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MCIT warns Beltrami County about rising insurance costs, urges prevention work
Summary
A Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust representative told Beltrami County commissioners the county's insurance costs are rising driven by higher rebuild costs, reinsurance, and workers'comp experience, and urged front-end risk management and training.
Richard Meehee, a risk management consultant with Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust, told the Beltrami County Board of Commissioners on a county work session that the county faces rising insurance costs driven by higher rebuild values and reinsurance expenses.
Meehee said the pool raised its liability retention and workers'comp retention to limit premium increases and preserve membership dividends. "We are a risk pool. We are your insurance entity, but we are not your insurance company," he said, adding that MCIT increased some retentions to keep member contributions lower.
The presentation emphasized three cost drivers: total insured values that have climbed with construction and replacement costs, increasing reinsurance premiums, and the county's workers'comp experience modification. Meehee said Beltrami's workers'comp experience mod sits at 1.3, meaning the county's recent claims history raises its contribution compared with a baseline score of 1. "A good score, a normal score is 1. So Beltrami sits at 1.3," Meehee said.
MCIT urged the county to focus on loss control, return-to-work policies and near-miss reporting to reduce frequency and severity of claims. On cyber risk, Meehee said human training and technology can reduce incidents and noted a recent decline in claim severity despite increased frequency.
Meehee also described member services available to counties, including employee assistance programs and an online accredited training program for law enforcement compliance.
Commissioners asked how Beltrami compares with other counties and how members can lower their experience mod. Meehee answered that some peers start with a mod near 1 and urged sustained engagement on workplace safety and return-to-work programs.
The presentation led commissioners to request follow-up sessions; no formal motion or vote was taken.
Ending: Commissioners agreed to schedule further work sessions on open meeting law updates and to follow up with MCIT on targeted steps to lower the county's workers'comp score.
