Members approve property, casualty and cyber insurance renewals and reject terrorism coverage

Members present at the meeting approved renewal quotes for the governing body's property, casualty and cyber insurance policies and voted to exclude terrorism coverage from the property package.

Brooke, an insurance consultant with Norris Insurance Consulting, told members the combined property and liability package she recommended would total $3,298,001.97, a $391,000 decrease from the current expiring package after adjustments. She said the liability renewal premium would be $741,290 — roughly a $130,000 increase — driven mainly by growth in the number and value of vehicles insured. "Right now, as of today, we have 461 units and we're gonna have, we're anticipating 17 more new buses before October 1," Brooke said, explaining the increase in auto liability exposure.

Brooke said the insurer and broker relationships on the package remain unchanged, listing Old Republic as the carrier for the liability package and Arthur J. Gallagher as the broker. She said the auto liability limit would remain at $1,000,000 with a $300,000 self-insured retention and that auto physical damage values increased from $14,000,000 to $21,000,000, reflecting new buses and vehicles.

The board's property program was described as two layers totaling $25,000,000: a $10,000,000 primary layer and a $15,000,000 excess layer. Brooke said the primary layer retains a 3% deductible with a $100,000 minimum for named wind and hail and a $100,000 deductible for all other perils. She reported the excess layer premium at $553,009.85, a decrease of about $132,000, which contributed to an overall decrease in property costs.

Brooke corrected one premium line during her presentation: the machinery breakdown renewal premium shown on the printed sheet as $39,040 was updated to $370,308; she said that change reduced the increase on that policy to $822. She recommended immediate renewal "before they change their mind," saying property premiums have trended down as the market moves further from recent storms.

On a separate agenda item, Brooke presented a cyber liability renewal with a $1,000,000 limit and a $100,000 deductible, with a renewal premium of $66,005.13, about $3,900 lower than expiring. She recommended renewing the cyber policy as presented.

During the motion to approve the property and casualty renewal package, members discussed whether to include federal terrorism coverage. The group voted to reject terrorism coverage for the package. Mister Link moved to reject terrorism coverage; Mister Seals seconded. The motion carried with members present voting in favor.

Board members also confirmed no separate motion was required to opt out of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. For the cyber renewal, Mister Seals moved to approve the cyber policy renewal; Mister Link seconded. Members voted in favor and the motion carried.

The meeting record shows members discussed minutes and procedural details and heard the consultant's recommendation; no separate amendment to the presented coverages was adopted beyond rejecting the terrorism coverage and accepting the corrected premium figures.

The consultant noted federal rules that an event is classified as terrorism only if the secretary of state, the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. attorney general declare it terrorism; she used the Boston Marathon as an example that had not been classified as terrorism for insurance purposes. The group took the renewals as presented with the stated opt-outs and corrections.