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Committee approves MetLife 40‑month guarantee for group life plan
Summary
The Insurance Committee recommended switching the district’s group life insurance to MetLife with a 40‑month rate guarantee after comparing bids; staff said the change would save roughly $115,000 per year vs. the incumbent carrier’s renewal and carry administrative provisions for retirees.
The Insurance Committee of the Bossier Parish School Board voted to accept staff’s recommendation to move the district’s group life insurance to MetLife under a 40‑month rate guarantee.
Jason Allman, presenting the renewal, said the district’s group basic life plan provides a $10,000 benefit for active employees and a $5,000 benefit for retirees; active employees pay about 80% of the cost, and retirees pay their full cost. The plan carries roughly $374 million of total death benefit across group and supplemental coverage, Allman said.
Allman reviewed recent claims and vendor quotes. He told the committee the plan paid about $7.7 million in premium and about $8.8 million in claims through December 2024, and he described 2021 as an anomalous COVID year with elevated supplemental claims. MetLife’s offer was described as roughly level with current rates (about 0.31% over current rates in the bid) and included a 40‑month rate guarantee and a modified open enrollment allowing certain eligible employees to purchase additional coverage up to the plan’s guarantee-issue limits.
“All in all, MetLife is a national company, it’s a competitive offer,” Allman said, and staff told the committee they would work with the vendor to ensure contract terms and waiver provisions for members not actively at work.
Board member Mister Wiggins raised concerns about retiree coverage and age reductions; the presenter said retirees’ $5,000 basic benefit has no age reduction but separating retirees from actives would have increased the retiree premium dramatically and could make retiree coverage unaffordable under some carriers. The presenter also flagged that switching carriers would require administrative attention to ensure continuity for members currently not actively at work.
Mister Foulting moved to accept the MetLife proposal with the 40‑month guarantee; Miss Poole seconded. The chair called for the vote; members raised their hands and the motion passed.
Allman quantified the premium difference: the presenter said MetLife’s proposal would lower the district’s projected cost by about $115,000 per year compared with the negotiated Symetra renewal; over the 40‑month guarantee that approaches roughly $400,000 in reduced premium. Symetra had offered a two‑year guarantee and an initially higher renewal rate that the presenter had negotiated down. Other bidders (Voya and Standard Life) submitted higher increases in the presenter’s summary.
Committee members approved the staff recommendation; staff said they would finalize contract language and manage the open-enrollment and waiver processes for affected members.
