Insurance renewals push Lockport premiums higher; Horton Group cites claim spike

Tony Evans of Horton Group briefed the Committee on the city's property, liability and workers' compensation renewals and told council that market conditions and increased claims pushed renewal costs higher.

Evans summarized exposures and drivers: insured property values rose, payroll and vehicle counts increased, and law-enforcement-related civil claims and auto liability losses have put pressure on carriers. "The overall rate increase… are just about 14% year over year," he said, describing higher loss ratios and carriers tightening on public-sector accounts.

Evans said the city’s expiring property program had roughly $127,000,000 in insured property values and that the renewal premium increases reflect both higher replacement costs (supply-chain, construction inflation) and an uptick in paid claims. He noted Illinois Public Risk Fund remains a stable option and mentioned an annual safety grant of about $14,000.

Council members and staff discussed the increase in claims—council noted 32 claims in the last period—and asked about prevention and how long claims affect renewal pricing. Evans said carriers now look back longer on loss history, eight or nine years rather than the shorter lookbacks of the past.

Staff said the city holds a safety committee that meets quarterly and reviews incidents with employees and departmental safety leads; council asked staff to continue emphasizing prevention and to bring the insurance renewal to the next council agenda for final action.

No vote on renewal was taken at this meeting; staff said the renewal will be placed on the next council agenda for consent or action.