Rankin County officials spent an extended portion of their Oct. 1 meeting reviewing three options to renew the county's property-casualty insurance, including the county's current renewal offer, a pooled program through MASET and a heavily self-insured proposal that staff advised would require large up-front funds.

The discussion, led by Paul of the county risk-management team, focused on differences in premiums, retentions, coverage for law-enforcement and jail-related claims, and whether the county should consider higher deductibles on special lines such as volunteer-fire equipment. “We can definitely say, well, wholeheartedly, we could get behind any of the 3 offers that we have,” Paul said, adding that two options — the current renewal and the MASET pooled quote — were the most competitive.

Why it matters: the county's choice affects near-term costs, annual premium volatility and how claims would be funded. One self-insured option would require what Paul said was an $850,000 contribution to a loss fund in addition to premiums; staff warned that would be “more money out for the county right now.”

Key points from the review
- Premiums and structure: Paul presented comparative premium figures and said MASET offered both a prorated and an annualized figure tied to its April 1 common anniversary date. He described the current renewal as a fully insured program and MASET as an accounting pool that has distributed no assessments to members to date.
- Law-legal (law-enforcement and jail) coverage: Paul said the carriers differ on whether certain jail-related deaths and so-called “blue light” claims tied to law enforcement are excluded. He said the county's incumbent carrier (referred to in the presentation as Kinsell/Kinzel) had at one point excluded some jail death claims but removed that exclusion after competing quotes were obtained. Paul said MASET would “recognize” those claims where another carrier would not.
- Attorney fees and defense: Paul said one major difference was whether defense costs come out of policy limits. He said MASET treats attorney fees as outside the limit of liability, while the current program includes defense costs inside the limit — a distinction that could preserve limits for indemnity payments.
- Local counsel recognition: Paul noted that MASET indicated it would accept county attorney Jason Deere to lead the defense without requiring assignment of outside counsel; Paul called that “kind of a big deal.”
- Cyber and other coverages: Paul noted MASET’s program includes cyber liability coverage; the county currently lacks a standalone cyber policy and purchasing it outside the pool would add cost.
- Volunteer fire departments and deductibles: Staff reviewed options to raise deductibles on volunteer-fire property and portable equipment to lower premiums. Paul and others showed calculations indicating potential savings by raising those deductibles ($500 to $5,000 on property; portable equipment deductible to $1,000) while noting the county would remain responsible for paying any deductibles in actual loss events.

What the board did: there was no formal vote on selecting a carrier. Paul said the policy has a Dec. 1 effective date and recommended the board decide by the middle of November; he told supervisors they could act at their Oct. 15 meeting but the board did not take a final vote on Oct. 1. “If you look at it and have any questions, I will say this … we'll take action the fifteenth,” Paul said.

Outstanding details and next steps: staff said they would provide follow-up materials and answer supervisors' questions in advance of the decision deadline. The county also requested additional appraisals and clarified how MASET would appraise buildings on the county schedule at its cost and allow the county to accept alternate insured values.

Quotes in context
- “We can definitely say, well, wholeheartedly, we could get behind any of the 3 offers that we have.” — Paul, risk-management presenter.
- “That's kind of a big deal.” — Paul, on MASET recognizing local counsel as lead defense attorney.

Background: Paul said the county began the renewal process July 1 and had worked with department heads, the sheriff's office and independent inspectors to provide carriers access to facilities, including the jail. He said MASET is reviewed annually by the Mississippi Tort Claims Board and that the pool has a large membership across the state.

Decision points to watch: the board must select a program and finalize coverage and deductible choices before the policy move date; staff flagged Nov. 15 as the target date to firm a decision. No formal selection or contract award occurred at the Oct. 1 meeting.