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MCIT risk consultant briefs Winona County on rising insurance costs, dividends and cyber risk
Summary
A representative from Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT) presented county insurance trends, noting inflation-driven premium pressure, rising property values, reinsurance costs, and cyber insurance as a growing exposure; commissioners asked about work-comp moderation and employee assistance programs.
Jim Carrolls, a risk-management consultant with Minnesota Counties Intergovernmental Trust (MCIT), presented an annual overview of MCIT services and the state of county insurance markets to the Winona County Board.
Carrolls explained that MCIT is a county-formed insurance pool that covers 81 of Minnesota’s 87 counties and described major cost drivers: inflation in property rebuilding costs, higher reinsurance premiums (MCIT raised its large-claim retention from $850,000 to $1,000,000 for 2025), and increases in payroll that affect workers’ compensation rates. He said Winona County’s workers’ compensation mod (experience modification rate) is unusually low (reported at 0.681), meaning the county’s claims experience is better than the pool average.
Carrolls highlighted cyber insurance as a growing portfolio item and said county members saw cyber claims of about $1.7 million in 2023 and $567,000 in 2024, a drop attributed to improved county preventive measures and employee training. He encouraged county officials to promote the employee assistance program (EAP) and the workplace-injury hotline as cost-control and employee-support measures. Carrolls also noted MCIT’s dividend practice — returning surplus contributions to member counties — and said the pool’s goal is financial stability rather than maximizing dividends.
Commissioners thanked MCIT for the presentation and asked staff to promote EAP and safety resources; a commissioner asked staff to continue risk-management work that has reduced work-comp claims in recent years and to provide updated data on reserve and moderation factors as available.
