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Self-insurance board renews property/casualty package, directs risk follow-ups and departmental safety planning
Summary
The Sumner County Self Insurance Board approved a renewal of the county’s property and casualty insurance package and directed staff to reconcile property valuations, while also ordering countywide safety planning and tighter oversight of additional insurance purchases.
The Sumner County Self Insurance Board approved a property/casualty renewal package at its May 27 meeting and directed staff and its broker to follow up on property valuations, coverage schedules and specialty endorsements before final contract execution.
Board members heard from their broker and in-house finance staff about two insurance options that had been presented. One option (the renewal option) provided comprehensive coverage including pollution and violent/deadly‑weapon endorsements; the alternate option lacked complete endorsements or would require additional premium to restore the same coverage. The board voted to proceed with the renewal option that preserves the county’s current coverage set and per‑occurrence limits. Staff said the renewal proposal as presented showed an approximate 2 percent increase in premium from last year and that a property-schedule realignment by the broker could modestly reduce the final premium.
The broker and finance staff discussed how insurers calculate replacement values and noted that different underwriters had used differing valuation bases for the same courthouse and county facilities. Board members emphasized the importance of accurate replacement cost and schedule entries; staff committed to working with the broker to reconcile building valuations (the present policy schedule lists the courthouse at approximately $105 million in reported value, which the broker questioned in its comparative quote). Finance staff told the board the insurance fund remains in a positive cash position (cash and reserves reported in the packet at roughly $20.5 million) and noted internal stop‑loss arrangements for very large claims.
The board also took several risk‑management actions. It voted to direct risk management to develop an overarching departmental risk‑mitigation plan and to work with departments to ensure location‑specific safety protocols are in place; the motion passed. The board additionally approved a procedural measure requiring county departments to bring proposed additional standalone insurance purchases to the self‑insurance board for review before payment or implementation; the board asked staff to compile a list of county facilities and lessee/volunteer arrangements that may already have layered coverage and to establish a consistent certificate-of-insurance practice for vendors and event rentals.
Other operational directions included: staff will verify vehicle-marking policy and review in‑house vehicle repair and large-claim exposure trends; benefits staff will notify employees about a recent vision-network change that removed some Gallatin providers from the county’s preferred network and will explore longer‑term network/bid options for vision coverage.
Board action: motion to accept the renewal option for property and casualty coverage (option A) passed; motions directing risk management to craft a departmental mitigation plan and requiring departments to route additional insurance purchases through the board also passed. Staff and the broker were directed to reconcile property valuations and return with corrected schedules and final premium figures.
