Council approves first-year renewal with FMIT; workers' comp costs rise

The Jacksonville Beach City Council approved a one-year renewal of its property, casualty and workers’ compensation insurance policies with the Florida Municipal Insurance Trust, effective Oct. 1, 2025, after staff said the renewal fits the current budget despite higher workers’ compensation costs. Amber Hudnold, senior human resources generalist, told the council the renewal quote is $1,671,713 — an 11.7 percent increase from the 2025 total premium. She said the workers’ compensation fund is higher than estimated because of payroll growth and a standard 5 percent increase FMIT applied to members. Hudnold requested council approval to accept the renewal and to authorize the mayor and city manager to execute the first one-year renewal option under the existing contract awarded after the September 2024 RFP. The council moved and approved the renewal by roll call. Council members asked about the possibility of locking premiums for more than one year and about claims handling with the new provider. Hudnold said premiums cannot reasonably be locked because payroll and other factors change annually, and she offered to follow up with risk-management staff about claims-service experience. City attorney Michael Meggitt, participating by video, said there were no legal comments but noted the city and insurer are still establishing their working relationship; he described initial claim-handling as “fairly decent.” The motion carried on a roll call vote; council members present voted to approve the renewal and to authorize execution of the contract extension.