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Council hears why risk‑management premiums rose; county insurance limits, deductibles explained
Summary
County risk manager Victoria De Vargas explained increases in insurance premiums tied to payroll growth, claims experience, legislative changes and higher reinsurance costs; councilors praised efforts to reduce out‑of‑pocket claims.
Los Alamos County Council received a detailed briefing April 23 on the risk‑management budget and higher insurance premiums. Victoria De Vargas, the county’s risk manager, told councilors the primary drivers of this year’s premium increases were payroll increases (which drive pool allocations), an increase in losses allocated to the county’s pool, state legislative changes that broadened anticipated liability for public officials and law enforcement, and a sharp rise in reinsurance costs.
De Vargas said the county’s property and liability coverage sits with the New Mexico Self Insurers Fund, while workers’ compensation is with the New Mexico Counties Insurance Authority. She told the council the pool reduced a previously larger discount from 25% to 20%, effectively adding a 5% base increase for all participants. She also cited a national rise in reinsurance costs — “about 60%” — driven by larger natural‑disaster losses such as floods and fires.
On liability limits and deductibles, De Vargas gave the council concrete figures: general liability limits were stated at $1,050,000 per occurrence and a separate foreign jurisdiction limit of $1,000,000. She noted law‑enforcement and public‑official liability limits include an aggregate limit of $2,000,000 and per‑claim deductibles of $25,000; amounts under $25,000 are paid out of pocket by the county. De Vargas described other line‑item limits for medical malpractice, bodily injury and property damage during her explanation.
Councilor Reeger (phonetic spelling in transcript) and Councilor Reedy asked for clarifications on which parts of the risk budget were driving the increase; De Vargas explained the pool’s allocation methodology is weighted by payroll and by each participant’s claims history, so payroll growth and increases in losses both raised the county’s share. Several councilors commended De Vargas for reducing the county’s out‑of‑pocket claim payments (IDCs), which were noted to have fallen from over $200,000 to about $65,000 compared with the prior year.
Ending: Council accepted the briefing as a clarification item and tentatively approved the risk‑management budget as part of the county manager’s overall budget package. De Vargas and staff will remain available to answer technical follow‑ups about coverage, limits and deductibles.
