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Board explores adding local arts venues to county property insurance pool to lower premiums
Summary
Supervisors directed staff to explore whether small arts venues could be added to the county's property schedule and insured through the county pool to reduce steep individual premiums; venues would need to apply and accept potential deductibles and county risk exposure.
Board members discussed a proposal to help local arts venues lower annual property-insurance costs by adding qualifying nonprofit buildings to the county's property schedule in the county's risk pool. Britney, the county risk manager, said venues would apply through the county broker (Prism) and that, if accepted, each property would be included in the county's annual premium schedule and would pay the resulting premium (or a share) rather than the high private-market rates many small nonprofits face.
Britney explained tradeoffs: while adding properties could reduce a venue's standalone insurance cost (in the transcript examples, a private premium that had been $50,000 could fall to $1,500-$2,000 in some cases), any claim at an enrolled venue would draw on the pool and could increase the pool's future premiums. Venues would still need separate liability coverage; the county pool covers property loss and the venue would typically be responsible for the $25,000 per-property deductible in the event of a claim.
Board members asked staff to coordinate with cities (several venues are within city limits) and the county's broker to run property appraisals, model potential premium impacts on the pool, and confirm whether the savings are realizable without unacceptable pool risk.
Next steps: Risk services will evaluate candidate properties with the broker, estimate premium impacts, and return options for board consideration; any final inclusion would come back to the board for a policy decision.
