in 2011 and grew more common by the mid-2010s.