Jason Bukowski of Shepherd Insurance told Scott County commissioners on Dec. 30 that the county's open-enrollment period concluded with roughly 135 enrollees and only three outstanding cases that were being resolved. "Out of a 135 enrollees, I think we had an issue today with just 3 people," Bukowski said, noting Anthem had already released ID cards and that cards would be mailed in the coming days.

Bukowski presented property and casualty renewal offers for 2026 and recommended the county move back into the standard market with Travelers. He said Travelers visited county departments and underwriters found the county's operations credible, which helped secure competitive terms. Bukowski said the county's expiring total premium was about $773,000 and the renewal offer is roughly the same figure. He highlighted several changes: workers' compensation savings that offset other increases, a new cyber-liability placement (RPS) that lowered that line from about $15,000 to just over $10,000, lower physical-damage deductibles (many down to $5,000), inclusion of inland marine to cover mobile equipment, and added flood and earthquake coverage for 2026.

On a narrower point, Bukowski said EMS-related coverage required additional review because Travelers' EMS language included exclusions the county team deemed problematic. He said the county could extend the current policy term by eight days to allow time "to either find a different solution in that market space or just renew with what we had last year."

An unidentified commissioner moved to approve Shepherd Insurance's package for health and liability and to include the eight-day extension on the EMS service side; another unidentified commissioner seconded the motion, and the board approved it unanimously. After the vote, commissioners thanked Bukowski for the rapid turnaround on benefits and for finding more favorable property/casualty terms.

What it means: The renewal aims to reduce the county's prior self-insured retention exposure and to place more coverage in the standard market while preserving continuity for employees. The county will still need to finalize EMS-specific language and bind coverage during the extension period.

Next steps: Staff will finalize the EMS language during the eight-day extension, bind coverage, and distribute final certificates and ID cards to employees.