Lawrence.com

Leave it to the French to come up with bully insurance for their schoolchildren.

After increasing incidents of schoolyard attacks and a barrage of complaints from parents, French insurance companies are offering back-to-school bully protection. The coverage reimburses students for everything from stolen textbooks to ripped clothing.

Could such an idea ever make its way to insurers here?

"I think this is uniquely French," says Carolyn Gorman, spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute in Washington. It is unlikely that such specific coverage would ever be introduced in the United States because there is no real need for it, she says.

In this country, a family's homeowner's or renter's insurance policy covers such risks, Gorman says. A typical homeowner's policy includes or specifies "medical payment to others," she says. Policies also include "liability to others" clauses.

Such coverage is traditionally reserved for a housekeeper's injuries, for example, she says. "But if your Johnny knocks So-and-So in the head or if Johnny's expensive leather jacket were ruined in a fight, there is coverage if your policy includes replacement costs," she says. "It would be nice to have a receipt, but if you at least have a photo, you won't have a problem."

In the United States, a student insurance policy is optional. French schools, however, require student insurance, which runs about $7 a year. Bully protection costs more.