Commission approves insurance renewal; staff recommends splitting property coverage to lower deductibles

Summary

After a market overview, the commission approved renewal of the county's property, casualty and liability insurance; staff recommended adding Chubb for property coverage and keeping Travelers for other lines to reduce the effective premium increase from about 19% to 13.75% and lower wind/hail deductibles.

County insurance broker Riley told commissioners the national insurance market has tightened and that Travelers proposed a roughly 19% renewal increase. To limit cost and reduce wind/hail deductible exposure, staff recommended splitting property coverage to add Chubb while retaining Travelers for other lines, which the presenter said would reduce the increase to about 13.75% and cut percentage deductibles for wind/hail from 3% to 1%.

Riley reviewed market drivers (catastrophic losses, hail events, jury awards) and described alternative pooling options (K‑Camp, Midwest Public Risk) for 2026 evaluation. Commissioners asked about pooling risks and contingent liabilities if the county later left a pool; Riley said pools can include multi-year trailing liabilities and notification periods.

A motion to approve renewal of the county's property, casualty and liability insurance as presented was made and the commission voted to approve the recommendation. County staff will proceed with procurement and further negotiations as described in the presentation.