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Kent approves 2025 liability, workers comp and cyber renewals as self‑insured retention rises
Summary
City staff reported a 16% liability premium increase and a rise in the city’s self‑insured retention to $2.5 million; workers’ compensation rose ~2.4% and cyber premiums fell about 4.8%. Council accepted the renewal details and will revisit property and other lines in August.
Elaine V., risk manager for the City of Kent, briefed the council on three insurance renewals that took effect Jan. 1: the city’s liability policy, excess workers’ compensation and cyber risk coverage.
She told the Committee that the city retained a $25,000,000 liability limit but saw “the premium this year increased about 16%.” Elaine said market conditions and insurer exits left the program with a higher self‑insured retention (SIR): general liability and law enforcement SIR rose to $2,500,000 (up from $1.625 million last year). Automobile liability and public officials/employment practices SIR remain at $1.625 million.
The risk manager said brokers Alliant negotiated a more moderate increase than the prior year’s 56% rise. She described changes in the layering of insurers — Safety National remains at an initial $5 million layer while other carriers adjusted their shares — and warned the council the casualty market remains constrained by “social inflation and nuclear verdicts,” a national trend that affects municipal programs.
On excess workers’ compensation, Elaine said the market is more stable and the city’s premium climbed about 2.4% with retentions unchanged. On cyber risk, she reported a roughly 4.8% premium decrease and a rise in some limits, noting hardware replacement coverage increased from $1 million to $3 million. She credited the city’s IT security posture — multi‑factor authentication and extended detection-and-response — with helping secure better cyber terms.
Elaine compared Kent’s SIR to nearby jurisdictions: King County and some state agencies carry much higher retentions, while Bellevue’s SIR is roughly $5 million and Everett’s about $2 million. She said Kent’s program remains “comparable to other local jurisdictions.” The city will return in August with renewals for property, crime/fidelity and drone coverage.
Councilmembers who asked questions included Councilmember Boyce and Councilmember Fincher; council did not take separate action beyond receiving the briefing.
