Multimillion-Dollar Payouts Are on the Rise in Sexual-Misconduct Lawsuits. Colleges’ Insurers Have Had Enough.

After the rulings are handed down in sexual-misconduct lawsuits against colleges, a second legal battle quietly begins. Determining who pays the legal fees and settlements — which, in the most sweeping cases, can total hundreds of millions of dollars — often leads to behind-the-scenes squabbles as colleges and their insurance carriers parse general liability policies. That tension is playing out between Baylor University and Lexington Insurance Company, which sued in January to stop covering claims against the university in a vast sexual-assault scandal.