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Tacoma staff tells committee insurance premiums have risen fivefold since 2018; city projects higher costs ahead
Summary
City business manager Luis Bengoso told the Government Performance and Finance Committee on Oct. 21 that Tacoma's insurance market is strained by climate events, litigation trends and reduced insurer capacity; recent renewals raised premiums to multimillion-dollar levels and staff warned budgets should anticipate further increases.
At a Oct. 21 Government Performance and Finance Committee meeting, Luis Bengoso, business manager for the City of Tacoma, gave a high-level briefing on the city’s insurance program and said municipal premiums have climbed sharply in recent years.
Bengoso told the committee that "from 2023 to 02/2025, the city purchased 18 different policies" and that "the cost of property and casualty coverage has increased significantly for the last 7 years." He said the latest renewals show premiums for general government property coverage of about $2,600,000 and a separate liability premium of about $5,100,000, and displayed a historical chart showing city-wide insurance costs rising from roughly $1.7 million in 2018 to several million in the most recent renewal cycles.
Why it matters: Committee members said the trend affects the city budget, capital planning and risk strategy. Bengoso said the city carries a large…
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