Scott Rainier of Columbia River Insurance told The Dalles City Council on June 23 that municipal insurance rate increases have begun to flatten after several years of upward pressure tied in part to reinsurance markets and wildfire losses.

"This is really the first time that there's been a flattening of insurance rates," Rainier said, adding he expected that trajectory to continue for two to three years though he could not promise reductions. Rainier said the city’s policies predominantly renew on July 1 and that property and casualty coverage for Oregon municipalities is largely managed through the City and County Insurance Services (CIS). Workers’ compensation coverage is provided by SafeCorp, he said.

Council members pressed Rainier and city staff about a large loss noted in the CIS loss report. Rainier acknowledged the city’s overall performance in the CIS program has been strong — staff showed loss ratios under 50% in most categories over a six-year period — but the property category was above 50% due to a large loss.

City staff and Rainier connected that large figure to the wastewater digester claim. Dale McCabe (city staff) said the digester lid had issues in February 2024 and was returned to service in March 2025. Rainier said CIS had issued an initial payment: "CIS has already given us a check for $372,000 for that, and we are working on the remaining balance literally as we speak right before this meeting." A city staff member said the final invoice was received in May and CIS and city staff were working through the remaining payout.

Rainier explained how reinsurance performance and statewide program results have provided relief: better-than-forecast results from reinsurance carriers have reduced pressure on CIS, which passes savings downstream to member entities. He noted that insurers whose combined ratios exceed about 100% struggle to be profitable, and that a subset of insurers in Oregon have been negatively affected by wildfire losses.

The presentation also covered loss-experience details for the city and how favorable loss ratios can help with internal CIS ratings. Rainier offered to provide additional documentation on the claim figures after the meeting. There were no formal council actions tied to the presentation; Rainier invited follow-up questions and left contact information for staff follow-up.