County projects steep increases in liability assessments; risk office budgets for higher premiums and claims

Shelley (risk management) and Kathy Funk Baxter, finance director, presented a risk‑management update to the Board of County Commissioners that modeled sizable increases in liability assessments and rising claim costs. Shelley said the county received preliminary indications the risk pool’s general‑liability assessment could increase about 25% for the coming year; in staff modeling the general‑liability and related assessments rise from roughly $1.9 million in a recent year toward a higher figure in later projections. "They did give us some indications at the meeting…that we should be looking at 25% increase in our liability," Shelley said. Staff told the board they do not yet have final quotes from the pool (October was cited as the month when the pool will present formal numbers) and that the county is committed to a one‑year renewal window under current timelines; if the county wished to change pools it would need to give a one‑year notice under the contracts. Commissioners raised the prospect of higher deductibles; staff said the pool has considered higher deductibles but the premium savings from raising deductibles have historically been small. Shelley and Baxter said the department budgets include a $300,000 annual set‑aside to help cover the county’s portion of deductible payments, defense counsel, and ongoing tort litigation costs; staff said the number of open claims and litigation expenses have been growing and that average claim sizes are increasing. "We set aside about 300,000 per year right now to help pay for the our portion of those deductibles," Baxter said. For workers’ compensation (industrial accident), staff explained the county runs a self‑insured program and allocates costs based on per‑person labor hours and L&I (Labor and Industries) risk classifications — for example clerical/office categories at low risk, roads at a higher risk class, and sheriff/corrections at the highest risk class. The county maintains an excess policy that would cover catastrophic claims above a per‑occurrence threshold (discussed as $750,000 in the presentation) and pays a broker for excess coverage; staff said the county has not yet paid a claim that breached that excess layer but that two active claims could approach large totals over time. Shelley said the county’s workers’‑comp administration, claims and excess insurance total was projected near $700,000–$800,000 annually in the presentation and that remaining self‑insured claims and legal trends are driving costs. Commissioners asked for a workshop with the risk pool and for more detail on claims and deductibles; staff said they were awaiting scheduling details for a risk‑pool presentation. Ending: Finance and risk staff will continue modeling liability and property assessment estimates and will return with risk‑pool quotes, claims detail and options for deductible sizing in advance of final budget adoption.