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County receives work-comp update showing lower experience mod and projected savings; insurance presenter flags three federal lawsuits and a large auto-claim
Summary
An insurance representative told commissioners the county's experience mod fell to about 1.19, projecting roughly $40,000 in premium savings next renewal if trends hold; the presenter also reported three federal lawsuits involving a jail inmate and an ongoing auto claim with a multi-million-dollar reserve.
DeKalb County commissioners heard a detailed workerscomp and insurance briefing from an insurer affiliate (Speaker 7) who said the county's experience modification factor had fallen to about 1.19 and that, barring new large claims, the drop should translate to material premium savings at the next renewal.
"If we don't have any more claims, we'll drop down to about a 0.9, which is about a $40,000 savings in premium," the presenter said, while explaining the three-year rolling calculation that produces the experience mod.
Speaker 7 credited the county's quarterly safety committee, renewed emphasis on training and the carrier's loss-management work for the improvement: "That safety committee . . . has really done a handful of really good things. It's got the department heads together," he said.
The presenter gave a line-item view of claims and said the county had about $29,000 in total claims for the 2024 policy year so far and fewer large claims than in prior years. He also told the board the county has had no indemnity/lost-time claims this year, which helps minimize the experience-mod impact.
Separately, the presenter and county counsel (Speaker 4) told commissioners that one inmate has filed three federal lawsuits naming county police employees. Counsel said the cases are at an early stage, defense counsel has been assigned, and the carrier has arranged for adjuster coverage. "They're not yet proceeding. They haven't been served," counsel said.
The presenter also flagged an ongoing auto claim with an open reserve of about $5,055,000 for medical bills and related costs; staff said the carrier was reviewing medical documentation and reserves. "That one's ongoing and we'll work to get that closed as quickly as possible once we have more information," he said.
Commissioners thanked staff for the update and asked staff to continue monitoring payroll submissions and renewal projections; staff said they would provide updated payroll numbers to IPEP ahead of the renewal.
