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Lafayette Parish School System reviews liability, student accident, drone coverage; annual premium north of $5 million
Summary
At a school board insurance committee meeting, staff summarized the district's liability, student accident and aviation (drone) coverages, explained required surety and indemnity bonds, and reminded the board that liability/property insurance renews July 1; the district's annual premium exceeds $5 million and the current broker RFP dates to 2021.
Miss Early, a school system staff member, briefed the Lafayette Parish School System board insurance committee on the district's current insurance coverages, saying the district carries student accident insurance required by statute and a separate catastrophic layer for extreme events.
The presentation listed additional coverages: an aviation policy that insures one school-owned drone used in a robotics class; two bond types — a superintendent indemnity bond required by statute and surety bonds for check signers — and a suite of liability and property coverages. "The student accident insurance, we're required by statute to have a policy for our extracurricular activities, and this covers that," Miss Early said. "Drone coverage is an aviation policy. We do have drones. We have one that actually flies, and we do have a licensed employee that could fly it."
The briefing underscored the size and timing of the program. A board member asked when the district last shopped its liability and property insurance; staff said the market process is run annually but stressed Louisiana is a difficult market because of litigation levels. Miss Early and others told the committee the health/benefits renewal is on the district's fiscal renewal date: July 1. Committee members were told the district's annual premium for the insurance package is "a little north of $5,000,000."
Board members and staff discussed the brokerage contract timetable. The committee was told the district's current RFP for brokerage services went out in 2021 and that the brokerage contract now ends in June. Committee members were advised any substantive change to broker or approach would need to be planned months in advance so the superintendent and staff could begin implementation on Jan. 1 of the preceding year. "If anything needed to change on our end, it would need to be done prior to January as a board, so that he could then hit the ground running in January," a board member said.
Committee members also discussed how frequently to solicit market proposals. One committee member cautioned that shopping insurance every year can discourage carriers from offering long-term or best pricing, but the committee agreed the district must balance continuity with periodic market checks. The briefing packet was described as a "starter package" to familiarize the board and public with coverages and costs ahead of the July renewal.
The committee did not take formal action during the discussion; staff indicated they will continue planning under the superintendent's direction and bring any recommended changes to the full board before the calendar deadlines.
