Denton ISD moves to layered property-insurance program, seeks authority for binding coverage

DENTON, Texas — Denton ISD staff and their broker told trustees on May 13 that the district is moving from a single-pool property program toward a layered, multi-carrier program intended to raise total limits, tighten flood and wind/hail deductibles and improve coverage at a competitive premium.

The presentation: Chris Bohnberger (district staff) and Allison Nixon (broker) reviewed a benchmark of 51 North Texas districts and said Denton ISD’s expiring program had a competitive rate but lacked some coverage features. Nixon described a quota-share layered program that would increase the district’s total property limit from $400 million to $500 million while spreading risk across capital-markets carriers rated A or better.

Deductibles and limits: Nixon and Bohnberger said the layered program reduces the effective wind/hail exposure at the district’s four largest high‑school campuses by moving key locations to a 2% wind/hail deductible (instead of 3%) and replaces a percentage-based freeze/water deductible structure with a $100,000-per-location (with $500,000 minimum) option that would materially lower the district’s out‑of‑pocket exposure for that peril.

Premium and coverage tradeoffs: The presenters said the overall premium would be roughly comparable to last year’s program (the packet showed an expiring premium around $4.4 million and a layered program quote somewhat lower), and they noted coverage improvements such as increased flood limits and more uniform blanket coverage. Nixon said the district’s market position — with roughly $2.2 billion of insured assets — makes the layered approach common among peers.

Board action requested: the district asked trustees to adopt a resolution authorizing the superintendent to bind the layered property program while staff continues to finalize carrier shares and certain liability components. The transcript records the request and follow-up discussion but does not show a completed board vote in the public record at that time.

Context: Bohnberger and the broker said the proposal arose after a year of market work and aims to reduce long-term risk and lower high per-occurrence deductibles that affected the district after recent major losses. Staff said they will continue negotiating final terms and will return any required binding documents to the board for ratification if needed.

Ending: Staff said they expect to finalize some remaining liability quotes and to present final documents to the board once carrier allocations are complete.