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Risk advisers recommend raising property limit to $40M, order replacement‑cost appraisal for school district insurance renewal
Summary
Independent risk managers recommended a higher property loss limit and an updated replacement‑cost appraisal for the district’s insurance renewal, while advising a modest increase to the self‑insurance loss fund to reflect recent loss development.
Ben Few of Ben Few & Company briefed the Marion County School Board on June 19 on the district’s general‑insurance renewal and recommended raising the property catastrophic loss limit from $35 million to $40 million and commissioning an updated replacement‑cost appraisal.
Few said recent wind‑modeling and probable‑maximum‑loss analysis show the district’s current insured value and exposure warrant a higher limit: the firm’s modeling estimated a probable maximum loss just above $37 million for the district’s portfolio. ‘‘Given the fall in rates, we think [increasing to] $40,000,000 is a good idea. It's a prudent move,’’ Few said. He also recommended engaging an appraisal company to update replacement‑cost values, noting the district’s last full appraisal dated from 2013; a current appraisal would improve underwriting accuracy and the catastrophe model.
On casualty and retained losses, Few recommended replenishing the district's loss fund by roughly $1.1 million based on actuarial analysis of recent claims and underlying exposure growth. He reported that overall premium recommendations would likely leave the district with a net decrease in total premium versus the prior year, largely because property market rates have softened following a recent period of hard renewals in Florida.
Board members asked about timing and budget impact, and several requested that an updated replacement‑cost appraisal and the probable‑maximum‑loss study come back as separate procurements for board consideration. Few said a formal appraisal proposal obtained by the broker priced the study at about $92,000 and characterized that as a reasonable cost for the level of detail required.
What’s next: Risk managers recommend renewing current placements with the higher property limit and directing procurement of a replacement‑cost appraisal; the staff and broker will present formal appraisal contracting recommendations and the renewal package for board approval as the renewal packet is finalized.
Ending: The advisory team described the request as a prudent, actuarially supported step to reduce uncovered catastrophe exposure and to modernize the district’s insured values after a decade without a full appraisal.
