Insurance advisers brief board on rising premiums, social inflation and loss prevention steps

Glenwood Insurance advisers told the Garfield Re-2 board on Oct. 22 that national trends — including economic and social inflation, catastrophic losses and supply-chain disruption — are driving commercial insurance premiums upward and affecting school districts in Colorado.

Nettie Avery, business insurance advisor with Glenwood Insurance, described the firm’s partnership with specialized carriers for school-district coverage and introduced Tom Jensen, the firm’s loss prevention and safety advisor. Jensen outlined several loss-prevention activities the firm has carried out with district staff, such as building walk‑throughs, ventilation and mechanical-system reviews, wildfire risk assessments and support for the district’s certified cost‑containment program for workers’ compensation.

Jensen said the district’s cost-containment program and recent favorable renewal resulted in a discount on workers’ compensation premiums and that the program’s certification provides measurable financial benefit. Board members asked whether recent local wildfire risk and tree-clearing work would produce a premium reduction; advisers said carriers consider many factors and that while mitigation helps, premium adjustments depend on broader market and reinsurance conditions.

Trustees discussed access to loss-prevention services and ongoing reviews of safety systems; advisers said they will continue building mitigation strategies and conducting building walk‑throughs to reduce claim likelihood.

The briefing was informational; trustees did not take formal action at the meeting.