Finance Committee approves 2025 insurance program; workers' comp costs rise, Brentwood contract renewed

McLean County administrators presented a proposed insurance program for policy year 2025 and the Finance Committee approved the program Feb. 5 by voice vote.

Risk manager Gary Wayne Wilkes and County Administrator Cassie Taylor summarized the request for approximately $1,000,842 for liability and property coverages, noting a roughly 13.2% increase in overall premiums driven largely by additional vehicles and equipment added to county coverage.

“We added 15 squad cars to our fleet,” Taylor said, explaining the sheriff’s department moved away from a shared rotation to assigned vehicles, increasing both the number and value of insured autos and contributing to higher auto and excess liability premiums.

The committee also approved renewal of the county’s workers’ compensation third‑party administrator agreement with Brentwood Services Administrators Inc. Wilkes said Brentwood’s projected basic annual charges reflect an increase in the per‑claim and annual estimate that results in an approximately 33% increase in workers’ compensation charges compared with the previous contract. Wilkes said Brentwood agreed to several contract concessions, including reducing a proposed $250,000 report threshold to $100,000 and removing a new $20,000 file transfer fee.

Committee members asked whether the county could solicit bids; administration said insurance programs can be taken to market and that staff had done a cursory market check indicating the renewal pricing was close to market standards. Members noted future procurements could be competitively solicited.

The committee voted to approve both the proposed insurance program and the Brentwood Services agreement.