Gulfport council approves pooled insurance program, selects $5 million excess option

The Gulfport City Council voted unanimously in a special called meeting to acquire insurance coverage for the 2025–26 policy period through a pooled program called Coast Gov Pro, adopt the pool's bylaws and policies, and approve the final form of the pooled insurance policy.

Council members adopted an amendment selecting a $5 million excess-of-one option for coverage that would apply to public-officials and law-enforcement liability, rather than a $10 million excess option. The council's recorded action on the amended motion was unanimous; a member attending by teleconference (Miss Holmes Hines) was assumed to have voted with the majority unless she indicated otherwise.

Why it matters: Council members and outside advisers said the pooled purchase would increase some per-location limits, lower certain deductibles and reduce the city's overall insurance bill compared with last year's standalone purchase. Council members and staff described potential taxpayer savings of multiple millions of dollars in the coming year.

City staff and the city's insurance broker presented multiple carrier options. Travelers provided a quoted premium of roughly $900,000 for property coverage and proposed an umbrella structure with $10 million excess-of-one. An alternative quote from a package including Indian Harbor via Ambridge offered a lower premium for some coverages but provided only a $5 million excess-of-one limited to public-officials and law-enforcement liability. The council debated whether the narrower $5 million excess is sufficient for Gulfport's risks.

City counsel explained the legal exposure that drove debate: state-law tort claims are capped under Mississippi law and the city's practice limits state-law recovery to $500,000 per claim, but federal civil-rights claims under Section 1983 have no statutory damage cap. "We are capped at $500,000, absolutely capped at $500,000," counsel said of state-law torts, and counsel warned that federal claims "have no caps." The council's discussion weighed the probability of a federal claim exceeding municipal assets against the additional premium cost for a higher umbrella limit.

Council members cited peer jurisdictions when making their choice. The broker and staff said nearby jurisdictions such as the City of Biloxi and Harrison County carry $5 million excess limits (including jurisdictions with jails), which influenced the council's determination that the $5 million excess would be adequate for now.

Beyond the umbrella decision, staff and the broker described changes to property and casualty limits and deductibles under the pooled program. Notable items discussed include a wind limit increase to $27.5 million (from $15 million), a rise in the all-other-perils non-catastrophe limit from $30 million to $200,308,272, and a change in deductible structure from approximately a 5% per-location deductible on total insured value to a 3% per-location deductible. Staff also said the Mississippi Aquarium's landlord (real property) exposure would be included on the Coast Gov Pro named-insured list and estimated the aquarium's landlord premium relief at roughly $120,000 (said during the meeting as "around a hundred and $20,000").

The council also approved in principle the Coast Gov Pro bylaws and policies and the final form of the pooled insurance policy; the adopted resolution states those documents are to be used to "ensure the timely, orderly, proper and legal administration and management of the insurance risk pool program" and that approval is "subject to the City not waiving or limiting any of its immunity" under state or federal law.

Votes at a glance: The council recorded unanimous approval for (1) the resolution to acquire and purchase insurance policies for the 2025'26 policy period as amended to select the $5 million excess option; (2) a resolution approving the Coast Gov Pro bylaws and policies; and (3) a resolution approving the form of the pooled insurance policy and authorizing binding of coverage. The clerk recorded the votes as unanimous; the transcript does not list individual roll-call votes or a numeric count.

What's next: Staff indicated additional signature documents and administrative steps remain to bind coverage, and counsel said some policy details could be amended after approval. Council members invited staff and the broker to proceed under the selected option and complete final paperwork.