Bossier Parish committee recommends higher liability retention to cut premiums; approves vendor selections, audits and phased benefit changes

The Bossier Parish School Board—ommittee on insurance on Sept. 20 reviewed and recommended a package of insurance renewals and plan changes, including a recommendation to accept a $300,000 self‑insured retention (SIR) option for the district nd to refer that recommendation to the full board.

Doug Rogers, principal with Risk Pros Inc., presented the liability package renewal and recommended the $300,000 SIR option, saying the district can reduce premium costs by retaining more low-end exposure and giving administrators greater control over early claim handling. "The least expensive claim is the one that is dealt with quickly," Rogers said, arguing that raising the SIR by $100,000 would produce nearly $200,000 in premium savings under the proposal before the committee.

The package Rogers described includes commercial auto liability, general liability (including employee benefits liability and incidental law enforcement liability), errors-and-omissions liability (including employment-practices coverage), and abuse/molestation liability. Rogers said the committee lready pays reporting duties tied to a percentage of the chosen SIR (he said the insurer-reporting duty is set at 50% of the SIR in the proposal). He also told the committee the district has averaged fewer than one severe claim per year over the past five years, a data point he used to support accepting higher retention to harvest upfront premium savings that would cover multiple years of claim exposure.

Committee discussion included questions about how premium savings are realized and whether the savings are guaranteed; Rogers said the premium savings are realized immediately if the committee accepts the higher SIR…